By Albert George Sheriff
A public outreach officer of the Anti Corruption Commission has said that the the commission was set for this year’s International Anti Corruption Day celebration in Sierra Leone on 9 December.
“Corruption is a menace and there must be a concerted effort to fight it” Joseph Kangaju said, adding that “People must be converts rather than convicts”.
He said the theme for this year’s celebration is “ACT - Against Corruption Today” with an added emphasis on the engagement of youth.
He said the day was designated by the United Nations aimed at raising awareness on corruption and the role of the UN in combating and preventing it.
According to Kangaju, to commemorate this year’s day the commission in partnership with other stakeholders had started holding radio and TV discussion programmes nationwide since 3 December on the importance of the IAC Day, the role of women and youth in the fight against corruption, and corruption in schools and universities.
Asked if the ACC had anything to celebrate, the outreach officer said, since the enactment of the ACC Act of 2008, the commission had been given powers including that to prosecute its own cases.
“Strides have been made in prosecuting corruption cases against high profile personalities like ministers and the former Mayor, and they have been found wanting. That is worth celebrating,” he added.
Kangaju said that the ACC Act gave the commission the mandate to recover stolen monies.
“The ACC has recovered stolen monies and a sum of Le2 billion was recently paid into the consolidated funds. That is success,” he said.
He said challenges facing the ACC include lack of media support to fight corruption, especially among the newspapers.
“We want the media to cover ACC activities,” he said, adding that the challenge for the ACC was the resistance by the public sector to change.
© Politico 07/12/2012
