ACC CALLS FOR COLLECTIVE EFFORT TO FIGHT CORRUPTION

The Regional Manager South of the Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC) Mr. Samuel Marah made a clarion call to the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Bo, to take effective steps to curb corruption in the agricultural sector and the country as whole.

 Speaking to over fifty staff members, in a meeting organized by the ACC’s Regional Office at the Ministry's Conference Room at the Bo Kenema Highway on Tuesday 23^rd July 2014, he said fighting corruption is a collective responsibility and should be the obligation of every member of society.  

The Regional Manager said the Ministry of Agriculture is very strategic to the development of the country as it is responsible for attainment of food security and provides employment for huge percentage of the population as well as generate wealth from trade and commerce of agricultural product. 

He said corruption can bar the sector from achieving it full potentials. He pointed out that various works of the ACC such as the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2014-2018 and the Systems Review Report of 2013 have pinpointed areas of concern which can give rise to corruption. 

Mr. Marah further deliberated on problems associated with the management of finances and revenue generation, the supplies and recovery of seeds, planning and policy implementation, equipment and agricultural tools, procurement and asset management, noting that the extensive use of discretion creates a fertile ground for corruption and the suppression of transparency and accountability. He called on all to take action to address the issues. 

Making the welcome remarks, the District Agriculture Officer Mr. Joseph S. Bangura described the initiative of the ACC to hold such an educative programme as laudable to build up confidence, put them on a better footing to know the commitment of ACC and the various offences which will guide them in the daily discharge of their duties. He implored his personnel to see the occasion as an eye opener as the ACC is not only to investigate and prosecute people but to guide them on the right path on how to refrain from corruption. 

The Regional Public Education Officer Mr. Joseph M. Hazeley, in his statement informed participants that the purpose of the engagement is to educate personnel of the said ministry about the evils of corruption and elicit their support to join the fight against corruption.

 Giving a background about ACC, he articulated that it was formed to stem blatant levels of corruption in public institutions which was one of the major factors responsible for the past ten years political stalemate and outlined the functions of the Public Education and External Outreach, System and Processes Review, and Intelligence Investigation and Prosecution Departments. 

 He told the audience that the Ministry of Agriculture should serve as a strong economic pillar for the development of the country and reechoed the need to join the national fight against corruption.     

In his statement the Senior Regional Public Education Officer, Mr. Wilfred Bangura, explained the twenty seven offenses in the Anti-Corruption Act 2008, which range from abuse of office and possession of unexplained wealth, misappropriation of public and donor funds and encouraged them to inculcate best practices in the interest of Sierra Leone to improve on agricultural productivity and help minimize corruption in their daily engagements.

Mr. Umar Sesay also  Regional Public Education Officer spoke about the effects of corruption on agricultural productivity said, the drive of the government to transform the said ministry from pro-poor growth perspective to raising quality and value added productivity can only actualize in a corrupt  free environment, noting that agriculture has been a priority for both Agenda for Change and Agenda for Prosperity gearing towards in improving agricultural output through value addition and poor harvest loss reduction.

Mr. Umar Sesay emphasized the need to ensure that government allocations are rightly spent in order to yield the desired dividend of food security for all, urging them not to see corruption as a need but a disease that eats into the facet of society.

The meeting attracted the entire membership of the Bo District Agriculture office and was punctuated with questions which were satisfactorily answered by the team.

The vote of thanks was moved by the District Crop Officer Emmanuel Ballah Marah who lauded the team for the initiative  as they have learnt that the issue of corruption does not only involve senior staff but also junior staff as well and requested  that such meetings be held in the future.