The 2020 Afrobarometer Report has indicated that half (50%) of Sierra Leoneans say the Commissions of Inquiry into acts corruption of previous government officials are fair and impartial, while 13% disagree. About one-third of respondents say they don’t know enough about the Commissions to assess their impartiality and effectiveness.
The Report which was launched on Tuesday at the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) office in Freetown, shows that a majority (54%) of Sierra Leoneans believe that the Commission of Inquiry help in the fight against corruption, with only one in 10 citizens (11%) disagree.
“Residents in the eastern region are about twice as likely to hold positive views on the Commissions of Inquiry’s impartiality and effectiveness as residents in the Northern region. Positive views about the Commissions of Inquiry’s impartiality and effectiveness increase with respondents’ level of economic well-being and education,” the report states.
Four in 10 Sierra Leoneans (40%) say the level of corruption has increase over past year, a 30-percentage-point drop since 2015.
Only about four in 10 citizens (38%) say the government is doing “fairly well” or “very well” in fighting corruption. This is a significant decrease compared to 2018 (66%) after a sharp increase from 2015 (18%), according to the report.
Afrobarometer Report indicates that eight out of 10 citizens (78%) want the news media to constantly investigate and report on government mistakes and corruption and this includes 55% who agree very strongly.
The Executive Director of Institute for Governance Reform, Andrew Lavalie said that Afrobarometer is pan-African, nonpartisan survey that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. He said the Afrobarometer team in Sierra Leone, led by the Institute for Governance Reform, interviewed 1,200 adult Sierra Leoneans in March 2020.
By Mariama Sesay
1/10/2020. ISSUE NO: 7921