Sierra Leone has again, in three consecutive years, increased its score in the ‘Control of Corruption’ indicator in the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) scorecard, moving from 79% in the 2019 Scorecard, to 81% in 2020, thereby adding 2 percentage points upwards.
According to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), between 2017 and 2020, Sierra Leone has made a total of 32 % upwards. They continued, “in this year’s Scorecard, Sierra Leone made more gains in the ‘Control of Corruption’ indicator than many other countries including Nigeria, which scored Zero, Ghana 75%; Mali 71% ; Ivory Coast 46%; Liberia 56 %; Cameroon 38 % ; and Mozambique 63%; Egypt 29%; Malawi 65% ; Zambia 75%, etc. The ACC contends that, by this year’s report, Sierra Leone is among the top ten performers in our income category; one of the best performers in Africa; and number one in the Mano River Union.
In the 2020 MCC Report, Sierra Leone passed 13 of the 20 indicators, including the mandatory “Control of Corruption” indicator. Therefore, Sierra Leone is now “Compact Eligible.” This means Sierra Leone is eligible to benefit from the US Government Compact Fund between US$400 and US$600M. The MCC is an initiative of the Government of the United States of America to provide aid to developing countries to fight widespread poverty through economic growth. The MCC scorecard consists of 20 indicators under three broad categories: “Economic Freedom,” “Ruling Justly,” and “Investing in People.” The “Control of Corruption” Indicator falls under “Ruling Justly” category.
The ACC furthered that Sierra Leone has also scored high in other global, regional, and domestic anti-corruption rankings within the past three years. In the Global Corruption Barometer of 2019, Sierra Leone ranked 3rd out of 35 African Countries surveyed on “Government’s Effectiveness in the Fight against Corruption”. In the Afro-Barometer of 2018, 54% of Sierra Leoneans agreed that the government is performing “very well” in the fight against corruption. According to the 2020 Afro Barometer Report, corruption prevalence in Sierra Leone declined from 70 % in 2015 to 40 % in 2020. Additionally, a National Perception Survey, conducted by the Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law this year, revealed that 92 % of the respondents were convinced the fight against corruption in Sierra Leone is on the right course. Similarly, Sierra Leone also moved 10 places upwards in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2019 and scored its highest score to be positioned at 119.
By Sallieu S. Kanu
11/11/2020. ISSUE NO: 7949