By: Alex A. Bah, Public Relations Assistant, ACC
The deputy Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Augustine Foday Ngobie has on Wednesday, August, 30, 2023, assured civil society organisations that their “voices are always part and parcel of the Campaign” against corruption.
He gave this assurance whilst making a statement at a training for civil society organisations with the theme “Combating Corruption with a Human Rights Based Approach in Sierra Leone – Developing a National Anti-Corruption Strategy Led by Civil Society”, at the Methodist Church Hall, Kingharman Road, Freetown. The training was organised by the Human Rights Defenders Network – Sierra Leone in partnership with Restitution Impact Limited.
Mr. Ngobie reechoed the enormous contributions that non-state actors play, by serving as a bridge between the ACC and the public, adding that this is shown in their complimentary role through their various advocacy campaigns. He said that the corruption perception indexes that show the Commission’s remarkable performance in the fight against corruption were conducted by independent civil society organisations, making particular references to the 2019 National Corruption Perception Index conducted by the Center For Accountability and the Rule of Law (CARL) and its partners, the Global Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International, and the Afrobarometer Survey conducted by the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR), among others.
“The relationship with CSOs is further reinforced in the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) which underscores that anti-corruption bodies must relate and collaborate with civil society organisations in a bid to sustain the collective approach to the fight against corruption with the people at the center,” he said the DC averred.
The Deputy Commissioner said that the ACC has been providing capacity as well as financial support to CSOs in carrying out their advocacy campaigns that fall within its mandate and purview. He therefore thanked the Human Rights Defenders Network and assured them of the Commission’s unreserved support within the framework of its mandate.
Earlier, Director of Education, Communication and Training of the Human Rights Commission Sierra Leone, Richard Tamba M’bayo, in his statement, said that the Commission has been working with the ACC to maximize its very mandate. “If you have corruption at its minimum, human rights will be at its maximum”, he stressed. He therefore commended the ACC, adding that the amendment of its 2008 Act in 2019 with stiffer sanctions re-empowered the institution in its efforts to tackle the menace of corruption.
Co-Founder and Director of Restitution, Chris Duckett also talked about the negative impacts of Corruption and how the organisation has been working with its partners to help recover and return stolen assets. This, he said, is what informs the partnership forged with the ACC.
A similar training, targeting representatives from various Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, is also set to hold on Thursday 31st August, 2023, at the same venue.