August 16, 2016 By Mohamed Massaquoi
Last Saturday, Cofey International, in collaboration with Sierra Leone’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) commenced the DFID [Department for International Development] supported ‘Pay No Bribe’ campaign, worth 4.7 million Pounds Sterling, in the eastern district of Kenema.
The campaign is an innovative reporting mechanism that allows citizens to anonymously report incidences of petty corruption and bribery via a hot line (515) through a mobile application that has been purposely designed to fight graft in the country.
ACC Public Education Officer, Sylvanus Blake, said the campaign would target key stakeholders in five pilot communities in Mano Junction, Tondola, Boijebu, Simbaru and Blama to sensitise people about how to utilise the application.
“This campaign is a scientific tool that seeks to diagnose the rate of petty corruption and address them in the piloted government institutions. It is no secret that negative effects of unbridled bribery and corruption incidences are primarily responsible for some of the challenges facing the country. Sierra Leone failed in the Millennium Challenge Compact as a result of corruption.
This strategy is aimed at giving the public a convenient, reliable, easy, confidential and above all prompt means of reporting incidences of bribery and corruption in key service providing institutions, which will help in shaping the strategies in the fight against corruption,” said Blake, who also encouraged members of the public to break the culture of silence and speak out against corruption in Sierra Leone.
Sam P. Gogra, also a staff of the ACC, called on the public to own and utilise the initiative, adding that the tool was effective and efficient.
“This application will provide enough information on bribery and corruption, which have become an affront towards the provision of quality and fair service delivery in Sierra Leone,’’ he said.