ACC says efforts beginning to pay dividend
January 27, 2017 By Ibrahim Tarawallie
Deputy Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has stated that Sierra Leone’s efforts in the fight against corruption were beginning to pay dividend, as the country scored 30 percent in Transparency International’s 2016 Corruption Perception Index report.
Transparency International on Wednesday 25 January, 2017, released its Corruption Perception Index for 2016, with Sierra Leone ranked 123 out of 176 countries surveyed, increasing its score from 29 percent in 2015 to 30 percent in 2016.
Even though the 2016 CPI report lamented that over two thirds of the 176 countries and territories in the index fell below the mid-point, Sierra Leone was able to lead forty-six (46) countries, comprising 25 in Africa including Nigeria, Guinea, Gambia and Kenya.
However, during an exclusive interview yesterday at his Gloucester Street office in Freetown, Shollay Davies welcomed the report but stressed that more was needed to be done as a country to eradicate corruption.
He said when they took up the fight, the country was far down the ladder, and that it was among the top ten corrupt countries in the world.
As the lead agency in the fight, he expressed delight that the perception about corruption in the country was gradually changing from negative to positive, in that Sierra Leoneans were gradually appreciating government’s effort to end corruption.
“As a lead agency in the fight against corruption, we consider the 2016 Corruption Perception Index from Transparency International as welcome news. Fighting corruption is challenging and a difficult enterprise and it is not a thing that can be achieved within the twinkle of an eye. We are sure that in the next couple of years, we will go much higher in terms of point,” he said.
He reminded all and sundry that the 2016 CPI was a national index and that even though the ACC was the lead agency, there were various other institutions that involved in the fight to ensure transparency and accountability in the system.
He paid tribute and respect to other sister institutions, including Audit Service Sierra Leone, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development- which ensures fiscal discipline in financial systems, parliament and other oversight institutions for making sure that there was improvement in transparency and accountability in the country.
“It our concerted efforts that has paid dividend in seeing us move in terms of our score on the TI Index for 2016. Going forward, we are not going to rest because we need to do more as a country. It should not be only the ACC but all other stakeholders must come onboard to ensure that we reduce this negative perception,” Mr. Davies urged.
He assured of the commission’s determination to take the fight back to the service providers and expressed hope that over time, the perception would improve more than what had been recorded for the past couple of years.