By Ragan M. Conteh
In less than one week, when DFID-Funded PFM Consortium, including Center for Accountability and the Rule of Law (CARL), 2019 Corruption Perception Report release, accused the Sierra Leone Police as first most corrupt institution, followed by Parliament as the 2nd most corrupt institution in Sierra Leone, another report, the Afrobarometer, launched on Tuesday 15th September 2020, has ranked and accused the Office of the Presidency as the third most corrupt institution in Sierra Leone, with 38% of respondents saying so.
The report also ranked the Sierra Leone Police as the 1st most corrupt institution with 61%, followed by the Sierra Leone Parliament as 2nd most corrupt institution with 41% respondents, respectively.
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, nonpartisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experience and evaluations of democracy and governance. Rounds of surveys have been completed in up to 38 countries between 1999 and 2018.
Afrobarometer, according to the report, conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples. The team in Sierra Leone is led by the Institute for Governance Reform. It interviewed 1,200 adult Sierra Leoneans in March 2020, adding that a sample of that size yielded country-level results with a margin of error of plus/minus 3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Round 8 surveys in 2019/2021 are planned in at least 35 countries.
According to the report, the demand for accountability governance has increased in Sierra Leone, adding that very few citizens believe that MPs are effective in holding the President and his government accountable. The study went further that Members of Parliaments are among the least trusted officials and are widely perceived as corrupt.
Key findings in the report revealed that, for every seven in 10 Sierra Leoneans, 71% believe that it is more important to have a government that is accountable to its citizens than one that gets things done.
The finding went further that the demand for Accountable governance has increased by 28 percentage points since 2014 with 43%. It also highlighted that six in 10 citizens, with 60%, expect Members of Parliament sometimes or often give out resources to help community members.