In commemorating World International Anti-Corruption Day, Transport and Logistics Company, Bollore and the country’s graft agency, the Anti-Corruption Commission have called on Sierra Leoneans to join in the fight against corruption. The International Day on Corruption marks the adoption in 2003, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
The call is to ensure a zero-tolerance stance on corruption to ensure quality service delivery to Sierra Leoneans especially the poor and less privileged. It is the view of many Sierra Leoneans that rampant corruption hinders development as resources meant for public use are diverted to the pockets of few corrupt individuals from needed investment in transport, energy, health and education among other sectors of the economy.
It is also widely reported that corruption harms the poor as they are the ones in dire need of public services, but most times they cannot obtain such services since they cannot pay a bribe.
At a ceremony held at the Bollore Port at Water Quay in Freetown, Bollore’s Country Director, Captain Fabjanko Kokan told the audience that the fight against corruption is a fight for every Sierra Leonean.
“The fight is not a one-man show. It is a show for everyone. All of us should contribute to the fight against corruption,” he says.
The Bollore Country Director sees corruption as a cancer that poses more danger than Covid-19 noting that corruption does not have a vaccine. Mr Kokan also sees the fight against corruption as one that is compulsory for every Sierra Leonean.
He remains highly hopeful that the fight against corruption would be conquered if there is total cooperation,
Talk of equality is virtually non-existent in a corrupt society, he says, as the few enrich themselves while the greater majority wallows in poverty.
Corruption, he continues, will affect unborn children if not tackled now. Touching on the ethical side of the company, Captain Kokan assured Sierra Leoneans that Bollore Company would lead by example by not compromising ethical standards.
He said the company had been in existence for over a hundred years with the hope of going for another two hundred years. The prediction of a longer stay for Bollore in the business world is tied to its uncompromising observance of ethics and professionalism in business.
Kokan also tells the Audience that Bollore has a strong Code of Ethics that guides the workforce in their day-to-day operations. The Code of Conduct, he says, excuses no employee as it equally applies to all workers. In his address, he reiterates the need to work together to ensure that corruption is defeated in the country.
“We will work together to eradicate corruption and bribery in Sierra Leone,” he assured. Captain Kokan also pledged the contribution of Bollore Company to the fight against corruption in Sierra Leone. He believes in building a just and fair society, a society free from corruption for posterity. “We must work hard to ensure that our children are not left in mess through corruption,” he says.
He also repeated his call to Sierra Leoneans to share messages of corruption noting that is not about Bollore Logistics Company, but Sierra Leone. He says Bollore’s policy is to work hard and to ensure that the company’s operations are free from corruption noting that such goals are achieved through human resource policies and compulsory training programmes.
“Bollore’s whistle blower policy requires staff to report suspected integrity violations to management,” he emphasised.
While commending his staff for their vigilance in the fight against corruption, Captain Kokan also called on them to redouble their effort in ensuring that the integrity of Bollore operations is upheld. “When we act together, we can make a difference in the fight against corruption for the lasting benefit of the people Bollore serves,” he assured.
ACC was represented at the ceremony its officials including the Deputy Director of Public Education and Outreach, Alhassan Kargbo. In his message to the people of Sierra Leone, he also emphasised the call for Sierra Leoneans to work together to defeat corruption.
He makes it clear that the anti-corruption law contains provisions that mandate the ACC to enlist public support and cooperation in the fight against graft in the country. The ACC Spokesman says the commission has barely 400 staff looking after a population of about 7,000,000 (seven million) people.
The appalling mismatch between the ACC staff and the country’s population makes a strong case for a strengthened relationship between the public and ACC. Mr Kargbo also told the audience that it would be difficult for a corrupt country to attract investment, and its chances to grow are slim.
“No corrrupt country will gain serious investment. No company will come to a country in which the levels of corruption are very high. No serious investor will come to a country in which the judiciary does not work according to the dictates of the law,” he says.
The judiciary was singled out by the ACC spokesman as an arm of government whose integrity has been badly affected because of corruption. Sierra Leone’s market, he continues, is very small adding that if corruption persists at all levels including structural levels, a challenge in doing business in the country could not be ruled out.
The ACC spokesman also reminds Sierra Leoneans that in spite of the abundance of mineral wealth, Sierra Leone remains poor because of corruption. He says those who embezzle public funds constitute just 5% of the total population noting that people of significance are the ones that commit corruption.
He believes that countries with low levels of corruption have sound economies than those in which corruption is high and uncontrollable. “If you do a comparative analysis among countries in Africa, Asia and the globe, you will notice that countries doing well in corruption have stronger economies,” he emphasised.
In corruption-free countries, he says, GDP is strong with better salaries for workers. He also went on to state that in countries with less levels of corruption, institutions are not only strong, but they effectively deliver services for which they are set up.
On the contrary, he went on, institutions of governance does not function effectively in very corrupt countries as they cannot deliver the services for which they are established. Hospitals, he says, hardly provides services to the public because they are not capacitated to do so because of corruption.
“If what is meant for the state is converted into our wallets, the state loses the capacity to provide good roads, hospitals, first-class institutions of learning, basic infrastructure, electricity among others,” he stressed.
He also notes that it becomes a challenge when the state depends on limited resources to take care of a large and teeming population. The ACC spokesman also reminded the audience that Sierra Leoneans are disappointed, angry and bitter owing to the state of affairs in the country adding that the fight against corruption is the business of everybody.
He urged Sierra Leoneans to discountenance relationships when it comes to the fight against corruption making reference to instances where sierra Leoneans have jubilated because those convicted of corruption are not sent to jail.
“Most Sierra Leoneans sympathise with corrupt officials as long they benefit from them. When Transparency International or MO Ibrahim Index talks to Sierra Leonean, many of them would say corruption is very high in the country,” he says.
Making a strong case about the prevalence of corruption in Sierra Leone, he told the audience that a Sierra Leonean (name withheld) solicited funds to build an orphanage at Kissy community in Freetown, and later converted the funds to his personal use.
“We cannot move from point A to B if we don’t tackle corruption,” he opines.
The ACC Spokesman also explains to Sierra Leoneans as to when a gift amounts to bribery. Relying on the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008, Kargbo says a gift is not a gift when used to influence an official to do an act that is prohibited by law.
Campaigns against corruption have always been at the heart of successive governments in post-war Sierra Leone. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a body set up to create an impartial historical record of the country’s civil war pointed out corruption as one the main causes of the war.
The report indicated that owing to grand-scale corruption, the youths became disappointed and dissatisfied with government, and lost all hope in the future. The dissatisfaction of the youths, the report said, was exploited by unscrupulous men who took up arms against the state.
It was in a move to stamp out corruption in Sierra Leone that the ACC was set up with Professor Joko Smart as the first Anti-Corruption Commissioner.
ACC which originally lacked prosecutorial powers was made more independent by conducting its own prosecutions in court without making recourse to the office of Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.
The commission quite recently adopted a tripartite approach of prevention, public education and prosecution in its move to defeat corruption in Sierra Leone.
The model was about systems review and awareness- raising on corruption. In 2013, a damning report was released by the global corruption watchdog, Transparency International which says bribery was rampant in the country.
Government’s response to the report was seen in the adoption of the Pay-No-Bribe policy to stifle and suppress bribery in public sector institutions across the country. The fight against corruption is at the heart of the New Direction Government. The government is on record to have waged the fiercest fight against corruption in Sierra Leone by way of democratic accountability.
Huge sums money running into billions of Leones have been recovered from corrupt politicians, and hopes continue to ride high that more money would be recovered. Sierra Leone has come a long way in its fight against corruption; the country has seen so much but much more has to be done if the country must rise from the doldrums of poverty and under-development.