By Politico Staff Writer
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has hosted officials of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) to advance discussions on the Implementation of Audit Recommendations contained in Audit Reports.
The meeting with the two stakeholders was held at ACC Conference Room in Freetown on the 26th September, 2023.
The Deputy Commissioner of ACC, Augustine Foday Ngobie in his statement reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to working with the IGR and GACC, stating that the ACC has been taking considerable actions on Audit Reports for the past four years.
He said they have noted recurring issues flagged in previous reports that were published and called for swift and appropriate actions. He further said that at the commencement of the Commission’s interventions, there were sections of the public questioning the Locus Standi of the ACC which he said falls within the mandate of the Sierra Leone Parliament.
The Deputy Commissioner stated that in collaboration with Parliament, the ACC has the power to initiate actions on suspected instances or allegations of corruption brought to it by any means. He also spoke about the Commission’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Audit Service Sierra Leone as a mark of partnership and collaboration so as “not to allow the corrupt people get a field day.”
He said part of the terms of the MoU is for the Audit Service to direct matters that are clear cut suspected acts of corruption for its attention, intervention and action even before the eventual Report.
Mohamed Ibrahim Justice Ganawah, Senior Economist at IGR, in his statement commended the Commission, saying before this time, Auditors were constrained with accessing important documents from Public Officials as they were mostly not provided. He added that the intervention of the Commission has conditioned some of these public officials to avoid those acts and be serious with their work.
“This disregard is the reason why more than 50% of the huge cash losses were not recorded,” he said.
He added that a lot of improvement has been made in different Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). He expressed concern on time and value for money, calling on the ACC to consider it seriously when actions on the misappropriation of public monies are taken.
The Executive Secretary of GACC, Beauty Emefa Narteh, commended the ACC and expressed her pleasure of working with the Commission. She said it is very important for countries to accord audit recommendations, the importance they so deserve thereby maximizing their implementation.
She noted that in most countries especially in West Africa, there is the problem of trivializing audit recommendations which she said informed their intervention with focus on Ghana, Sierra Leone and Benin.
Director of Intelligence and Investigations at ACC, Evelyn Kuyateh explained how the Commission actually rolls out its interventions when Audit Reports are published.
She spoke about the ACC’s specialized Elite Scorpion Team at the fore to address issues identified as quick-fix and which during their raids effect arrests over most especially issues that have to do with misappropriation.
ACC’s Director of Public Education and External Outreach Department, Patrick Sandi, highlighted the exclusive work of his Department with respect to responding to audit reports. He noted that the ACC usually and promptly informs the public through Press Conferences, Serialized Media Releases and Radio and TV Programmes on its various actions and interventions.
Presentation of Copies of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008 as amended in 2019 by the Deputy Commissioner climaxed the event.
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