The ACC has engaged the Paramount Chief and chiefdom authorities of Dama Chiefdom, Kenema District as part of its public education campaign aimed at raising public awareness on the implications of corruption and to soliciting public support in the fight against corrupt practices.
Paramount Chief of Dama Chiefdom, Alhaji Sandi Momoh Forwai, chairman of the meeting expressed thanks and delight in the move by the ACC to engage and educate them on corruption issues, which they said had posed serious threat to the nation. He said the visit to his chiefdom by the ACC was no surprise to him because last year, the ACC engaged all Paramount Chiefs in the country to educate them on corruption and the operations of the ACC.
ACC District Coordinator, Kenema, Mohamed Sylvanus Blake underscored the need for people to be aware of the practices that constitute corruption, the parallel penalties if convicted of corruption, especially as they interact with public officers, public institutions and service providers. He encouraged them to bring to the attention of the Commission any act of corruption noticed in their communities and to help educate others on the ills of corruption. He said the ACC happened to be the lead agent in the fight against corruption and was on a mission to sensitize and recruit the general public into the national anti graft force.
He encouraged the people in the chiefdom to help spread the anti-corruption message of “Resisting, Rejecting and Reporting corruption. He assured the community people of the ACC’s support to informants and witnesses.
ACC Eastern Regional Manager, Evelyn Walker highlighted key features in the AC Acts of 2000 and 2008, noting that the 2000 Act had nine corruption offences and a fine not exceeding three Million Leones, but that the 2008 Act broadened the corrupt offences from nine to twenty nine with stiffer penalties of not less than thirty Million Leones or three years imprisonment to both fine and imprisonment. She cautioned all chiefdom authorities that fines levied in local courts are regarded as revenues and must be properly receipted and accounted for.
She called on the chiefdom authorities to use tax payers’ money wisely for the development of their communities and cautioned them about receiving gifts. She also condemned the illegal and extra charges levied on pupils in schools and urged parents to challenge teachers on those charges.
