Concord Times (Freetown)
Pel Koroma
11 July 2008
opinion
The scale used to measure the integrity of ACC officials still remains a mystery to most people. Not that one doubts the credibility of the current officials that constitute the ACC, but the manner in which they occupied those hierarchies is still unclear.
Mostly, people are appointed to the honourable office of the Anti- Corruption Commission (ACC) because such persons are Sierra Leoneans who have acquired western education. But is this the only relevant criterion for assuming duty with ACC? Just being a Sierra Leonean with a tertiary certificate does not really qualify an individual for ACC office.
ACC is such a sensitive and delicate entity that people need to be properly sieved before passing the mantle of office to them. Officials of ACC should be impartial and should be icons of trust in our society. In fact, it is expected that people of the Commission should be God fearing in the discharge of their duties. But on the contrary, ACC officials get hooked in the exigencies of modern appetite for wealth at whatever cost. Records show that ACC officials have acted far below expectations.
Though ACC is about maintaining social ethics, respect for one-self and promotion of stability among citizens, most people do not believe or trust ACC officials and other state actors.
People do not know who to trust as they have been failed in the past. Some past officials have pretended to be the best service deliverers. But their personal zest for material wealth influences their efforts to leave to the expectation of the people.
What Sierra Leonean can people trust nowadays? The unhealthy competition for wealth and material gains now tend to be an innate character in many Sierra Leoneans but those who belong to another school of thought will quickly justify the situation pegging it to political manipulations in the past.
It is no secret that corruption has been a cog in the wheel of national progress ever since.
Corruption has crippled development in the country. Yes, it has been identified and people know where the pivoting point is, yet they give credence to the network of corrupt individuals that cut across all government departments.
It was corruption that plunged the country into war. Up till now, individual aggrandizement of public revenue is still the order of the day. Corruption stinks in the nation and that is why the integrity of ACC officials has come under query.
Corruption has rendered governments ineffective thus making them to offer little for their people. Poor housing facility, no safe drinking water, health and school care are ill affordable; poor road network and unemployment rate are alarming.
That is why it is pertinent for the general populace in this country to be very watchful of the people monitoring our behavioural role in society.
Characters of people need to be properly scanned since their childhood days because beliefs or perceptions about life, their ability to relate and their choices of relationships determine their disposition in society.
There is no iota of sincerity in most state officials these days. Their intention is always to reap at the detriment of the nation. We are never honest to ourselves. Unscrupulous business people have always connived with the police and other state actors to swindle the resources of the state. They have abetted the messy situation of the nation's economy.
The question now is: who monitors ACC officials? Are the monitors corrupt free? It brings to mind the story of the woman to be stoned to death in the Bible. Many of the people gathered with their stones in hand but wise Christ perceived their individual sins as they are boldly written on their fore heads. Christ threw a challenge at them saying the sinless one among them should first throw a stone at the alleged sinner. It was at that point that it dawned on the people that there is none that is corrupt-free among them.
Alas, it is in this country that religious leaders, who are supposed to be pacesetters in piousness and honesty, are turning out to be bunches of disappointments. Most religious leaders are selfish. They manipulate their followers and extort money from them in the name of religion.
Religious leaders have brought shame to their congregations. So who will lead us for the sake of God? A man's behaviour is a mirror for his characters to be clearly seen.
No good character exhibition has been manifested by the senior citizens of the state. Most of the riches brandished in the country have little respect as many people know that they are ill-gotten wealth. People are constantly bribed with this wealth.
Sadly, the life of an African is never complete without encompassing it with western utilities. Once the appetite for western way of living continues to accelerate at an amazing speed, corruption will never end.
So if the commission is truly determined and inclined to wipe off corruption, its officials should first shy away from amassing wealth.
ACC officials should not let us believe that they are machinated from a desk of the powers that be but be independent in their activities. This is topical because there are clauses to their appointments.
One can understand that jobs are difficult to come by these days but reputation and integrity should be defended to the last. Judges and ACC officials should be contemporary. Self examination will help us a lot to get trustworthy officials at the helms of governance.
The future stability of this country depends on the viability of ACC so it should not just be a toothless bull dog. They should not threaten indictment when they have skeletons in their cupboards.
Though these officials of ACC are faced with a hilltop task of ridding the nation of corruption, they are supposed to be patriotic, empathetic about the situation of the nation, dedicated and diligent in the discharge of their duties.
It has been noted that these officers are chosen by the government- a tool that has been used to tie them down from performing their duties without interference- but it should be made crystal clear to the people of Sierra Leone whether it is always a norm for government appointees to yield to the whims and caprices of power brokers.
It is a worrisome fact considering how ACC officials ought to discharge their duties. This is why a nation needs an independent judiciary that constantly interprets the constitution of the state without fear or favour. But judges too are appointed by the executive arm of the government.
Anyway, much is expected as history is about to break over President Koroma's latest pronouncement to set up a commissions of enquiry that will largely see ACC at work.
If we are not proud of credible officials at ACC, then we should forget these clamours for serious foreign investors to come help transform the misery of the land.
Government officials in other democracies have tried to remain neutral in the discharge of their duties. Just few days ago, a Cameroonian official was telling the whole world over BBC that Cameroon is now safe for international investment because the judiciary system has improved considerably. Sierra Leone can take a cue from there.
Many people are praying for ACC officials who are willing to stake themselves and make sacrifices as revolutionaries for a better Sierra Leone. A man with a belief is a social power equal to ninety-nine of those who only have interest.
ACC can boast of the finest officials in the country but their delivery of the most honourable service with all their hearts and minds is a worry for many people in the country. It's like there is a network that is frustrating good people from performing their functions well.
A British officer was sent by DfID as one of the commissioners heading ACC. He left this country with a bitter mind against the callousness of Sierra Leoneans. Various commissioners have their different experiences.
It has always been a showdown over the exertion of authority. Val Collier will never say he was pleased with the situation at ACC. Of course, Joko Smart's frustration was registered and he was dismissed with a wave of the hand.
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Mr Cole, I am sure your statement is out of ignorance. The president is the people's servant, he is not taller than than the law, therefore, his authority can be question at any time.He does not own Sierra Leone, he is only the leader for now.
All appointments are solely the prerogative of His Escellency the President and the Ruling Party, and I do not think, it is appropriate for the author to question, the authority of the President.