Why fighting corruption posthumously– meaning that indicting former government officials who are no longer in power is not fighting corruption but seeking restitution — that is to restore stolen items to its proper owner.Restitution is not fighting corruption.
Let us be clear on this. I had offered two propositions in my earlier commentary on the publication of the white paper on alleged corruption involving former Government officials in Sierra Leone.They were: a) that fighting against corruption is more productive when a mechanism and the political will are in place that catches and indict serving public officials in the government of the day at the source of commissioning their acts of thievery.
B) that fighting corruption, mainly, when former government officials, alleged to have stolen were no longer in office before we investigate them. I am clear in my view,and this view is backed by the historical failures of all governments including the current SLPP government to discourage corruption. That is because, I am not convinced we have the appropriate political will and willingness to send political thieves to jail for their criminalities and voracious financial crimes against the poor, whilst holding public offices. So very often what comes out of the various commission of inquiries are that the same people indicted wait for their turn in government to take back what had been taken from them by way of restitution.
Recycling of crooked politicians, which is menacing , exposes the weakness of restitution devoid of prison sentences and this has gravely undermine the fight against state corruption.I am not naive to understand that it is near impossible, it’s never happens in Sierra Leone, for a president to be indicted on corruption whilst still in office, even where there exists several verifiable evidence. Presidents past and present dominates every life of the Sierra Leone Society. He appoints the Anti corruption commissioner . He can also fire him as he pleases. Here is the logic of my argument that prompted today’s commentary.
If the ACC and police have the absolute freedom to honestly and vigorously investigate and indict state criminals in suits and serving in government of the day, the country can save lot of money meant for development from being siphoned in to secretive investments, swiss account abroad ,which are almost impossible to identify and traced. Indeed fighting corruption and for it to be more effective ,a substantial amount of energy and resources such as in intelligence and evidence gathering must be directed at serving government officials because, it’s they that access and control the country’s money.
I am in no way suggesting that past government officials, accused of stealing resources from the state shouldn’t be punished. In truth, I had called for a jail sentence plus seizure of any illegally acquired wealth by them, but this shouldn’t be selective or seen to be ethnically biased.
I have no sympathy for those who abused their offices, amassed wealth that causes untold miseries and sufferings for the vast majority of the people who can only hope to afford a plate of rice to eat in a day.The history of Sierra Leone shows that corruption is perpetrated on a grand scale by politicians in both SLPP, APC and NPRC but the system has been designed to favour and protect elected officials who controls the country’s finances.
Whilst corruption has become a norm in Sierra Leone, it is not the poor market women who sells mango fruits on the streets in Freetown ,Makeni,Bo, Kenema or Moyamba junction that have access to state funds and control it.So for a country like Sierra Leone to effectively discourage corruption, the first target must and should be directed at the corridors of power.
Already, there are concerns about the lack of transparency and alleged financial improprieties and corrupt practices against the government of paopa SLPP.According to the auditor General’s report 140 billions were unaccounted for in six months of the paopa administration taken office.An investigation by the Africanist press reported with paper document that substantial money from the consolidated funds was transferred in to the first lady’s “hands of our girls” sensitization tour.
The hands of our girls project is not a statutory project and nor was the said amount of money approved by parliament.It has also emerged, again with document to prove that money was transferred to support paopa SLPP party activities in Bo.
If true, this is an illegal misappropriation of government funds for political party activities.50,000 bags of rice donated by the Chinese to the hungry people in Sierra Leone were stolen, whilst in the custody of the paopa SLPP government. Up to now, neither the ACC , nor the police have been able to catch those responsible.In a recent barometer report from the country’s DFID sponsored investigations , it was established that the presidency is the third most corrupt institution in Sierra Leone after the police and parliament.
The government has used substantial amount of money to purchased expensive brand new jeeps for it ministers to use to sensitize COVID 19 in Sierra Leone, when these ministers were already in possession of fleets of government officials vehicles. More questionable is that these purchases occurred amid acute shortages of PPE for health workers on front line treating COVID 19 patients. Serious lack of ventilators and oxygen metres were reported. In the Sierra Leone second largest city of Bo, it was reported by a social activist that there was not a single oxygen metre in the government hospital. None payment or delayed payments of salaries and hazard payments to health workers were grotesque and unconscionable.
Like in all previous governments, some of the current government officials are reported to have built houses in less than 3 years of taken office– when until now, many of them did not build even a pan-body house or own a bicycle.It’s the late Ghanaian president, John Atley Mill, who angrily chastised workers at Ghana’s port authority, who had built houses in just three years in the job, when he said ,which country in the world in which an employee can built a house after just three years in the job.Chasing a thief after he had taken your properties away is in practice much more difficult and uncertain than when he is caught committing the act.
One of my son’s three weeks old expensive bicycle was stolen. He had gone to the city’s Library. Locked his bike on a rail. By the time he came out, it was gone. The thief had an instrument he used to cut the chain tied to the rail.My son was very upset.
He reported the matter to the police and also announced it on Facebook with the photo of the bike for anyone who sees it to report to the police.The bike has never been seen.So what is my message here? Catch a criminal whilst on the act than when he had carted away with your property. You might never see or recover it again.
The fact that this is the third or fourth commission of inquiry set up by successive governments in Sierra Leone to investigate corruption, they were all lacking is lacking in leadership regarding the efficacy of their policy in the fight against corruption.
This is largely due to corruption being a norm in Sierra Leone and institutional failings.When we chase and indict state crooks who are no longer in power, it could be mischaracterized and perceived as a political witch hunt by those affected.This should not be the case but in a bipolar politics , under the two party system, it is hard to convince supporters of the party officials indicted that this was not targeted at them.
To dislodge such perception, it is of critical importance that the ACC ensure that the rule of law prevails and that all due process in respect of investigation and indictments are observed and transparent.Restitution, which is to seek the return of stolen wealth to the rightful owner, that is if what was stolen was ever found,is not fighting corruption. And if this is the position the government is pursing,then I would respectfully say that we are a long way in eradicating corruption because these are tried and failed means to fighting corruption in Sierra Leone.
A leader committed to eradicating corruption must do so equally and openly with his own officers serving in his administration and that includes himself.President Bio made a solemn promised during his election campaign in 2018 that if elected he would publish his assets to the public for scrutiny in the first one hundred days in office.Since he came to power, the president has never honoured his promise to the people nearly three years in office.As a registered voter myself in Sierra Leone, I don’t know the assets president Bio’s has before he became president . However, ironically, I know the assets of president Buhari of Nigeria and his vice president before they took office.
Buhari has no foreign account by the time he assumed the presidency according to documents published by the BBC. It is not a difficult thing to do if the leadership is fighting corruption to be more transparent. Why not do a regular lifestyle checks on every government officer, who for instance, in just two years, built a house or houses or live a lifestyle far above his salary. The fight against corruption in Sierra Leone will never be complete without our collective assault and condemnation of criminals in suits in public offices.And this approach, will essentially come from the ordinary people, the victims of corruption, as we don’t expect those politicians sharing the country’s money to properly investigate themselves. Institutional failures and weaknesses has to be corrected by a constitutional arrangement that will gives greater independence and autonomy for them to function and deliver justice devoid of bias and political interference
.To help achieve institutional freedom, the powers of the president to hire and fire regarding investigative agencies and criminal enforcement laws should be reviewed and preferably significantly curtail to ensure a proper workable separation of powers of the three organs of government — Executive -headed by the president,Legislature – the parliament and Judiciary , the judges and courts.It is my humble opinion that there are too much powers in the hands of the presidency ,that it appears to me that these institutions seems to work for the head of state than to protect the wider national interest.
I offered two propositions. One was to stop a thief whilst in office and two to wait for him to steal and chase him when he is out of office.Which one you don’t agree with?I am no more intelligent than the average men and women on the streets in Sierra Leone .But I chose to speak with my conscience on matters, which I believe are known by majority of my fellow citizens but they want to remain quiet.It is a burden, an unenviable burden that I carry, but for my country.
