BY: ALIMAMY LAHAI KAMARA
Director of Public Education and Outreach Department at the Anti-Corruption Commission has said the Agenda for Prosperity is a roadmap, expressing a commitment to change for improving the socio-economic profile of Sierra Leone. Madam Koloneh Sankoh was speaking on the topic “the Role of the Anti-Corruption Commission in Achieving the Goals of the Agenda for Prosperity” at a symposium marking the 35th anniversary celebrations of the Institute for Public Administration and Management, (IPAM) at the Miatta Conference Center in Freetown.
Madam Sankoh said the A4P is a vehicle, and public and private servants are the drivers following a direction that fosters change, a path that eradicates poverty, entrenches good governance, enhances productivity, and tackles corruption. Transition from the Agenda for Change (A4C) to the Agenda for Prosperity (A4P) has been smooth and development programmes rolled over are ongoing. On the A4C, Government increased foreign direct investment in the mining and agricultural sectors, eliminated bottlenecks in the business climate, strengthened the educational sector, and rolled out the free health care service.
On the Agenda for Prosperity, pillar seven talks about Governance and Public Sector Reform, and this gives the ACC a broad scope to ensure a system of governance free of corruption and a public sector compliant with laid down laws and policies. The ACC performs this task through public education, and reviewing of systems and processes of ministries, departments, and agencies. This is the preventive approach to stop corruption before it breaks out. Prosecution is the stick approach to investigate and prosecute persons alleged to have involved in corrupt practices. Koloneh Sankoh said the work of the Commission has direct impact on the A4P by eliminating financial wastages; instituting best practices; closing opportunities for corruption; and enforcing integrity, transparency and accountability.
Acting Vice Chancellor and Principal of the University of Sierra Leone Professor Ekundayo J.D. Thompson focused on drop in the quality of education – a problem he said starts at the home. He argued that parents bribed the promotion of their children through primary and secondary schools and ended up enrolling into the University with excellent results they cannot defend. The University he said will start the conduct of entrance exams as a first step to scrutinize entrants.
IPAM is marking its 35th year anniversary celebrations on a broad theme titled: Renewing Our Commitment to Realizing the Goals of the Agenda for Prosperity. The celebrations come at a time IPAM has rolled out several new courses to cater for the business and administrative market, and the construction of a multipurpose structure to increase access for students.
