4. The workshop which will also be held in Pujehun District on Monday, 5th February 2024, has key stakeholders from NaCSA, Ministry of Gender and Children's Affairs, Women and Disability Groups, among others. The ACC more importantly handles the GRM Component of the PSSNYE project, which is a 42 Million Dollars Scheme supported by the World Bank, Government of Sierra Leone and other development partners, aimed at providing Cash Transfer and other support to people living in poverty, vulnerable groups; people living with disabilities and youths. Stakeholders at the Workshop . By: Alex A. Bah, Public Relations Assistant, ACC Contd from Pg 1 contributions have led to so much comfort and confidence in the people and partners", Dr. Robert underscored. (a) “withholding the salary of public officer; (b) suspend the public officer after one month of default but not more than three months; (c) dismiss the public officer after exceeding three months. ” In his statement, the Commanding Officer in - Charge of the 2 nd Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Bangalie Marrah applauded the ACC for such a move to engage them in a friendly and interactive discussion on is sues of corruption. He referred to the move as a step in the right direction and therefore, on behalf of his O fficers pledged his undivided commitment to fight against the nation’s common enemy – corruption. Colonel Marrah conc luded by admonishing his officers to totally resist, reject and report corruption in order to liberate the country from further destruction. A session for questions, contributions and/or comments formed part of the eng agement. By: Patrick Hinga George, Public Education Officer, ACC Contd from pg 2 T he Regional Manager of the Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC) in the North West Region Fatu Florence Kamara has, at the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) Conference Hall in Port Loko City, cautioned enumerators to instill integrity in the conduct of the annual school census. The school census is part of the activities of the Ministry to collect accurate and comprehensive data relating to pupils enrollment, teacher details, infrastructure and any other relevant data. Addressing enumerators at the Ministry's Conference Hall, on Tuesday 30th January 2024, the Regional Manager emphasized the significance of enhancing best practices and ethical standards in collec ting accurate and credible data that will immensely inform decision making and quality outcomes in the sector. As the count ry makes significant strides to changing the narratives in the education sector,all enumerators have the duty to desist from corruption demands in the field particularly in ensuring quality assurance in the school system, she added. Manager Kamara also warned against misuse of public property and urged them to take great care of the tablets is sued to them. She further encouraged the leadership of the Ministry to put in place robust monitoring and supervision mechanis ms to ensure quality data collection. Explaining the significance of undertaking the annual school census, Deputy Director of MBSSE Alpha Bangura warned enumerators against enrollment inflation and to ensure a duty of purpose to collecting quality and credible data in the field. The District Coordinator for the Free Quality School Education, Edward Williams shared sentim ents and pointed out the adverse consequences of inaccurate data which made certain individuals to misuse o pportunities provided by the FQSE. He informed participants that government has stopped paying for repeaters for the WASSCE

3. Page 3 T he Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC) on 23 rd Janu- ary 2024, engaged staff of the Nutrition Unit of the Tonkolili District Health Management Team in Magburaka. The customized engagementis part of the Commission’s unflinching commitment to raise awareness on corruption and the urgent need to curb it for quality public service delivery. Delivering the anti - graft messages, Senior Public Education Officer, Abdul Karim Bangura, thanked staff of the Unit for hosting officers of the Commission’s Northern Regional Office located in Makeni. Mr. Bangura explained the negative effects of corruption particularly on state - owned institutions citing huge loss of public funds which, in turn, deprives the public of much - needed services. Mr. Bangura furthered that corruption does not only stifle economic growth in the country, but also saps public trust and confidence in public institutions. Corruption, he continued, can also scare away investors and discourage donors to implement life - saving projects and programmes. He therefore described corruption as peril to all sustainable development efforts. ‘We should therefore consider fighting this threat as a civic duty,’ he urged the nutritionists. According to the anti - graft officer, to begin to fight corruption one must accept its existence, understand its modes and impacts. He therefore outlined reported acts of impropriety and interventions aimed at tackling malnutrition, which has claimed the lives of thousands of children under 5 especially in rural communities. He pleaded with the staff of the Unit to endeavour to resist and report corruption to the ACC using either of the toll - free lines 077985985 or 077986986, during ACC and the Tonkolili District Nutrition staff after the meeting business hours. In his contribution, Senior Public Education Officer, Ai- ah Sourie, pointed out that Government and its partners have made serious strides to address malnutrition as a significant threat to the overall health and wellbeing of children. ‘Malnutrition limits the potential of children to learn and be productive later in life,’ he said, adding that although Sierra Leone has made progress in achieving the target to reduce stunting, there is still a staggering number of children suffering from the condition. Mr. Sourie emphasized that corruption could reverse the gains so far achieved in arresting and managing malnutrition. Therefore, he called on staff of the Nutrition Unit to invariably consider service to man over service to self. He informed his audience about the Commission’s ongoing nation - wide consultations to elicit the views and opinions of a wide - range of stakeholders to craft the 5 th generation of the National Anti - Corruption Strategy (NACS 2024 - 2028). Mr. Sourie underscored the Commission’s inclusive approach in the fight against corruption, explaining that the NACS is the collective voice and action of the citizens to achieve a corruptfree Sierra Leone. He further informed them that the bi - annual online declaration of asset, income and liabilities with the Commission has begun and encouraged them to act accordingly to avoid penalties. The District Nutritionist, Mira Jones, thanked the ACC officers for the meeting and pledged to mainstream an- ti - corruption values in her Unit, in spite of several challenges in handling 45 Out - Patient Therapeutic and 3 In–Patient Facilities within the District. She received IEC materials from the ACC Team and promised to display them in places where the public will easily see and read them.

2. Page 2 growth of the country, but intensified poverty. He therefore urged RSLAF Officers to put on their patriotic armour in the discharge of their duties. Mr Blake further called the attention of the Officers to key corrupt practices ranging from Misappropriation, Abuse of Office, Abuse of Position, Conflict of Interest, among others as enshrined in the Anti - Corruption Act of 2008, as amended in 2019, and their equivalent penalties upon conviction by a competent Court of Law. Public Education Officer (PEO), Patrick Hinga George, cued in with strong emphasis on the Commission’s unwavering determination to winning the war against corruption. Mr George went on to state that though the Commission has done tremendously excellent, especially under the charismatic leadership of Commissioner Francis Ben Kaifala Esq, the war against corruption can be won only with concerted efforts from every Sierra Leonean, especially the military, as a result of their strong disciplinary background. The PEO further informed the Officers that one of the effective ways to win the war against corruption, is for public officers to declare their Income, Assets and Liabilities in order to enhance in- tegrity in public life; as provided for in section 119 of the AC Act of 2008 and as amended in 2019. He furthered that the 2019 amendment provides for bi - annual declaration for all public officers from grade 7 and above and as well as, officers with fiduciary responsibility irrespective of their grades. “Every public officer shall, within three months of becoming a public officer, deposit T he Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC) Regional Office in Kenema on Thursday, 8 th February, 2024, engaged the 2 nd Infantry Battalion personnel of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) during their morning muster parade at the RTI Military Barracks in Kenema City. Senior Public Education Officer (SPEO), Edward N. Blake, in his opening statement, said that the ACC team was at the Military Barracks to have an interactive conversation with officers around corruption, which he referred to as the country’s greatest enemy that is considered a major reason for civil unrest the world over. “ Sierra Leo- ne’s 11 years’ ruthless civil war that caused the lives of thousands of our compatriots including you Military Officers was not unconnected with corruption,” Mr Blake said. The SPEO reiterated that corruption is indeed the ultimate enemy that has eaten deeply into the fabric of the country’s socio - economic development, adding that it has not only stagnated the socio - economic By: Patrick Hinga George, Public Education Officer, ACC Senior Public Education Officer Edward N. Blake addressing servicemen of the 2 nd Infantry Battalion ACC Staff and cross section of high ranking officers of the 2 nd Infantry Battalion with the Commission a declaration of his income, assets and liabilities and thereafter in every two years that he is a public officer, but not later than 31st March and also while leaving office,” Mr George emphasized. Notwithstanding the plea made by Mr. George for public officers to always declare their income, assets and liabilities, he hastily informed them to note that the 31 st March is the deadline for the 100% online declaration and cautioned them that false declaration is an offence as enshrined in Section 122 (1) of the AC Act 2008 as amended in 2019. He further informed them that failure to submit a complete asset declaration to the ACC without judicious excuse amounts to an offence and can warrant administrative sanctions against the defaulter as set out in sub - section (5) as follows: Contd on pg 4

1. 5th —9th February 2024 Issue 2 Volume 3 INTEGRITY HOUSE, TOWER HILL FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE EDITORIAL TEAM EDITOR - IN - CHIEF Abubakarr Turay EDITORS Sylvanus Blake Alex A. Bah LAYOUT & GRAPHICS Philippa M Davies EDITORIAL ADVISERS Augustine Foday Ngobie Patrick Sandi ensuring that resources allocated to transform the standard of lives of the poor and vulnerable people, will meet them adequately. Dr. Susan Robert, Senior Director of Program Development and Quality Assurance at the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA), in her earlier address emphasized the important role of women in the home, disclosing such as the major reason why these monies are given to them. "We are very proud of the ACC because your presence and Domestic Violence Act, Child Rights Act and the most recent, Monumental Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Act. Corruption and issues of SGBV are distinct but have connections on many fronts as the former significantly impacts the latter, Mr. Ngobie added. In the Anti - Corruption Act 2008 as Amended in 2019, we have offences like Abuse of Office, Abuse of Position etc. and women are most often victims in their quest to acquire jobs or facilities", he averred. The Deputy Commissioner furthered that the Anti - Corruption Act and its amendment provides punitive sanctions that are meted out against persons found culpable. He however emphasized that the work- shop is aimed at improving on their ca- pacities to address these issues, noting that the Commission is poised to T he Deputy Commissioner of the Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC), Au- gustine Foday Ngobie, on Friday 2nd February, 2024 assured stakeholders of the Commission's unwavering commitment to protecting Resources meant for the People of Sierra Leone. He gave this assurance in a workshop at the EBK Resource Center, Magburuka, Tonkolili District, organized to capacitate Stakeholders in the Implementation of the Productive Social Safety Net and Youth Employment (PSSNYE) Project, on areas that border around Strengthening Community Resilience Through Sexual and Gender - Based Violence (SGBV).and the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) component. Mr. Ngobie stated that the Government of Sierra Leone is keen to safeguard Women and Children that often form part of the most vulnerable groups. He noted that a number of legal frameworks have been enacted over the years that include; the Sexual Offences Act, ACC’s Deputy Commissioner Augustine Foday Ngobie admonishing stakeholders at the Workshop Dr. Susan Robert, Senior Director of Program Development and Quality Assurance, NaCSA making her statement. By: Alex A. Bah, Public Relations Assistant, ACC Contd on pg 4