The Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Francis Ben Kaifala Esq. has called on the Directors, Deputy Directors and Regional Managers of the Commission to focus on producing results in order to improve Sierra Leone’s ranking in the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and other similar indexes. The Commissioner was speaking on Saturday, July 22, 2023, at the closing of a three-day Management Retreat held at The Place Resort, Tokeh, in the Western Rural District. The theme of the Retreat was ‘Accelerating the Impact of the ACC on Development in Sierra Leone’.

The ACC Commissioner said he would ensure that all Departments and Regional Offices get more autonomy for them to be able to introduce new ideas and instill discipline in the work and operations of the Commission. “Do not always wait to be told what to do! You should also focus on producing results and solutions rather than running commentaries on challenges. Make yourselves relevant, be dutiful and never shy away from your responsibility,” the ACC Commissioner furthered.

The ACC Commissioner re-echoed his statement made at the opening ceremony of the Retreat when he said “we are currently sitting at 110 in the Transparency International Index, so my aim for the next five years is for us to take the country to double digits in the Index.” 

The Deputy Commissioner of the Commission Augustine Foday Ngobie, in his closing remarks said the Commission was looking forward to an effective and professional witness management system so that members of the public would always feel encouraged to come forward to make reports to the Commission. 

Mr. Ngobie also said that the Commission should look at avenues to incorporate a grievance redress mechanism component in all public projects to ensure that they benefit the people of Sierra Leone. 

The Chairman of the ACC Advisory Board Prince F. Goba encouraged the Commission to be able to coordinate all the strategies presented during the Retreat into an action plan for effective implementation.

Earlier, the Lead Facilitator Dr. Modupeh Taylor-Pearce said that his objective is to ensure that the ACC becomes far better than it is now as an institution. He said discipline leadership should be at the centre of the operations of the Commission.

The Executive Director of A Call To Business, Joe Abass Bangura, made a presentation on ‘Transformational Leadership’ and said “leaders don’t run commentaries on what is not working, but rather take action to make things work.”

During the Retreat, the Directors and Regional Managers of the various Departments and Regional Offices of the Commission made presentations on new and innovative ways for the fight against corruption in the next five years.