By Abubakarr Bah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Many social commentators have held that one of the finest decisions ever made by His Excellency Brig. (Rtd.) Dr Julius Maada Bio is having the erudite and fearless Francis Ben Kaifala (FBK) Esq. as Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) since he came to power in 2018.
At 33 years in 2018, FBK became the youngest in Sierra Leone’s history to be appointed as Commissioner of the ACC, a record that extends across the African continent. But as the adage goes, “the age of Methuselah has nothing to do with the Wisdom of Solomon.” The outstanding performance of the young and erudite Kaifala as head of the lead anti-corruption institution in Sierra Leone has revolutionized the fight against corruption in Sierra Leone more than any other regime since independence.
I am not saying that previous governments did not curb corruption, but the pace at which the fight against corruption in Sierra Leone has taken under President Bio’s government has been unprecedented and acclaimed locally and globally by the International Community, including independent global governmental and non-governmental organisations such as Transparency International, the Afro Barometer Corruption Perception survey and the United States of America’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). In fact, Sierra Leone has, for the first time, been profiled as a country that has done remarkably well in other global corruption perception indices like the Mo Ibrahim Index and Freedom House.
Before President Bio came to power in 2018, Sierra Leone had passed the ‘Control of Corruption’ indicator on the scorecard only once. However, the country has impressively progressed from the failed score of 49% in 2017 to an average score of over 70% since 2018 since President Bio came to power and appointed Kaifala at the helm of the anti-corruption campaign. As Sierra Leoneans, we should all be proud of this feat irrespective of our political affiliations.
With the outstanding political and presidential will provided by President Bio, FBK has leveraged on this by ensuring that Sierra Leone impressively passed the control of corruption scorecard for six years consecutively since 2018, from 49% in 2017 to an average score of 78% in the last six years. consequently, this played a pivotal role in the selection of Sierra Leone for the 480 million US dollar compact development, which will surely help revolutionize our energy sector.
FBK has brought so many laurels for Sierra Leone due to his strong commitment to complementing the vision of President Bio. Between 2018 and 2024, Transparency International’s Global Corruption Ranking Reports states that Sierra Leone registered its highest ever score since the establishment of the Global Corruption Perception Survey. Our country currently scores thirty-five (35) points, which is higher than the Sub-Sahara African average and higher than the country’s stagnant score of 30 points in the preceding three years of 2016, 2017 and 2018. The country also jumped 22 places upwards from 129 in 2018 to 108 in 2023 in the Transparency International index. In fact, the country’s latest score places Sierra Leone above countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Mali, Guinea, Liberia, etc. in the global campaign against corruption.
These high-ranking global corruption perception indexes were not attained overnight, rather they were achieved through President Bio’s unprecedented support to the ACC and the charismatic leadership of FBK, whose integrity, self-awareness, courage, resilience and ability to inspire his team has positioned our country among the best in the fight against corruption.
Moreover, according to the Afro Barometer Corruption Perception survey of 2018, Citizens’ belief in Government’s effort in the fight against corruption jumped from an all-time low of 40% in 2015 to 66% in 2019. The Afro barometer survey of 2020 says that corruption prevalence has reduced from 70% in 2015 to 40% in 2020. Similarly, the 2023 Afro Barometer Survey indicates that Sierra Leone’s performance in the fight against corruption increased with a score of 58%, which is far above the 39-country average of 29%. Sierra Leone is also ranked ONE of the ONLY 6 African Countries with majority approval of their government’s stellar performance in the fight against corruption.
Many citizens hold the view that the wisdom of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio to appoint Commissioner Francis Ben Kaifala as head of the ACC in 2018 is one of the best appointments and his service to the nation has positioned him as a notable pillar of the Bio administration. The pace at which FBK has positioned Sierra Leone globally is a fulfilment of the vision of His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio who believes that empowering young people to positions of trust would bring great laurels to our country.
To be continued
