By: Alex A. Bah, Public Relations Assistant, ACC
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has successfully concluded a nationwide post-payment monitoring exercise of the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT), component under the Poverty Alleviation Scheme dubbed as the Productive Social Safety Net and Youth Employment Project (PSSNYE), which is a 42-Million Dollars Government of Sierra Leone, World Bank and UNICEF Sponsored program implemented by National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) and other institutions. The exercise which covered 11 districts across the country from the 11th-17th November, 2024, was intended to address issues arising from the October 2023 payment process.
The ECT component targeted 35,000 beneficiaries, including Persons with Disabilities, Elderly and Female-headed households. Each beneficiary received a one-off payment of Two Thousand Six Hundred Leones (NLe 2,600) as start-up capital to address pressing needs, particularly in district headquarters town.
Despite efforts to ensure smooth disbursement, a mop-up and residual payment process, continued grievance reports received revealed that some beneficiaries were confronted with challenges such as non-payment, some of which emanated from administrative errors. Hence, findings from the monitoring exercise are to guide actions, address these challenges and improve subsequent cash transfer initiatives to ensuring they achieve their intended results.
During the monitoring, ACC under its Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) Component dispatched 55 District and Community monitors that gathered first-hand information to resolve complaints that border also on reports of extortion by local authorities, blocked SIM cards, incorrect phone numbers linked to beneficiaries, and forced contributions among other issues identified. The Commission emphasized that these anomalies undermine the program's integrity and the well-being of its vulnerable beneficiaries.
Deputy Commissioner of the ACC, Augustine Foday Ngobie, superintending this exercise, resounded its importance in maximising accountability and transparency. "The Emergency Cash Transfer is a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Our responsibility as a Commission is to protect their rights and ensure that those the project intends to benefit becomes the actual beneficiaries transparently", he stressed. This he added, reflects the Commission's uncompromising posture to safeguarding public resources and promoting fairness.
The ECT program, which prioritizes widows, elderly-headed households (over 50 years), and persons with disabilities, is a critical intervention to support most impoverished communities or people living in abject penury.
