The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) through its Public Education and External Outreach Department, with funding from the World Bank, UNICEF, and the Government of Sierra Leone has on Friday, 14th June, 2024, concluded an intensive, robust and well targeted Town Hall sensitization engagements in the Southern Region.
The awareness raising meeting on the Productive Social Safety Net and Youth Employment (PSSNYE) project was held in Bo, at the Kakua Court Barry, Ngalu Road, and attracted key stakeholders and beneficiaries-largely persons living with disabilities,
In his explicit submission, the Director, Public Education and External Outreach Department, ACC, Patrick Sandi, underscored that the Commission’s interventions into the project have resulted in high donor trust and confidence. He further disclosed that the project is not without challenges, but the beauty about all of these is there is an institution-the ACC, cut out to deal with and address these problems and would continue to do that.
Mr. Sandi also stated that, the project has been expanded, unlike the Social Safety Net (SSN), to include youths of all categories in areas for public works, skills development, and enterpreneurship. He appealed to listeners to make good capital of the opportunity as it is meant to enhance their livelihoods and ameliorate their difficult, challenging and poor situations.
Earlier, explaining the purpose of the meeting, Dolly A. Issa, Communications Officer, ACC, said, the engagement was to sensitize and empower beneficiaries in regard the different components of the project but more importantly, to educate them of their dos and don’ts and where and how to seek redress when confronted with any disatisfactions or misunderstandings. She assured her audience of the Commission’s resolve to ensuring that the project is free of corruption and nepotism.
Dilating on the many reporting channels operational at the ACC, Shiaka Kamara, Public Education Officer, ACC, stated that individuals report in order to get their issues/complaints resolved. As such, he told them to be firm and resolute in reporting instances of alleged corruption and call the toll free lines, 8515, 077-985-985 or 077-986-986-on Africell at the moment. Or to report grievances through the District and Community monitors. He however, cautioned his audience not to make malicious and false reports as these are frowned at by the ACC and also constitute an offence in the Anti-Corruption Act 2008 as amended in 2019.
Public Relations Officer (PRO), Sierra Leone Union on Disability Issues (SLUDI), Edwin Biriwa, in his welcome address, commended the ACC and National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) for their invaluable support, highlighting the significant improvements the project has brought into the lives of Sierra Leoneans, particularly, that of his Constituency of persons living with diabilities. He pledged the unwavering commitment of his memebership to report any incidents of corruption as they have been empowered with these anti-corruption messages, noting that, earlier, they had fears, thinking that, when they report on issues in the project, the World Bank and UNICEF will withhold their funds.
In her opening statement as Chairman of the engagement, District Monitor-ACC Bo, Kadiatu M. Conteh, encouraged participants to listen carefully, as this opportunity is difficult to come by. She further said the PSSNYE Project is funded by the World Bank, UNICEF, and the GoSL, with NaCSA as the lead implementing institution, in collaboration with Statistics Sierra Leone, Ministry of Youth Affairs, the National Youth Commission (NAYCOM), and the ACC spearheading the Grievance Redress Machanism (GRM) component. Madam Conteh urged them to support and own the project as they too have their core responsibilities in ensuring a successful implementation of the project.
Questions and answers session climaxed the meeting.
It could be recalled that these sensitization and outreach meetings on the PSSNYE project had commenced on Tuesday 11th June, 2024 in Moyamba, through to Bonthe, Pujehun and ending in Bo on Friday 14th June, 2024.
