The North-West Regional Office of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has on Thursday 16th December 2021 held an inception meeting with senior Management of the Karene District Council on the development of its Citizens' Service Charter geared towards enhancing transparency and accountability in service delivery.
In his welcome statement, the Chief Administrator of the Karene District Council Sorie Gbawuru Sillah described the engagement as timely and a step in the right direction particularly so when the council is a new one and has been looking forward to addressing such an important issue relating to effective service delivery and transparency. As he expressed his commitment to providing the needed leadership, he noted the significance of the charter to addressing corruption loopholes and enhancing transparency and accountability in terms of the services they provide to the public.
Explaining to Senior Management on the rationale of the development of a citizens' service delivery charter, the Regional Manager Al-Hassan Sesay said the idea of a service chapter came into being after the 2008 Anti-corruption Act as part of its preventive approach to enhancing transparency and accountability of services rendered by public bodies. He described citizens' service charter as a public accountability tool that displays various services provided by public institutions, indicating cost, timelines and responsible persons. "Service charters are principally developed to address loopholes of corruption and circumstances in which bribes will be solicited," he emphasized. Manager Sesay noted that service charter involves part of the normal activities and functions of the institution that are put together and displayed for public view. He said it should not be seen as anything new but a way of making their functions and services transparent.
Commenting on the preliminaries of putting together the first draft, the Regional Head encouraged the leadership of the council to liaise with other councils in putting together a draft of the charter and to take into consideration other vitalities pertinent to the process. He pointed out that the ACC is concern on enhancing efficiency and transparency so that the public will have unhindered access to services.
After various responses from senior management staff, the inception meeting was climaxed with action points relating to setting up of a committee charged with the responsibility of putting together the draft, first draft to be submitted to the ACC on or before the 28th January, 2022, involvement of councilors in the drafting stage and also in validation of the charter scheduled for the 24th February, 2022. It was also made clear that popularization of the charter occupies a central component of the process.
© ACC North- West Office
