The Regional Office of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in Kono on Tuesday 15thAugust, 2023 handed over to the Kono District Council four (4) motor bikes recovered from former Councillors. This event took place at the ACC Kono Regional Office, Sanssie Street, Koidu City.
The ACC Regional Manager in Kono, Hawanatu Omotayo Kamara, said that theCommission received a formal complaint from the Chief Administrator of the Kono District Council against six (6) former Councillors of the council that had refused to handover the motor bikes allocated to them during their tenure in office. According to the complaint, several internal efforts were made for the Councillors to return the motor bikes, but all proved futile.
Mrs. Kamara further said that one of the Councillors who was allocated one of the motor bikes was reported to have left the country and could not be traced and so the motor bike could not be accounted for, whilst the other motor bike was allegedly stolen, nonetheless, a police report was made available to that effect. However, the other four (4) motor bikes were recovered from the four (4) Councillors in good and road worthy conditions and were handed over to the leadership of the Council.
The ACC Regional Manager assured the staff of the Council of the Commission’s commitment to protecting public property and making sure that individuals involved in acts of corruption are brought to book.
The Chief Administrator of the Kono District Council, Mohamed Osman Marrah expressed gratitude to the ACC for the prompt and swift response and actions taken in recovering the motor bikes. He described the Commission as a reliable partner in corruption prevention and the recovery of government assets. He stated that the motor bikes were given to the Councillors to ease their work in their different wards, noting that, after their term, several measures to ensure the safe return of the bikes to the Council proved fruitless, prompting the Council to report the matter to the ACC.
He concluded by thanking the Commission, stating that the swift response to recover the motor bikes should send a message to all public workers about the Commission’s robust and unwavering commitment to protecting public funds and assets.
