In its relentless effort to educate the public on the ill-effects of corruption and the merits of eradicating the scourge from the public and private sectors, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has implored core staff of Makeni Government Hospital (MGH) in a customized meeting to reinforce their anti-corruption measures in delivering service to the public.
The educative engagement was organized by the Public Education and Outreach Unit of the Commission’s Northern Regional office in Makeni, and held on 19th September, 2024 at the MGH’s Conference Hall. It was necessitated by a spate of reports from the public about various forms of alleged improper official conduct such as extortion.
Delivering the keynote anti-corruption message, Abdul Karim Bangura, Senior Public Education Officer, thanked the MGH Management for accepting ACC’s invitation to the meeting. He explained the Commission’s robust public education strategy to prevent and control corruption, and encouraged the health workers to actively participate in the meeting.
Mr Bangura described corruption as an insidious scourge that can easily cripple public bodies if prompt, appropriate action is not taken in time. He said further that corruption in health service delivery exacerbates the plight of patients and could lead to a high rate of mortality. “Corruption is a threat to public health and wellbeing and, considering that health is wealth, I encourage you all to resolve and bravely confront unacceptable practices for quality service delivery,” he said.
Among other things, integrity was identified in the course of the meeting as the most potent attribute to ward off corruption at all times. Mr Bangura, therefore, urged the MGH Management to maintain transparency and accountability with focus on placing service to the public over personal gain. This, he stressed, “is indicative of commitment to best practices, patriotism, and readiness to support the ACC deliver on its mandate to prevent, investigate, and prosecute corruption.'
In his contribution, Aiah Sourie, ACC’s Senior Public Education Officer, disclosed that the ACC strongly believes in corruption prevention and is always ready to support public institutions guard against anomalies that could lead to litigation. According to Mr Sourie, the ACC supports government-owned institutions in several ways including examining their systems and processes, identifying weaknesses that could fester corruption, and suggesting recommendations to deal with possible threats.
On this note, he encouraged the Management to revamp its Integrity Management Committee, a usually seven-man internal structure tasked to oversee best practices at the MGH. He further noted that the Commission, through its Prevention Department, would assist the MGH develop a service charter in compliance with policy and Anti-Corruption law.
Whileencouraging the MGH staff to strengthen steps to repel corruption, Sourie informed them about consequences that a proven case of corruption would cause. By way of an update on an ACC press release dated 13 September 2024, he apprised the meeting of a 20% interest imposed on Alpha Brima Timbo and Clifford Bola Thomas, both staff of the Sierra Leone Immigration Department. The press release further detailed that Timbo and Thomas failed to make payment of NLE 30,000 they had received from five persons in respect of resident permits. Also, a three-year ban from holding public office has been slammed on them. There is clearly a price to pay for corruption, he emphasized.
Responding to the anti-corruption messages, Acting Medical Superintendent, Dr. Masiray Kamara, thanked the ACC for the engagement and promised that the general staff of the MGH would work in consonance with best standards to serve the public. “The cardinal element in our work is to save lives and there is absolutely no reason to shirk that for personal gain. The MGH Management has been solidly committed to the worthy service of treating patients and saving lives despite challenges.” She averred. The young medical doctor added that the Management of the hospital has held several meetings to improve on performance, and expressed willingness to work with the ACC, in order to strengthen measures against corruption within the administration of the Hospital.
In his remarks, the MGH Secretary, Mohamed Kebe thanked the ACC team for the engagement and stated that the Management of the hospital has begun work to develop a service charter and would request the support of the Commission shortly.
