NEWS STORY

The North-East Region Office of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has held a sensitization meeting with staff of the Sierra Leone Water Company (SALWACO) in the region, on Wednesday 29th July 2020, at the ACC Conference Hall, Mena Hill in Makeni.     

In her statement, ACC’s Regional Manager, North-East, Mariama Navo, said the engagement is consistent with the Commission's sustained proactive drive to share anti-corruption values that seek to promote integrity and best practices in the workplace, proper use of government resources and adherence to internal policies and ethics.

Miss Navo acknowledged the essential services provided by SALWACO, noting that no human being can survive without water. 

Miss Navo drew the attention of the SALWACO staff of their sacred responsibilities to the public- which is to provide water and sanitation services to towns and communities outside Freetown. 

She emphasized that SALWACO must ensure to work towards achieving effective service delivery, customer satisfaction, wide coverage, good water quality and uninterrupted supply. 

Miss Navo shed light on some of the actions that undermine the growth of the water sector such as: manipulation of meter and meter reading, misuse of discretionary power, dishonest billing process and fraudulent and illegal connections, things she says could undermine economic projections and national development, subvert quality services and destroy credibility. 

In his remarks, SALWACO’s Northern Region Manager, Cyril Hartwell-Bell, admitted that, a meeting of this nature is crucial to their operations- because it does not only heighten staff’s knowledge on some unethical practices, but also required them to take prompt and appropriate actions. 

Mr. Hartwell-Bell called on his colleagues not to misconstrue the engagement as a witch-hunt but rather as a conscious effort by the ACC to guard them in effectively serving the nation. He assured the Commission of their unweaving support to combat illegal practices and advised that staff abide by the codes of conduct of the institution and anti-corruption measures.

ACC’s Public Education Officer Abdul Karim Bangura described the engagement as a platform to sensitize staff of SALWACO on issues of corruption and enlist their support to the fight against the scourge. Mr. Bangura asserted that the public will not enjoy quality service until workers in the sector decide to uphold moral principles. 

The meeting was chaired by Public Education Officer of the ACC Abdulai Saccoh, who said service delivery institutions should treat customers with utmost respect -because their institutions’ continued existence depends on public support. 

Mr. Saccoh said the Commission does not work in isolation but collaboratively with other pillars of integrity to combat the scourge of corruption.