In its effort to heightening public knowledge on corruption, the Public Education and Outreach Department of the Anti-Corruption North-West Regional Office has on Tuesday 22nd February, 2022 engaged personnel of the 11th Infantry Battalion of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces in Kambia District.

Addressing officers, the Regional Manager Al-Hassan Sesay recognized and acknowledged the importance of RSLAF in providing security and safety for the people of Sierra Leone. As public officers, he urged them to make it a point of duty for officers to perform their duty with utmost integrity and with conformity with the law. He added that as public officers they are covered by the ACC laws and reminded them that their actions should be in consonant with best practices and the rule of law.

Manager Sesay noted that integrity violations at management level can tear down the reputation of the institution with debilitating consequences that can quickly spread through the rank and file of the Force. He therefore encouraged the leadership of the battalion to always work within an ethical climate and for the values of integrity to be visibly and consistently demonstrated in their operations. "Leaders who demonstrate integrity in their everyday actions gain the respect of employees and greatly impact the Force," he emphasized.

Commenting on the effects of corruption on nation building, Mr Sesay stated that corruption undermines the security of the state as well as public confidence in the military adding that, corruption within the security sector may take many forms, such as kickbacks and bribes, awarding of non-competitive contracts or manipulations of soldier payrolls, among other things.

The regional head also informed them about the 2022 online declaration process in which every eligible public officers should declare his assets before March 31st this year.

Questions, comments and concerns and the presentation of IEC materials formed part of the engagement.                         

© ACC North- West Office