By: Sylvanus Blake, PRO-ACC
The Deputy Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission Sierra Leone (ACC-SL) Augustine Foday Ngobie, has joined other African leaders to attend a two-day ordinary meeting of the Executive Committee of the AAACA at the ‘’El-Aurassi Hotel in Algiers, Republic of Algeria. The two-day event takes place on the 5th and 6th March, 2024. Mr. Ngobie who represented the Commissioner of the ACC-SL Francis Ben Kaifala Esq, a deserving member of the eight-member Executive Committee, presided over and moderated the session on ‘Analyzing the Audit Report of the AAACA’ during the event.
Mr. Ngobie told the story of Sierra Leone’s ongoing progressive fight against corruption at the most significant all-African anti-corruption agencies/authorities Executive Committee meeting. He charged the Executive Committee Members that ‘’the acid test of integrity is for us as integrity watchdog agencies/authorities to voluntarily subject ourselves to the same standards and rules. If we are to win the fight against corruption and make our countries and Africa a better place, we must not only set examples, we must set the right examples. What is happening here is a classic example of the watchman watching himself.’’
The AAACA was established to combat corruption across the African continent in October 2009, and has its headquarters in Bujumbura, Burundi. The concept gained further momentum during the Annual General Meeting of the same authorities in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2010. The goal was to strengthen international collaboration in the fight against corruption, aligning with the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUPCC) and the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). The AAACA aims to provide a platform for African countries to tackle corruption effectively and seeks to reinforce and strengthen good governance across the continent.
Based on the Statutes of the AAACA which was adopted by the Assembly of Members of 54 Heads of the African Anti-Corruption Authorities, including Sierra Leone’s ACC, in Accra, on September 18, 2013, Article 6declares that the AAACA shall be an ‘’international, independent, non-political and non-profit organization with the main objective of bringing together authorities in charge of combating corruption, fostering unity, and coordinating and intensifying cooperation between African States in the prevention and fight against corruption within the framework of the African Union. ’’
Since its establishment, the AAACA has been at the forefront of coordinating, rebranding, and redirecting the efforts of all its 54 member state Anti-Corruption Authorities and Agencies on the continent. Article 19of the Statute establishes the ‘’Executive Committee’’ comprising eight elected members from the General Assembly, including a President, First Vice President, Second Vice Presidents, and five other members. They are responsible for the management and administration of the Association all have the powers necessary for the exercise of the functions assigned to them, subject to the powers and duties expressly entrusted to the General Assembly.
This Executive Committee, of which the Leadership of the ACC-SL is prestigiously a critical part, is responsible, in particular, for the coordination of the activities of the Association in general, including presenting the annual budgets and financial statements prepared by the Secretary-General for the General Assembly for adoption. This is to examine the draft strategic plan, annual activity programs and annual action plan prepared and present same to the General Assembly for validation. It is also to propose, if necessary, the revision of the amount of the annual membership fees or the annual membership dues, to make recommendations, if necessary, to the General Assembly concerning the suspension or expulsion of members or the appointment of honorary members, to submit to the General Assembly the appointment of the members of the Executive Committee and the election of the President and Vice-Presidents. The Committee also proposes conditions of service for staff of the Secretariat, to assist members per the objectives of the Association, to ensure the implementation of the objectives of the Association, to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Association's objectives and resolutions, etc.
