By: Alex A. Bah, Public Relations Assistant, ACC

In December each year, the Audit Report of the preceding year is published, many a times exposing stories of financial misstatements, procedural departures, and mismanagement of public resources. These very important reports were once dismissed as mere "opinions" of the Auditor General, treated as bureaucratic exercises with little efforts to translate the findings into actionable governance reforms. However, this narrative has changed. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), in the last six years of the Francis Ben Kaifala leadership, has ensured that these reports are no longer shadowed as mere opinions, but instead leveraged on as blueprints for decisive actions. 

The ACC has demystified accountability, transforming it from an abstract theory into tangible practice. This transformation is a challenging feat that has been seamlessly accomplished. The Audit Report has been strongly perceived by the ACC to be critical, informative, and instructive piece of document that should be utilized to institute reforms in our public offices and make them effective and efficient in the utilization of public resources. 

Building on this principle, the ACC, under the competent leadership of Francis Ben Kaifala, began addressing audit queries when he assumed leadership of the Commission. This novel approach triggered fierce reactions, resistance, and unease, especially when punitive actions were instituted. 

In 2020, the ACC published eight media releases updating the public on actions taken regarding the 2015-2018 Audit Reports. These updates detailed the Commission’s intervention on 21 issues, with 13 leading to investigations, two resulting in prosecutions, and the recovery of over 2.7 billion (old) Leones. 

One notable intervention was the discovery of 62 million (Old) Leones left unclaimed in the Ministry of Energy and Power’s account. The ACC recommended that the funds be disbursed to the Electricity Distribution Supply Authority (EDSA) and the Electricity Generation and Transmission Company (EGTC), a recommendation that was implemented. 

The ACC’s interventions similarly communicated over the years through media releases have included arresting and questioning individuals implicated in audit reports, recovering stolen funds, prosecuting offenders, and reviewing systems and processes to address systemic gaps in our public offices. 

These actions have reinforced the credibility of Audit Reports as tools for governance reforms; something that was not a practice before in Sierra Leone and in many parts of Africa. This proactive stance has redefined the role of Audit Reports in Sierra Leone, turning audit findings into actionable outcomes, making accountability not merely a concept but something that can be put into practice.

In fact, to formalize this with the huge impacts it has, the ACC forged a renewed, redefined and revolutionized partnership, through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Audit Service Sierra Leone in 2022. “We are fired up for continued watchdog service in ensuring a CLEAN INTEGRITY SPACE in the public service in Sierra Leone,” the Commissioner of ACC expressed marking his delight after the symbolic signing.

Subsequently, the Commission has continued with its cause of promptly making interventions in Audit Reports. Often, when these reports are published at the heart of the festivities in December, the Commission will be working round the clock by carefully scooping through the voluminous report to identify all areas that attract its attention and make very cogent summary of areas to intervene. 

These summaries will be segmented into portions that require quick fixes, sometimes by making prompt invitation and/or arrest those responsible for these malfeasances. During the cause of the investigations, huge recoveries are often made and these have amounted to tens of billions of old leones in the past years. 

By virtue of the Anti-Corruption (Amendment) Act 2019, some public officials are not only made to pay back funds misappropriated, but are also barred from holding any public office for at least three years. In some cases, some face prosecution. There are other instances when the Commission will conduct systems and processes reviews of the public offices to make them more effective and efficient. 

Addressing audit findings is critical to improving governance and economic outcomes. Though resistance and challenges remain, the ACC’s commitment to addressing these issues demonstrates its resolve to uphold transparency and integrity in public service. Through these interventions, the ACC has set new standards for governance, proving that Audit Reports can serve as effective roadmaps for better resource management and institutional reform. 

Sierra Leone, like Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, are all shining examples of countries doing quite well in following-up on audit findings and taking decisive actions. Unsurprising is that Sierra Leone has in the last six years of making these interventions part of its broad well-implemented anti-corruption strategy. This has helped us move from miserable places in global anti-graft assessments, to sitting in excellent positions as one of top-ten best performing countries in Africa together with these named countries. 

In the Transparency International Global Corruption Perception Index, Sierra Leone continues to make marked improvements, from 130 to 108 in 6 years, while in the Millennium Challenge Corporation Scorecard, the country has moved from a miserable 49% score to an impressive average score of 78 % in the last 7 years. The Afro-Barometer and Mo Ibrahim Index have all recorded similar achievements.