3. Page 3 T he Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC), Public Education Unit in Bo on Wednesday 28 th August, 2024 , engaged staff and management of the Regional Rice Value Chain Project (RRVCP) in order to embolden them to mainstream corruption prevention safeguards in their day - to - day operations. The meeting was held at the Conference Room of RRVC ’ s project office at Gbaima Road, Bo City. Speaking to staff of the project, ACC ’ s Senior Public Education Officer, Abdulai Saccoh underscored the significance of the meeting and described it as a frank conver- sation meant to convey corruption control measures. Saccoh recognized that despite the capital and human resources that have been invested in the agriculture sector by the Government of Sierra Leone and its development partners, it will be unproductive if its programs and projects are inundated with corruption. He admonished them to strictly adhere to due processes and procedures in the utilization and manage- ment of project resources. Saccoh further emphasized that some of the challenges encountered over the years in rice production, process and the distribution chain can only be fixed when an uncompromising posture is displayed against corruption. Saccoh shed light on how the successful implementation of this project will improve the livelihood situation of Sierra Leoneans. Mr. Saccoh furthered that diversion of subsidized inputs, demanding of percentages from contractors and vendors in exchange for undue advantage, bloating the number of project beneficiaries, misuse of public property, tax evasion, over invoicing, bribe solicitation, abuse of discretionary power, receipt falsification, short payment of participants in workshops and over invoicing are some of the thorny issues that have the tendencies to derail successful project implementation. The Senior Public Educator dilated on some of the offences in the Anti - Corruption Act of 2008 as amended in 2019 and noting that, upon conviction the penalties are; a fine of not less Fifty Thousand Leones or imprisonment of not less than five years or both such fine and prison term. The Public Education Officer, ACC, Mohamed Abdulai Kabba emphasized the need for the staff to uphold integrity as the Commission remains committed to crack down on rogues who seek to wreak havoc on the project. Mr. Kabba underscored that for more rice to reach the masses, stringent monitoring mechanisms should be enforced to ensure that all stakeholders adhere to the project underlining goals and objectives. He also stated that high yield rice production can be achieved when farmers have equal access to high yield seeds variety, training in modern farming techniques, access to agro base industrial inputs, and proper ACC and RRVC Project Staff at the Sensitisation Meeting ACC and Regional Rice Value Chain Project staff Contd on Pg 4

1. 26th — 30 th August 2024 Issue 2 Volume 32 INTEGRITY HOUSE, TOWER HILL FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE EDITORIAL TEAM EDITOR - IN - CHIEF Abubakarr Turay EDITORS Sylvanus Blake Alex A. Bah LAYOUT & GRAPHICS Philippa M Davies EDITORIAL ADVISERS Augustine Foday Ngobie Patrick Sandi Ben Kaifala Esq., undersocred the importance and benefits of the creation of a common forum. He stated that as partners we have been complementing each other in many ways. It is critical that we develop an operational forum, to support each other through the exchange of vital data and information and knowledge sharing, technically positioning our institutions to positively make use of the manpower, technical, and professional resources of each other as and when needed . He encouraged all to hold tight for fruitful deliberations. In his statement on the purpose of the meeting, the Deputy Commissioner, ACC, Augustine Foday Ngobie, said that the Commission have had positive and progressive formal bilateral relationships with the NPPA and ASSL, through the MoUs signed, which have positively impacted and continue to impact the Commission ’ s work, the fight against corruption and the promotion of accountability and transparency. Mr. Ngobie also furthered that, the objective of the meeting was to see how the four key accountability institutions - ACC - SL, ASSL, NPPA, and NAMEA, can forge an Allaince through a Joint Memorandum of Understanding that will contain their expected roles and responsibilities for effective collaboration and swift response to accountability and service delivery issues. ACC ’ s Deputy Commissioner, Augustine Foday Ngobie, explaining the purpose of the engagement Contd on Pg 4 T he Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC) on Tuesday 27 th August 2024, played host to key accountability State institutions, to forge, synergize, and coordinate efforts, resources, skills, expertise and information in the bid to enhance, deepen and broaden the accountability and integrity space in Sierra Leone. The meeting , which was held in the Conference Hall of the Commission ’ s Integrity House Tower Hill in Freetown comprised, the Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC), the Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL), the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA), and the National Monitoring and Evaluation Agency (NAMEA), focused on discussing the development of a Joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to streamline and sanitize the collaboration among these institutions, ensuring that their interconnected activities, operations, roles and mandates are executed efficiently. In welcoming the team, the Commissioner of ACC, Francis By: Mohamed Sylvanus Blake, Public Relations Officer, ACC Commissioner ACC, Francis Ben Kaifala Esq. welcoming accountabil- ity institutions representatives to the meeting Cross section of the audience at the Conference Group photo after the meeting The Engagement in Progress

4. Page 4 Contd from Pg 1 Contd from Pg 3 ‘’ We have all been working together to make the accountability regime and space effective, accountable, and efficient. I believe we still have more to deliver for our people, and having an in- tegrated route to this will help substantially. This will be a good thing for the public to see ’’, he added. In his submission, the Director - General of NAMEA, Dr. James Edwin, emotionally said, “ This is huge. Having a collective partnership like this, as discussed before, will be a dream come through. The sum is always bigger than the parts. The bilateral agreements and MOUs are good, but this will be best, ’’ he noted strongly. He also stated that when the MoU is fully developed, and operationalized, it will help to consolidate and direct our efforts, powers, and resources, share experiences, and undo bureaucracies. He pledged his institution ’ s unwavering commitment to the process. Speaking at the meeting, Aiah G. Tugbawa, Deputy Auditor - General, ASSL, lauded the ACC for leading the process to further consolidate the partnership among the key accountability functionaries. He reiterated that the mandate of ASSL, is to audit and report to the House of Parliament, noting that, since the ASSL signed an MoU with ACC - SL, which has been periodically reviewed, ASSL is impressed with storage facilities. He called on them to employ the right strategy to help reduce post - harvest losses and subsequently enhance rice availability and stimulate economic growth and investment. Earlier in the meeting, the Project Coordinator, RRVC project, Abdulai Bun Wai commended the ACC ’ s public education drive which seeks to help broaden their knowledge on anti - corruption measures. Mr. Wai called on his colleagues to put into action best practices and to stay away from dishonest practices that have the ability to either ruin or bring the project to a halt. He affirmed that, the RRVC project is positioned to meet not only local demands, but also to increase rice production that will make local farmers become major players in the international rice market. Mr. Wai also asserted that this intervention will open up new export the results obtained so far, in holding public officers/persons and institutions accountable for issues raised in Annual and Technical Audit Reports. Partnership of this kind will be mutually beneficial, Mr. Tugbawa emphasized. “ At ASSL, we are accountants and auditors. When we need clarifications on and interpretations of legal and policy regimes regarding procurement, anti - corruption, and monitoring and evaluation issues, we can easily reach out for help to partner agencies, in the interest of our respective jobs and country. We are certain this will help enormously ’’, h e furthered. Francis M. Gbaya Esq ., the Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs, NPPA also expressed optimism for the move. He affirmed that such initiative will further synergize the collective efforts of all in promoting accountability and transparency in the public sector. Lawyer Francis Gbaya further said that the ACC and NPPA signed an MoU in 2018, which has helped the work of both institutions and the country, and was certain that this endeavour will bring about great results. Speaker after speaker pledged their commitment s to the execution of the initiative. Key officers from the four (4) institutions were identified to lead in the drafting of the collaborative framework within two weeks. The meeting which ended in a high spirit of optimism for delivery, was chaired by Patrick Sandi, Director of Public Education and External Outreach, ACC. opportunities, create jobs, boost the incomes of local farm- ers and encourage them to adapt the practice of returning some greater portion of seed rice as sucker to the RRVC project office as agreed in the contract. Concluding the meeting, Public Education Officer, ACC, David Garrick called on his audience to rekindle their commitment to continue working together to surmount the prevailing challenges. Garrick also said corruption can be defeated if people discontinue to provide the incentives for such despicable acts to thrive. He entreated the participants to resist, reject and report corrupt practices to the ACC. The Public Educator assured them of informant/ whistleblower protection but however, warned against making false or malicious reports. A question and answer session formed the high point of engagement. By: Mohamed Sylvanus Blake, Public Relations Officer, ACC

2. Page 2 Director Patrick Sandi making a statement at the event Director Patrick Sandi receiving the report on behalf of the ACC Commissioner, Francis Ben Kaifala Esq. B y: Amie Massaquoi, Information Officer, ACC Photo after the presenta- tion of the Report invitation ” he asserted. The Student s Against Corruption - Sierra Leone (SAC - SL) is a dynamic students - led organization established in 2018, committed to combating corruption within the education sector in Sierra Leone. It constitutes passionate students from various educational institution across the country who recognized the negative impacts of corruption on the quality of education. Their vision is to foster integrity, transparency and accountability among their peers. The meeting climaxed with the Executive Secretary Yankuba Kallon and Organizing Secretary Zainab Barrie presenting the Report to the Director of Public Education and Outreach Department, ACC, Patrick Sandi. A team from Student s Against Corruption Sierra Leone (SAC - SL) on Thursday 29 th August 2024, paid a courtesy visit to the Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC) to present its Report on the Official Launch of Students Against Corruption IPAM Chapter to the Commissioner, Francis Ben Kaifala Esq. It could be recalled that on July 4, 2024, the Commissioner delivered a Public Lecture in synchrony with the launch of SAC - SL IPAM Chapter, on the theme “ Restoring Integrity in Tertiary Institutions; As a Bedrock in the Fight against Corruption ” which brought together students and faculty members in an interactive session where the importance of integrity and ethical behavior and the impact of corruption on the quality of education were highlighted. Receiving the Report on behalf of the Commissioner, Director of Public Education and External Outreach Department, Patrick Sandi commended the SAC - SL for their robust engagement in the fight against corruption in universities. “ Fighting corruption is a collective responsibility therefore, the Commission is pleased to see vibrant youths serving as ambassadors in the fight against corruption in universities ”. He added that the Commission will continue to extend their support to the organization to ensure their goals to fight corruption in universities are actualized. Yankuba Kallon, Executive Secretary SAC - SL thanked the Commission for its unwavering support in making the launch of the SAC - IPAM a success. He extended his heartfelt gratitude to the Commissioner for delivering an inspiring lecture and instilling confidence in the organization. “ Your lecture at the ceremony was very motivational to all those who attended and beyond. It shows how committed the Commission is to foster integrity and ethical standards in the educational sector. We are very much pleased that you honored our