Francis Ben Kaifala Esq, President of the Network of Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA) and Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Sierra Leone has over the weekend left the shores of Sierra Leone to attend the 5th Annual General Assembly (AGA) of the regional block of Anti-Corruption institutions where he is expected to handover after three years of successful leadership.

It could be recalled that in 2009, the establishment of the NACIWA was discussed during a workshop on the implementation of Article 38 of the ECOWAS protocol on democracy, good governance and on the fight against corruption.

Subsequently, the NACIWA was established in 2010 to promote coordination and cooperation among institutions established to combat corruption within the West African region.

NACIWA was set-up specifically to achieve many other things including strengthening international cooperation among anti-corruption authorities in West Africa; strengthening cooperation in the field of anti-corruption investigations; increasing effectiveness in the fight against corruption in West Africa.

To achieve these objectives, the NACIWA conveys Annual General Assembly meetings where anti-corruption institutions within the region discuss and share mutually beneficial strategies to curb the menace of corruption in the region.

“My tenure as President has seen the strengthening of cooperation, support with capacity building and training to members, increased borderless investigation and asset recovery among member states, and put the fight against corruption at the centre of the socio-political discourse of the sub-region which has now set a proper stage for a new Leadership soon to be elected at this AGM as I honorably retire after 3 years,” Francis Ben Kaifala Esq stated in one of his social media comments.

It could be recalled that at the Extraordinary General Assembly convened by the NACIWA in Lome, Republic of Togo from the 5th-6th November 2019, the Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Sierra Leone, Francis Ben Kaifala Esq. was unanimously endorsed to serve as the President and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Network comprising 15 West African Countries. This is a three-year mandate which runs out at the current AGA ongoing in Abuja.

© Public Relations Unit, ACC