Sierra Leone - Corruption
Diamonds, discovered in 1930 and mined after 1935, are high in value and easy to conceal, which meant that merchants and international traders could smuggle them out of Sierra Leone, without taxation and fees. By 1956, an estimated 75,000 illicit diamond miners in the Kono district of Sierra Leone were smuggling diamonds out of the country. Sierra Leone’s diamond mines provided the grounds for rampant Sierra Leonean government corruption and a cause for external groups to seek power in the country.
Corruption is endemic throughout Sierra Leone and remains the single most destructive force to the country's future well being - preventing the rich natural resources of the country being developed to their full potential for the benefit of all. In a corrupt society it is the poor who suffer the most. They are denied access to the basic amenities of life often because of the extra payments demanded by corrupt officials. Corruption is insidious; any benefit the perpetrator gains from his/her crime is short lived. In the long term they too have to pay more for the basic commodities of life.
Corruption artificially inflates the cost of both services and produce. It makes our exports un-competitive and breeds an understandable contempt in the minds of both local and international business people. This leads to poverty, economic collapse, instability and insecurity with all the resultant threat and chaos that ensues. In particular, the theft by senior officers and officials of resources intended for their subordinate personnel is wrong, morally, legally and practically; it undermines the bond of loyalty, trust and respect that is essential in the security forces. The Government is determined to stamp out corruption and will stop at nothing to hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) recovered 187 million leones ($14,400) in a case against Mayor of Freetown Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, for alleged inappropriate use of Freetown City Council funds (a third party reimbursed the government). Some observers accused the ACC of targeting opposition politicians, such as Mayor Aki-Sawyerr, while failing to investigate credible allegations of corruption against the ruling SLPP party, including those close to the president.
In May 2021, the ACC announced an investigation into the country’s permanent mission to the United Nations for the alleged misappropriation of $4 million earmarked for the renovation of the chancery in New York. The ACC charged five persons, including two former heads of chancery, two financial attaches, and a contractor. In November 2021, the ACC invited the 2018 presidential candidate of the opposition APC, Samura Kamara, to answer questions regarding these renovations, which occurred during his tenure as foreign minister from 2012 to 2017. According to reports, Kamara was investigated, arrested, and then released on bail.
In November 2021, President Bio announced the convening of a tribunal to investigate widely respected Auditor General Lara Taylor-Pearce and her deputy, Tamba Momoh, officially triggering their suspension due to allegations of misconduct. On March 17, the tribunal commenced. Several civil society organizations condemned the suspensions, stating the move was intended to forestall the impending release of an auditor general report allegedly accusing the administration of corruption and the president and his wife of fraudulent spending during international trips.
According to a Transparency International survey in 2021, 52 percent of public service users reported having to pay a bribe. Police frequently exacted bribes at checkpoints, falsely charged motorists with violations, impounded vehicles to extort money, and accepted bribes from suspects to drop charges or to arrest their rivals and charge them with crimes. The DHRMG in Moyamba stated police, in exchange for kickbacks, arrested persons for civil disputes, such as alleged breach of contract or failure to satisfy a debt.
Foreign investors and the public alike see corruption as endemic throughout Sierra Leone, despite some improvements in recent years. Sierra Leone ranked 119th out of 168 countries on Transparency International’s 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index, an improvement from its rank of 150th in 2008. Nonetheless, measures to combat corruption have been largely ineffective. For businesses, corruption exists in government procurement, the award of licenses and concessions, regulatory enforcement, customs clearance, and dispute resolution.
The Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 makes it a criminal offense to offer, solicit, or receive a bribe. The law applies to all appointed and elected officials, close family members, and all companies whether foreign or domestic, but it does not extend to political parties. Public officials must recuse themselves from matters in which they have financial interests, and must submit annual disclosures of their assets and liabilities. The Anti-Corruption Commission, established in 2000, has the authority to investigate and prosecute acts of corruption by individuals and companies. To date, the commission has had limited impact, though there are no suggestions that it has used its authority to discriminate against foreign businesses.
Sierra Leone joined the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in 2008, and after a brief suspension due to incomplete disclosures the country has been EITI-compliant since 2014. Corruption has frustrated Sierra Leone’s hopes of partnering with the Millennium Challenge Corporation on a compact program, as the country has failed the “Control of Corruption” indicator on MCC’s annual scorecards since FY 2014. While Sierra Leone and the MCC will begin to implement a threshold program in 2016, combating corruption is critical to the country’s hopes for a broader compact program in the future.
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