Sierra Leone Telegraph: 28 January 2021:
Sierra Leone has again progressed two places upwards in the Transparency International’s Global Corruption Ranking, moving from 119 in 2019 to 117 out of 180 countries surveyed in the 2020 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (TI-CPI).
The country also maintains its score of thirty-three, which is above the sub-Saharan average of 32, and the highest the country has ever recorded since the CPI rankings began.
In two years, Sierra Leone has moved twelve places upwards on the CPI, from 129 in 2018 to 117 in 2020. In 2017, Sierra Leone was ranked at 130.
The 2020 CPI released today, 28th January 2021, reveals that Sierra Leone continues to make remarkable progress in the World’s most respected corruption watchdog’s assessment and rankings and now leads sixty-three countries in the global campaign against corruption, including 30 African countries, among which are; Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Kenya and at par with Egypt. (Photo: Sierra Leone Anti-Corruption Czar – Francis Ben Kaifala).
This year’s Report reveals that “nearly half of countries have been stagnant on the Index for almost a decade, indicating stalled Government efforts to tackle the root causes of corruption”.
Nonetheless, Sierra Leone performed better than the Average Score in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The CPI is an annual survey used by TI, the leading global civil society watchdog on the global fight against corruption, to assess comparative perceived levels of public sector corruption in countries across the World.
In three years, Sierra Leone has consistently increased its score in the ‘Control of Corruption’ Indicator in the Millennium Challenge Corporation Scorecard, moving from Forty-Nine percent (49%) in 2017, to Eighty-One percent (81%) in 2020, making a Thirty-Two percentage (32%) upwards thereby, contributing to Sierra Leone’s eligibility for the Multi-Million Dollars MCC Compact Grant.
Similar exponential jumps have been recorded in other respected global corruption measurement institutions like Afrobarometer which confirmed that corruption perception has massively reduced from 70% in 2015 to a new low of 40% in 2020.
In a statement released today, the ACC says that: “ In light of the aforementioned, the Commission wishes to reassure all Sierra Leoneans of its relentless determination to ensure the country continues to perform favourably in National, Sub-regional, Regional, and Global anti-corruption governance indices.”
Corruption presently in Sierra Leone is more higher than ever. Human rights abuse is on the increase. There is no right to freedom of speech. The Bio regime is a mess.
This report is correct about Sierra Leone fighting corruption. Even the current government is corrupt to the highest degree. Speaker on the house was hand picked by the president. The bank governor told the nation there is money in the country. The ACC will catch the big fish and let them go back to the sea to eat more. but if ACC catches the small fish, they will bring them out for the nation to see. So tell me the big fish and the small fish which one is better? This government is playing with the lives of Sierra Leoneans.
As much as most patriotic Sierra Leoneans will love to see our nation being portrayed in a good way whenever a global index ranking is conducted. When it comes to corruption however, these global rankings are completely shrouded in obscurity. What remains clear is that, since the change of government in 2018, the ACC has indeed doubled down its efforts in going after former regime corrupt officials, with corrupt officials in the current regime mainly untouched. In addition, the government instituted a much trumpeted commission of inquiry, targeting all former officials of the APC regime from 2007-2018.
Being at the driver’s seat, the regime has used every opportunity to paint the opposition as the most corrupt group of Sierra Leoneans, vowing to confiscate all properties belonging to those opposition figures found wanting by the COI if they fail to pay back what they have stolen. In light of the aforementioned, any outsider who is totally naive about the one-sided approach the regime has used to fight corruption will easily deduce that our nation has indeed make progress in eradicating corruption.
On the flip side however, if we are to take a look at surveys and reports conducted by credible local organizations—the Sierra Leone Audit Department and the renowned Center for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL), a completely different picture regarding the progress in the fight against corruption is unravelled. Particularly, recent reports obtained from these credible institutions portrays corruption in our public institutions as either being stagnated or having increased in the past several years. So if you are like me with an appetite of always dealing with the facts, you will be more inclined to trust the local reports as opposed to the global ones with limited data.
Links below shows the CARL 2019 report
http://www.carl-sl.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CORRUPTION-PERCEPTIONS-SURVEY-2019-new.pdf
https://www.thesierraleonetelegraph.com/sierra-leones-parliament-is-among-the-most-corrupt-institutions-says-report/
The layman does not know or care about the success made in eradicating corruption, but his or her daily survival is their concern. So please act fast in areas that will make them happy vis-a-vis reducing the cost of the staple food.
Well alright – bring out the champagne and let us celebrate the “NOTHING” they have achieved so far; a criminal SLPP Cabal is being applauded by some of their henchmen on this glorious forum for moving just a disgraceful two “BABY STEPS” upwards in Transparency International’s Global Corruption Ranking Reports.Go figure!(lol) The bar has been dropped so very low even the most scruffy looking thieving rats can easily crawl under it now.(lol) A silly inept government that stumbles and mumbles in defeat as it walks, that still does not know the simple difference between its tired knees and crooked elbows – old corrupt doctorate degree holders that keep on causing untold needless sufferings for our poor people.
Empty braggarts that do not know ‘Diddly Squat’ about progressive governance that is who they are. A loud applause for making ‘Two Baby’ steps upwards huh? Gimme a break!(lmao)
Personally, the first time I read about the success of the ACC I thought it was just a fluke or an accident. But the consistency proves that this success is for real. Congratulations to the citizens of Sierra Leone for their support and I hope and pray that this credibility record which is the foundation for the development of any individual, organization and country will be maintained.
Reports like these are necessary to dispel the numerous propagandistic rumors constantly holding sway in social media about the level of corruption in Sierra Leone. Thanks Sierra Leone Telegraph for commenting on the report available here.
It is practically impossible to totally eradicate corruption in any country. The fact is, corruption is not the outcome of a lack of ethics. Rather, it is a way that people choose to work around their daily problems given that there are few options. Thus, the poorer a country is, the higher it is likely for the incidence of corruption.
That Sierra Leone continues to move upward on the TI-CPI since 2018 shows that the present government did not only condemn the venality on its assumption of power, but has actually worked on minimizing the vice in Sierra Leone. Great news.
While the report made clear we have showed some improvement in fighting corruption, in my opinion, any country like Sierra Leone that is hovering in the 100s, means we still have a long way to go. We are not out of the woods yet, far from it. This is not a moment to celebrate, but to feel a sense of despondency as to why under Bio of all presidents, that promised us to fight this cancer in our country, we still found ourselves in such a terrible world ranking position in the corruption index.Nothing to celebrate here. Just a sense of helplessness, that corruption is still widespread, despite all the efforts of the ACC and the Auditor General reports highlighted.
Given the size, and population of our country, with all its minerals and human wealth, I expect us to be ranked below the 20s. Because even with this latest ranking, it has not made jot of difference to the ordinary life of the man and woman that is struggling everyday to make a living in Sierra leone. For the ordinary man and woman, especially the youths of the country, life is getting harder and harder. If COVID19 is inflicting damage to our economy, corruption is acting like the rocket boosters. This is not the time to tap Bio’s back, or high five his government to say job well done. Systemic corruption in Sierra leone, is like an iceberg.
We are just scratching the surface. The big fishes are swimming down the surface of the sea bed of corruption. There are still some powerful forces within this government that are not helping in the fight for the common vision to end corruption. The recent audit report is a stark reminder that these corrupt individuals are still active in positions of power. For some of them the message has not got through. This is a bleak assessment of our country’s anti corruption fight. So what is progress? For me progress is when we see the building of new schools, construction of new roads, 24 hours supply of electricity around the country, housing for poor families, good health care, protecting our rain forest and enough food for everyone, so no Sierra Leonean child goes to bed hungry.
We move on whilst the process is trusted. It is a monumental task with corruption punching back and sucking the life blood off our nation.