AYV News, September 25, 2025
The North-East Regional Office of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has teamed up with the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA) to strengthen compliance with procurement regulations in Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), and Local Councils in the Region.
In a customised engagement held at the NPPA Regional Office in Makeni, the ACC’s Regional Director, Fatu Florence Kamara, underscored the importance of integrity and transparency in procurement processes as a safeguard against the misuse of public resources. She reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to working with NPPA in enforcing procurement regulations.
“As sister institutions, the ACC is always ready and determined to support NPPA in achieving its mandate. We are all working towards a common goal, which is the development of Sierra Leone,” she stated.
Mrs Kamara expressed concern over the persistence of corruption in procurement-related activities across MDAs and Local Councils. She highlighted the Commission’s continued interventions through public education, prevention, and investigation, and urged NPPA staff to uphold ethics, integrity, and professionalism. She further revealed that the ACC would be conducting on-the-spot checks to monitor staff punctuality and attendance.
Welcoming the ACC’s support, NPPA’s Assistant Director and Regional Head for the North, Patricia Rowe, commended the initiative and reaffirmed NPPA’s dedication to strengthening collaboration. She recalled that the partnership between ACC and NPPA, which began over a decade ago, has contributed to significant improvements in the procurement regime.
“We are committed to working with the ACC. This assurance of support from the ACC Regional Office is a positive step. If we get procurement right, corruption issues will be minimised,” she emphasised. Rowe thanked the ACC for the engagement and encouraged her staff to abide by regulations and resist corrupt practices.
Addressing specific corruption risks in procurement, the ACC Regional Manager North-East, Al-Hassan Sesay, reminded NPPA staff of their obligations under the Anti-Corruption Act, 2008 (as amended in 2019). He outlined key offences relevant to their work, including offering, soliciting, or accepting advantage, receiving gifts for corrupt purposes, abuse of office or position, bid rigging, corrupt transactions with agents, conspiracy to commit corruption offences, and misappropriation of public or donor funds and property. He reemphasised the Commission’s preventive approach while cautioning NPPA staff to conduct themselves with integrity at all times.
An ACC Intern, Ambrose Tieh, also explained the mechanisms for reporting corruption to the Commission, emphasising confidentiality, anonymity, and whistleblowerprotection. He highlighted the provision of a 10 percent reward to informants upon successful recovery of stolen resources, while warning against false reporting, which constitutes an offence.
The engagement ended with an interactive question-and-answer session.
