In his statement to staff and management of the aforementioned institutions, ACC Regional Manager North, Abu Bakarr Kamara underscored the significance of the IMCs and described them as emissaries of positive change. Manager Kamara informed his audience that the engagement was meant to harmonize the implementation of the current National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) 2014-18 with that of the Pay No Bribe (PNB) campaign since both strategies are systems focused. He reminded his audience that the IMCs were formed to play a leading role to devise strategies aimed at implementing systems that will reduce corruption opportunities in their respective institutions. The Manager shed light on the previous PNB reports of the various MDAs noting that they indicate a downward trend on the spate of bribery for some sectors but urged them to continue to do more for the good of the nation.
Addressing members of the IMCs, ACC Public Education Officer Abdulai Saccoh stated that, though the IMCs seem to be inactive over the past months, reconstituting them showed the Commission’s resolve to effectively combat bribery and petty corruption. Saccoh disclosed that the NACS and PNB approaches are preventive strategies geared towards addressing system issues and bribery in a bid to improve service delivery in public institutions. The Public Education Officer noted that the PNB has given officials of public institutions an opportunity to tackle bribery using their internal control strategies. He urged IMC members to imbibe the virtues of integrity and ensure that anti-bribery measures are instituted.
ACC Public Education Officer Abdul Karim Bangura, gave the guidelines on the composition of an Integrity Management Committee and reminded them of the roles and responsibilities of the members. Bangura advised his audience to ensure that the membership of the IMC is made up of senior members who have the leverage to make informed decisions.
Each of the sector Heads in the five targeted institutions expressed commitment to ensure that the PNB achieves its objectives in their respective institutions.
PNB is an innovative reporting platform which empowers citizens to anonymously report incidents of bribery and petty corruption. Citizens will call 515 free on all networks, the PNB website; www.pnb.gov.sl, or on the mobile application in Krio, Temne and Mende to make their complaints.
The Pay No Bribe (PNB) programme is funded with 4.7 million British pounds from the UK Government in financial aid and technical assistance.
PNB is led jointly by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Office of the Chief of Staff in coordination with relevant MDAs.
