Speaking at the engagements, the Head of Public Education Unit, Michael Sesay, said the Commission has keen interest in the implementation of the SSN project and the improvement it has done in the lives of the beneficiaries. He stated that, the beneficiaries have been able to utilize the funds for the intended purposes, bringing about a positive change in their life styles. He maintained that the meeting was to further empower beneficiaries on their rights and responsibilities and to also update them on the positive interventions made by the Commission for a successful project implementation.
Mr. Sesay implored community stakeholders to support the process as the project goal is to improve the livelihoods of extremely poor and vulnerable people.
Addressing participant at the various engagements, ACC’s Communications Officer, Abubakar Turay emphasized that reporting corruption is the road map towards fighting corruption. He stated that the focus of the grievance redress component of the project handled by the ACC is not prosecution, but resolutions and administrative actions. However, he noted, when there are incidences of suspected corruption they would be treated seriously by the Commission. He admonished the listeners to report any corruption practice to the Commission through the ACC toll lines 077-985-985/077986-986 for Africell and 161 for Airtel.
Earlier, at Densambadu Town in Mafindor Chiefdom, Female Town Chief Finda Musa appreciated the ACC for the good work in addressing corruption in the SSN project. She maintained that the SSN beneficiaries are making good use of the money thereby educating their children, petty trading, farming, construction of dwelling houses and medication among others.
In his contribution, the Town Chief of Yorgboma Town in Mafindor Chiefdom, Chief Sahr Lamin confessed that his SSN beneficiaries are grateful to the ACC, NaCSA, World Bank and UNICEF for alleviating their poverty. He said most of the beneficiaries have constructed dealing houses, engaged in petty trading and farming etc with the SSN money.
A beneficiary in Yorgboma Town, Toli Chiefdom-Fatu Francis on behalf of her colleagues thanked the ACC and the project donors for improving their lives through the SSN project. She unearthed that neither community stakeholders nor the project implementing partners have never solicited a single cent from them since the commencement of the project. Madam Francis noted that with her SSN money, she has constructed a five bed room house for her family; embark on trading and farming whilst educating her children. She appealed to the project donors through the ACC to extend the project to their colleagues who have not benefited from the project before.
ACC’s Public Education Officer, Sahr Nabieu chaired the engagements and served as an interpreter during the sessions. He said the Commission was interested to know how the beneficiaries are receiving and utilizing the SSN money, their challenges in the SSN project and whether community stakeholders or the project partners are soliciting money from them. He encouraged the beneficiaries to report any grievance to the ACC that they may faced with in their communities.
