AYV News, October 7, 2026
The National Minerals Agency (NMA) has issued a stark warning to newly recruited field officers, saying staff found involved in fraud or other corrupt practices will face dismissal and possible prosecution.
The warning came from the agency’s Director General Ing. Hadji Dabo, during an ethics and integrity training organised jointly with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) at the NMA headquarters in New England Ville, Freetown.
Addressing newly appointed assistant mining engineers, geologists and mines compliance officers, Daboacknowledged that corruption remains a serious challenge within the mining sector and admitted that some NMA personnel have allegedly been involved in fraudulent activities.
“We are having a lot of issues with fraud in the sector, and we understand some of our own staff are involved in these nefarious activities,” Dabo said.
He said there would be serious consequences for officers who crossed the line.
“If anybody is caught in fraudulent activity, we are going to hand you over to the police, and maybe Anti-Corruption will be involved too. That would be the end of your service to the Agency.”
The unusually blunt admission comes as Sierra Leone continues to grapple with concerns over transparency, revenue collection, illegal mining and regulatory enforcement in a sector that remains central to the country’s economy.
For mining officers working in the field, the risks are particularly significant. Their responsibilities can place them in direct contact with mining companies, licence holders, traders and other actors with financial interests in regulatory decisions.
That vulnerability was highlighted by Victoria FumikehNicol, library and research manager and focal person for the NMA integrity management committee. She warned that field personnel could face pressure or inducements from individuals seeking to influence regulatory decisions and urged them to maintain professional standards.
The training focused on helping the new officers recognise and resist such risks, with discussions covering statutory compliance, corruption prevention and the legal framework governing the mining sector, including provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008, as amended in 2019.
For Daphne C. A. Winnebah, the NMA’s compliance and audit manager, integrity cannot be reduced to a policy document or an annual training exercise.
“Integrity is all about knowing what to do when nobody is watching,” Winnebah said.
She reminded the officers that their work gives them responsibility over public resources, government revenue and regulatory decisions.
“Let us make integrity not just a subject for discussion. Let integrity be part of us.”
The message was also framed as a warning about the personal cost of corruption.
NMA Human Resources Manager Bintu B. Abu urged staff not to jeopardise their careers for short-term personal gain.
“It is possible for Sierra Leone to be corruption-free. It is a matter of mindset,” Abu said.
She added that the annual engagement with the ACC was intended to educate staff and strengthen prevention rather than simply intimidate them.
“Don’t allow a one-day issue to destroy your future.”
Representing the ACC, Samuel Marah, deputy director of the commission’s prevention department, said effective anti-corruption systems require more than institutional rules. They also depend on the decisions individual officers make when confronted with ethical dilemmas.
“The commissioner is very keen on prevention, and one key strategy of prevention is ethics and integrity,” Marah said.
He reaffirmed the ACC’s willingness to work with government institutions to identify and reduce corruption risks in critical economic sectors.
The training formed part of a wider NMA integrity programme that has also reached personnel in Makeni, Bo, Kono and Kenema.
The programme comes at an important moment for Sierra Leone’s mining industry. The sector generates significant government revenue and provides livelihoods across mining communities, but weak enforcement, illegal mining and concerns over transparency can undermine both public confidence and the benefits that mineral resources are expected to deliver.
For the new generation of mining officers now entering the field, the message from their regulator was clear: the authority to enforce mining laws comes with a responsibility to protect the public interest.
Whether the warning will translate into stronger enforcement will ultimately depend on what happens after the training, particularly when officers encounter the real-world pressures and financial interests that come with regulating one of Sierra Leone’s most valuable sectors.
