Bribery is seen as small act which people ignore with the notion that it is not their business; failing to realize that its adverse consequences are indiscriminate he furthered.
Mr. Saccoh highlighted the three PNB reporting channels on people’s experience; I paid a bribe; did not pay a bribe, or met an honest official; when accessing public services. He informed his listeners that MDAs have taken positive and concrete actions and steps to resolve the problem of petty corruption.
The Public Education Officer catalogued the devastating effects of bribery on the community, notably; it frustrates infrastructural development, discourages hard work, promotes mediocrity against meritocracy, impedes investments, and threatens national security. He entreated the community people to garner their efforts against bribery and petty corruption, as sustainable development is secured in a corrupt free society. Saccoh made a clarion call on the people to be anti-graft emissaries disseminating anti-messages in the nook and cranny of the chiefdom.
In his submission, Public Education Officer Abdul K. Bangura underscored, the PNB is an anonymous reporting platform that empowers Sierra Leoneans to report incidents of bribery. He further stated that PNB is not prosecution-oriented; rather, it seeks to invoke administrative actions or systems review and policy reforms, to address bribery in MDAs-education, health, water, energy, judiciary and the Sierra Leone Police. Bangura encouraged all to make good use of the PNB platform and admonished them on its abuse, by making prank calls.
The Public Educator explained the PNB reporting mechanisms which are; the PNB free line 515 on all telephone networks, the website: www.pnb.gov.sl, or the mobile application in major languages-Krio, Mende and Temne.
Earlier, Headman Pa Abdulai Kargbo commended ACC for reaching out to their community and pleaded that other communities benefit from such engagement as they also suffer from the cruel effects of corruption. Pa Kargbo assured ACC of their unflinching support to fight corruption and make Sierra Leone a better place.
The distribution of information, education and communication materials and questions and answers session formed part of the meeting.
