By Nafisatu Olayinka Deen
Freetown, 10th December 2025- The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has commemorated this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day together with its Silver Jubilee. The Commission partnered with the Restitution Impact Sierra Leone for the twin celebrations under the theme “ACC at 25: Transforming Sierra Leone on the Pillars of Integrity and Accountability.”
Seven years in office, ACC’s Commission and the event’s keynote speaker, Francis Ben Kaifala, noted that the commission has made huge efforts in combating corruption in the country since its inception, citing that past commissioners have played their part. “The commission has been a pillar in the history of Sierra Leone, shrined to take on one of the monsters that have held on to the destinies and future of this country and enormous effort has been put into combating corruption”, he said. He says that the data and statistics make the progress of the commission evident. “The data and statistics exist as an indication that the commission has done its job”, he said.
During a panel discussion at the summit, Honourable Ibrahim Ben Kargbo noted that accountability is an important component for state administration, arguing that the current state of drugs in the country is a result of corrupt practices and recommended that the ACC investigate people who get wealthy in a short period, so they can keep track of what everyone is doing. “Accountability is a very significant component for state administration and everyone must be held accountable to fight corruption, whether in a public office or not. We have discovered that we are hit by drugs all over the place and we see people who didn’t have anything today are now flying out of the country as they please, displaying a fleet of vehicles. Accountability is key, and if it does not exist, then a state will collapse,” he said.
When asked to make contributions in the panel discussions on the areas the commission should focus on, the president of the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU), Ibrahim Bankapoma Kargbo argued that solving the problem of corruption, poor salaries and conditions of service must be improved for people in public offices because according to him, if they earn enough, they will resist corrupt practices. “We appreciate all that is being done to solve the problem of corruption; we must try to remove the jungle from the state. Poor salaries, poverty and poor conditions of service are instigators of corruption and if that is tackled, then the problem of corruption can be solved,” he said.
For Fudia Kamara, integrity must start in our homes. “In order to fight corruption, we must first sensitize our families about our responsibility to the state and integrity starts with us”, she said.
The Minister of Gender, Isata Mahoi, serving as moderator of the panel discussion, emphasized that if everything goes digital, we can better track, monitor, and ultimately reduce corruption. “Going digital will help us track and monitor everything and this will help in the fight against corruption. She added that some countries have already made significant progress by adopting digital systems, and Sierra Leone must follow suit to strengthen transparency and accountability in public service delivery. “When I visited Iceland, I observed that everything was digital and every transaction was digital. The digital footprint helps their government monitor the system and if this country can adopt these strategies, then we can fight corruption,” she said.
At the end of his keynote address, the Commissioner says that integrity is key and goodness lies with one’s discipline to resist corruption. “Goodness comes from being able to discipline yourself to resist when you have the opportunity, means and monopoly to engage in corrupt practices”, he said. He continued to say that the commission has done its job and it is our responsibility as individuals to change and complement the commission’s effort. It is now left with we as individuals to change and make the commission a transitional institution, it was supposed to be” he said.
