Protocols… Thank you for inviting the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists to speak at this launch.  We appreciate this opportunity and we take it as a recognition of the important role the media plays in social and behavioural change. You are also challenging us to take active part in the fight against corruption. We appreciate the recognition as much as we accept the challenge. Before I talk about the role of the media in the fight against corruption, let me first of all highlight four issues that I want to personally put on the table as we launch this new strategy in the fight against corruption in our beloved country. One is the POLITICAL WILL In April 2005, in my final year at the Mass Communication programme at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, I wrote a commentary in the 3rd edition of the Aureol Torch, the teaching newspaper of the department, for which I was one of the sub-editors. The commentary was titled: ‘Corruption and the Political Will’. The commentary was inspired by a passionate lecture on the challenges in fighting corruption in Sierra Leone given by the then Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission, Mr. Valentine T. Collier, to us final year students of the department. Permit me, Your Excellency, Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, to share some excerpts which I think are still relevant today: “Absence of corruption is fundamental to the promotion of good governance just as the Anti-Corruption Commission is to the fight against corruption in Sierra Leone. But the ACC is just an institution and it cannot do it alone. The ACC needs help. That help is the Political Will. “Political will in this sort of dynamics or context should not be centered on the head of His Excellency the President alone. It should be a collective political will and it should take the following: “ The Executive will : this is the goodwill of the President and his/her Cabinet ministers. Parliamentary will: this is the goodwill of the Honourable Members of Parliament. Judicial will: this is the goodwill of those who interpret the laws of the land. Police will: this is the goodwill of the Sierra Leone Police, who are constitutionally charged with the responsibility of providing security and maintaining law and order in society. Civil Society will: this is the goodwill of you and me, a well-informed citizenry and civil society organisations such as the National Accountability Group and Campaign for Good Governance. And finally, the Media will: this is the goodwill of the media. “All of the above should be prepared to play their part impartially and patriotically if we want to curb corruption and forge ahead majestically as a nation. “Once upon a time, Sierra Leone was better than Singapore; that country was just an Island with virtually no resources. They even had to import water from neighbouring Malaysia. But with a strong political will, Singapore has progressed from a poor nation to a developed state with the ability to provide essential services for its citizens and responding to their needs and aspirations. “Now we can be like Singapore, or even better, it’s never too late, if together we tackle corruption in every sphere of our lives- from our homes, schools, places of worships, businesses, offices, social groupings and above all in politics and governance. “Corruption is the hydra monster that has eaten away our past, our present and is fast swallowing our future.” The second one is SACRED COWS: In the fight against corruption there should be no sacred cows. If we can prosecute a poor teacher who sells grades, we should also seriously and thoroughly question the poor politician who became rich overnight to explain how he/she did it. When we fight corruption without fear or favour, we build public trust and confidence and there will be no hiding place for those of our compatriots who thrive on corruption. The third one is a form of bribery that has come to be known as ‘KICKBACKS’ I think we should start talking about kickbacks and the need for a strategy to deal with that because it is has grown into the most ‘acceptable’ and widespread form of corruption in Sierra Leone and impossible to detect without one of the parties volunteering information. The fourth one is the SHADOW STATE:  Speaking in 2005 on ‘The Role of the EU and Donor Community in Fighting Corruption in Sierra Leone’, the then ACC Commissioner, Valentine T. Collier, said and I quote: “Corruption in Sierra Leone cannot be understood without attention being paid to what William Reno in his book – ‘Corruption and State Politics in Sierra Leone’- termed the “Shadow State’. In his analysis, a powerful “Shadow State” in Sierra Leone has emerged alongside and at the expense of the capacity and authority of formal state institutions. “The development of this shadow state has its roots in the colonial period, when the colonial administration engaged in intensive accommodation of local chiefs in order to secure local peace and control. This resulted in the growth of networks of local notables active in the country’s growing illicit diamond industry and trade in other commodities.  “The above brief analysis is relevant to any efforts at combating corruption for several reasons. “Firstly, it makes clear the degree to which the state has been stripped of its capacity and authority in Sierra Leone.  “Over time, the activities of these informal networks of traders and local notables, public servants and politicians, resulted in a situation in which the State in Sierra Leone neither directly controls, nor exercises proper regulatory oversight over the country’s rich national resources and the income derived from them. “Secondly, it reveals how officials have simultaneously operated in both a public and a private capacity with impunity. “It was against this background that the Anti-Corruption Commission came into being with the passing of the Anti-Corruption Act in February, 2000.” Now, that was in 2005. Fourteen years on, this Shadow State is now well entrenched

The new Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, His Excellency Hu Zhangliang, has called on the presidency to discuss bilateral relations and development projects with His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio. “I extend warmest greetings from His Excellency Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, who is very much impressed with your presidency, particularly in areas of territorial integrity, sovereignty and security, diplomacy and development,” the Ambassador said. He disclosed that feasibility studies for the rehabilitation of Wilberforce Military Barracks, which houses the Hockey Pitch and 34 Military Hospital in Freetown, and that for the construction of the Foreign Service Academy were already complete, adding that the bidding processes would soon commence. “The Chinese government has also made special arrangements for the loan application for the Optical Fibre Network phase two project and we have already approved the loan application. Once Ministry of Finance is done with the loan deal, the work will commence within three weeks,” he noted. Ambassador Hu further told the President that his government had promised Sierra Leone some food aid to the needy, adding that the first two consignments of 2,000 tons of that assistance had arrived in Freetown and were being delivered. He said another 1,500 tons of food support would arrive within few days, while 3,400 tons would arrive later. “In terms of improving the capability of receiving state guests, my government is considering to help your government set up a VVIP Convoy with bikes, cars and support cars. And I believe that all of these will be delivered by February 2020. We are also looking at the rehabilitation of the VIP Lounge at the Lungi International Airport,” he said. The Chinese Ambassador also said that as a way of improving the human capital development, which is the flagship program of the New Direction government, Chinese universities would have accepted 100 new students from Sierra Leone, more than 30 military officers to study in China and offered over 700 Chinese short courses by end of the year.  In his response President Bio said that he was happy to receive the Chinese Ambassador to discuss issues relating to the two countries’ current and future projects. “I am happy with the development of ongoing projects, the Fibre Optic extension which is visible, the food aid, VVIP Convoy, the rehabilitation of the Wilberforce Military Barracks, and improving on the number of Sierra Leonean students. We think this falls in line with the government’s human capital development agenda. As true friends we will also work together,” President Bio said.

Sierra Leone Members of the Female Parliamentary Caucus have met with His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio to present recommendations from their visit to Parliaments in the East African countries of Kenya and Rwanda. Presenting the report of their benchmarking exercise at State House, President of the Female Parliamentary Caucus, Honourable Veronica Kadie Sesay, said the recommendations were products of the relentless efforts of the Caucus to support President Bio’s 2018 Elections Manifesto to the women of Sierra Leone. She said the report pushed for the need to amend Section 74 of Act No.6 of the 1991 Constitution to include a new sub-section that would provide for two women Members of Parliament for each district who, subject to the provisions of the Constitution, shall be elected in such manner as may be prescribed by or under any law. The Member of Parliament, representing Constituency 094 in the Moyamba District, continued that Government should develop programs to ensure that political, economic and socio-cultural factors that impede women’s participation in public life were addressed. She said they had also recommended for the amendment of the section of the Constitution dealing with resignation from public office from twelve to six months for women aspirants before elections, including other sections or provisions that limit women’s equal representation and effective participation at levels of public decision making. “Government should review the country’s laws and policies to make room for corrective action with land reforms vis-a-vis women’s equal right to land ownership, retention and distribution. It should establish a campaign fund for women in politics, make resources available to women and girls to enhance their skills and prepare them for service and establish a National Women’s Council,” she added. In his response, President Bio said he was pleased to see women taking the bold step to champion issues relating to their welfare. He said he was particularly concerned with women’s issues because women play important role in nation-building, adding that it would be a lip service to talk about development without including women, considering the fact they constitute the majority of the country’s population. He disclosed that he had worked on a few of the submissions in terms of gender-based violence, especially as it related to rape. He noted that the declaration of a State of Emergency on rape was a way of protecting innocent girls that were being violated. He said he would look into the recommendations and discuss them within the framework of governance and assured of his continued support to women’s issues.