By: Yangie D. Sesay, Public Education Officer, ACC
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Wednesday, 13th May 2026, held a consultative meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Works and Public Assets (MOWPA), the National Assets and Property Commission (NAPC), and the Sierra Leone Housing Corporation (SALHOC) to discuss challenges relating to the management, protection, and disposal of government quarters and other public assets.
The meeting, held at the ACC Conference Room, Integrity House, Tower Hill, Freetown, was summoned by the Commission’s Advisory Board and focused on identifying corruption risks and institutional gaps affecting the effective management of state assets.
Speaking during the engagement, Deputy Commissioner ACC, Augustine Foday Ngobie, stated that land and other government properties are high-value public resources involving multiple administrative processes, making them particularly vulnerable to corruption. He noted that concerns surrounding the management and disposal of public land and government assets have remained longstanding issues for citizens, emphasizing the need for stronger coordination among institutions responsible for overseeing state properties.
Mr. Ngobie clarified that the engagement was not an investigation, but rather a consultative discussion aimed at identifying challenges and developing practical solutions to reduce corruption risks within the sector.
Also speaking at the meeting, Acting Chairman of the ACC Advisory Board, Joshua Nicol, highlighted the importance of the engagement, noting that issues relating to the protection and management of government assets had repeatedly been raised with the Board.
ACC Deputy Director of Prevention, Samuel Muti Marrah Esq., identified key concerns associated with land administration and public asset management, including illegal allocation of state land, fraudulent land registration and title manipulation, bribery in land transactions, political interference, illegal disposal of government assets, poor asset record management, procurement irregularities, land encroachment, and conflicts of interest.
In his remarks, the ACC Coordinator of Operations, noted that the meeting marked an important initial step toward addressing the identified challenges and assured participants that subsequent engagements would be convened soon, with the inclusion of other agencies considered critical to finding sustainable solutions.
The Permanent Secretary of MOWPA, Dr. Joe Fayia Nyuma, the Chairman of NAPC David Panda-Noah, and the Head of SALHOC, Joseph Munda Sandi, outlined their respective institutional mandates. They acknowledged that managing and safeguarding government quarters and public assets remain challenging due to weak enforcement mechanisms, poor documentation systems, inadequate policies, overlapping institutional functions, and limited coordination among relevant agencies.
