In its quest to enhance effective service delivery, integrity, transparency and accountability in government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA), the North-East regional office of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has engaged staff of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) in Makeni on Tuesday, 14th October 2025. The engagement which was hosted at the Ministry’s conference hall was also attended by project staff attached to the ministry.
ACC’s Regional Manager, Al-Hassan Sesay, said the engagement was held to enhance ethics, integrity and strengthen collaboration between both institutions. He added that the engagement was to remind staff of the ministry about their roles and responsibilities in upholding best practices and dissociate from corrupt practices.
Speaking on key corruption issues and some offences in the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 (amended in 2019), ACC Regional Director, Fatu Florence Kamara, recognized the importance of the Ministry to the growth of the nation. “The Agriculture Sector is crucial to the overall development of the country,” she emphasized, adding that the introduction of the Feed Salone initiative in 2023, which is aimed at achieving food security, increased export earning, among other things, confers more relevance on the sector. She however cautioned that corruption is a serious menace and efforts should be made to preclude it from hampering the implementation of the initiative.
While highlighting that corruption would cause loss of funds and agricultural inputs, worsen poverty and hunger, the Regional Director encouraged staff of the ministry to commit to upholding the standard procedures that govern the implementation of Feed Salone. “The success of this ambitious initiative is in our hands as Sierra Leoneans. You who are directly working in the MAFS should take the lead to ensure that the initiative is safely taken to its destination,” she emphasized.
Director Kamara explained some of the offences that relate the staff’s work. She mentioned Misappropriation of Public or Donor Funds or Property, Offering, Soliciting and Accepting Advantage, Abuse of Office and Position among others. She explained the punishment for each of the offences and cautioned them to desist from such practices.
The Regional Manager made clear that although the Commission investigates and prosecutes corruption, it prioritises prevention. This, he explained, is mostly done through disseminating adequate information and education and carrying out corruption risk assessments and preventive interventions in public bodies. He therefore assured the MAFS staff of ACC’s determination to collaborate in addressing corruption vulnerabilities within the ministry.
Speaking on ethics, integrity and accountability in the workplace, ACC Prevention Officer, Musa Mansaray, informed the MAFS workers that the ACC has a capable Prevention Department tasked to thoroughly assess corruption risks in MDAs, adding that the Commission is always willing to strategically support them to run a more efficient sector. The Prevention Officer underscored that enhancing ethics and integrity constitutes one of the methods the ACC is using to prevent corruption in MDAs.
Ambrose Tieh, ACC Intern, explained the various methods of making reports to the ACC and protection of informants. He emphasized on confidentiality and anonymity are amongst the measures for protecting whistleblowers. Tieh explained the 10 percent reward to informants upon recovery but warned them against making false reports which constitute a punishable offence.
Responding to the anti-corruption messages, Lahai Bangura, Crops Officer, on behalf of the District Agriculture Officer, thanked the ACC for the meeting while commending its preventive methods. He pledged that the MAFS will guard the Feed Salone and other agricultural programmes against corruption by maintaining integrity as the bedrock of quality public service delivery.
Question-and-answer session formed part of the engagement, followed by a presentation of information, education and communication materials of ACC by the Director to the ministry.
