4. CONTD FROM PG.1 Mohamed Ibrahim Justice Ganawah, Senior Economist, IGR making his statement. Committee has been closely working with the ACC to ensuring that the needed actions are taken. Mohamed Ibrahim Justice Ganawah, Senior Economist, IGR, in his statement commended the Commission, disclosing that before this time, Auditors were constrained with important documents requested from Public Officers as they were mostly not provided. He added that the intervention of the Commission has conditioned some of these public officers to eschew those acts and be serious with their work. He also stated that this disre- gard is the reason why more than 50% of the huge cash loss- es were not recorded. He con- tinued that in different Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), a lot of improvements has been made. Mr. Ganawah however raised concern on the By: Alex A. Bah, Public Relations Assistant, ACC issue of time and value of money, noting that the ACC should consider this seriously when actions on the misappropriation of Public Monies are taken. Beauty Emefa Narteh, Executive Secretary, GACC commended the ACC, and noted her pleasure of working with the Commission. She added that it is very important for countries to accord audit recommendations, the importance they so deserve by maximizing their implementation. She said that in most countries especially in West Africa, there is the problem of trivializing Audit Recommendations and this was what informed their intervention with focus on Ghana, Sierra Leone and Benin. Earlier, Director of Intelligence and Investigations, Evelyn Kuyateh explained how the ACC actually rolls out its interventions when Audit Reports are published. "We do have a specialized team called the Elite Scorpion Team that we put at the fore to address issues that we identify as quick - fix. During their raids, we behave as abnormal people by instituting arrests on concerned parties on most especially issues that have to do with misappropriation", she added. Director, Public Education and External Outreach Department, Patrick Sandi, highlighted the exclusive work of his Department with respect to responding to Audit Reports. He underscored that the ACC usually and promptly informs the public through Press Conference, Serialized Media Releases and Radio and TV Programs on its various actions and interventions. Presentation of Copies of the Anti - Corruption Act 2008 as amended in 2019 by the Deputy Commissioner ACC, Augustine Foday Ngobie, climaxed the event.

3. Page 3 By: Alex A. Bah, Public Relations Assistant, ACC Deputy Commissioner, ACC, Augustine Foday Ngobie signing the MoU. Lawrence McEwen Executive Director and Team Lead, EST Applied Intelligence signing the MoU ACC Deputy Commissioner Augustine Foday Ngobie (L) and Executive Director, EST Applied Intelligence, Lawrence McEwen (R) displaying the signed MoU T he Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for joint collaboration with EST Applied Intelligence, which is a private registered company that offers consultancy services on cyber security. This signing took place at the Conference Room of the ACC’s Integrity House, Tower Hill, Freetown, on Tuesday 26th September, 2023. Making his statement at the signing, the Deputy Commissioner Augustine Foday Ngobie expressed his delight for this partnership, noting the importance of advancing knowledge and skills in advanced technology on cyber security in the effective performance of the critical work of the ACC. He said it is against this backdrop that the Commission has resolved to forge this partnership. “The knowledge we are going to acquire from them will help us particularly in the field of Investi- gation, Audit, Asset Identification and Information Technology. We had observed that the corrupt people that we are chasing are using new techniques and it behooves us to equally capacitate ourselves with modern techniques,” the Deputy Commissioner said. He therefore encouraged staff to learn and acquire these skills in order to strengthen the Commission for improved output. Executive Director and Lead Consultant of the EST Applied Intelligence, Lawrence McEwen, in his statement, registered his pleasure to collaborate with the ACC. He stated the need for private and public sector institutions to embrace cyber security as the befitting 'forward thinking ap- proach', adding the ACC is one 'forward - thinking institution' that is poised to upgrade its capability by forging this partnership. Mr. McEwen said, in this digital age, we are left with no alternative than to employ robust digital and cyber security systems into our work. He emphasized the need for cyber security, disclosing that across the world in both the private and public sectors there are daily breaches that are primarily as a result of lack of strategic insight and foresight. “The partnership is to ensure with the dynamic leadership we build a strategic and robust cyber security capability to enhance your existing capability,” he noted. Earlier, Director of the Public Education and External Outreach Department, Patrick Sandi, in his statement as a chairman of the event, welcomed the partnership, noting that the ACC has been doing tremendously well, but equally poised to build on that trajectory. He said this requires forging partnership with institutions and formalizing strategic ones after thorough validations and consultations. The citation of the MoU by Information Officer, ACC, Amie Massaquoi and the signing of the document by the Deputy Commissioner of the ACC and the Lead Consultant of EST Applied Intelligence climaxed the event.

1. 2nd - 6th October 2023 Issue 1 Volume 8 INTEGRITY HOUSE, TOWER HILL FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE EDITORIAL TEAM EDITOR - IN - CHIEF Abubakarr Turay EDITORS Sylvanus Blake Alex A. Bah LAYOUT & GRAPHICS Philippa M Davies EDITORIAL ADVISERS Augustine Foday Ngobie Patrick Sandi CONTD PG.4 T he Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC) on Tuesday 26th September, 2023, hosted a team comprising officials of the Ghana An- ti - Corruption Coalition (GACC) and the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR). The meeting which was held in its Conference Room, Third Floor, Integrity House, Tower Hill, Freetown, was to advance the discussion on the Implementation of Audit Recommendations contained in Audit Reports. The Deputy Commissioner ACC, Au- gustine Foday Ngobie in his state- ment reaffirmed the commitment of the ACC to working with the IGR and GACC, stating that the Commission has for the past four years been taking considerable actions on Audit Reports. This he noted was as a result of the recurring issues flagged in previous Reports that were published and called for swift and appropriate actions. He further said that at the commencement of the Commission’s interventions, there were sections of the public questioning the Locus Standi of the ACC, noting that such falls within the mandate of the Sierra Leone Parliament. He furthered that the ACC collaborates with the Parliament as the ACC has the powers to initiate actions on suspected instances or allegations of corruption brought to it by any means. Mr. Ngobie added that the Commission then moved to forge an MoU with the Audit Service Sierra Leone as a mark of partnership and collaboration so as “not to allow the corrupt people get a field day”, he averred. He continued that part of the terms of the MoU is for the Audit to direct matters that are clear cut suspected acts of corruption for its attention, intervention and action even before the eventual Report. Making a statement, the Coordinator of Operations, Emmanuel Koivaya Amara similarly stated that the Audit Reports ought to be debated and action taken by the Public Accounts Committee. He however added that over the years, because of the enormous work of Parliament this Report has not been thoroughly looked at, with subsequent Audit Reports released compounding the situation. As such Parliament specifically the Public Accounts Deputy Commissioner, ACC, Augustine Foday Ngobie making a Statement Audience listening to the Deputy Commissioner, ACC . Beauty Emefa Narteh, Executive Secretary, GACC making her Statement By: Alex A. Bah, Public Relations Assistant, ACC

2. Page 2 A fter President Bio grant- ed the approval for Bar- rister Kaifala to pursue further studies at Harvard, citizens expressed uncertainty about the future of the war on corruption. The momentum the fight has gained over the years is mostly attributed to the patriotic leadership of the charismatic lawyer and human rights activist. There were fears this momentum might subside due to his academic absence. However, Section 5(3) of the Anti - Corruption Act of 2008, as Amended in 2019, allayed these fears and brought in the Deputy. Within the ranks of the Anti - Corruption Commission, staff were unfazed with some of these legitimate fears. To start with, even though the Czar has a massive public profile, he developed the capacity of the Commission to function as a well - structured Government agency. Furthermore, he challenged and empowered the management team to strive for excellence in public service. And finally, he created the enabling environment for the Deputy Commissioner, Augustine Foday - Ngobie. Mr. Foday - Ngobie is an anti - corruption master, mentor to many young people and mythical figure in mainstream Sierra Leone. Prior to joining the Anti - Corruption Commission, Mr. Foday - Ngobie served the Sierra Leone Police for thirteen years. He started - off in 1990 as a Police Constable. In 1995, he was made Detective and Police Constable of the Criminal Investigation Department. Later promoted to Commanding Officer, Economic Crimes Syndicate, of the same Department. Due to his hard work, Mr. Foday - Ngobie ascended to the rank of Deputy Head, Inspectorate and Compliance Division. Before he closed his tenure in the Force, he enrolled and completed a Bachelor of Science in Education (Economics Major) from Njala University College. This was between 1994 – 1999. He was among the first batch of staff recruited to the Anti - Corruption Commission in 2003. His first position was Investigative Officer attached to the head office. He served in this position for two - years. In 2005, he was subsequently promoted to Senior Investigation Officer, a position he occupied for over a decade. Whilst in the Commission, he worked as Public Education Officer and also served as District Coordinator in Koinadugu and Bombali (Makeni) respectively. In between this period as By: Paul A. Conteh Deputy Commissioner, Anti - Corruption Commission, Au- gustine Foday Ngobie Senior Investigative Officer, Mr. Foday - Ngobie returned to Njala and armed himself with an MBA in Human Resource Management. 2016 was a huge year for this anti - corruption crusader. He became the Manager, Exhibit Management and Rapid Response Team, of the Anti - Corruption Commission. Despite his responsibilities at the Commission, Mr. Foday - Ngobie created time to teach and mentor the next set of change - makers by accepting a part - time lecturing job at the University of Makeni (UNIMAK). From late 2018 right through early 2019, Mr. Foday - Ngobie was Deputy Director of Investigations at the Anti - Corruption Commission. After years of dedicated service to the Government of Sierra Leone through the Anti - Corruption Commission, Mr. Foday - Ngobie was appointed Deputy Commissioner in 2019. This veteran public servant is considered an anti - corruption master, a mentor to several young people and a mythical figure in mainstream Sierra Leone. The story of Mr. Foday - Ngobie justifies why he is where he is today. His professional experience, academic credentials and patriotic mindset makes him the right man to hold the mantle during this period. He is poised to continue winning the war on corruption.