By: Sylvanus Blake, PRO, ACC
The result-oriented Deputy Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Augustine Foday Ngobie, has led a strong and resolute oversight mission, this time monitoring the training and deployment of Community Monitors and project staff for the enrollment of beneficiaries under Sub-Component 1B of the Government of Sierra Leone and World Bank-funded Productive Social Safety Net and Youth Employment (PSSNYE) Project.
Between Friday 1st and Sunday 3rd August 2025, Mr. Ngobie visited multiple training locations in the Kenema and Pujehun Districts, where he delivered firm messages on the ACC’s zero-tolerance policy on corruption. He reminded project personnel of the Commission’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that the implementation of all PSSNYE components, and any other social safety net initiative, must be done with the utmost integrity and transparency.
In his address to the participants, the Deputy Commissioner emphasized that the Economic Inclusion (EI) sub-component is designed to pilot a series of integrated livelihood support activities targeting extremely poor households. These activities include a start-up capital grant, business training and mentoring, behaviour change support, access to government and non-government agricultural programs, and linkages to markets. He explained that these interventions are intended to lift beneficiaries and their communities out of abject poverty and open doors to sustainable economic inclusion.
Mr. Ngobie informed his audience that the EI sub-component will benefit a total of 5,883 individuals across five districts. Specifically, Kenema district in the Eastern Region will have 1,283 beneficiaries; Pujehun District in the Southern Region, 1,219; Karene District in the North-West Region, 1,322; Falaba District in the North-East Region, 990; and the Western Rural District, 1,069.
He sternly admonished the team to uphold the highest ethical standards during the project rollout, adding that any act of corruption, no matter how small, will be met with swift and decisive action by the Commission. Integrity, he stressed, is non-negotiable in projects meant to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable citizens.
The EI sub-component offers three categories of support for beneficiaries. The first is an Unconditional Social Safety Net (SSN) Cash Transfer of $45 every quarter. The second, called EI Plus Cash, includes the same quarterly transfer of $45, along with business training and a $250 grant to start or grow a small business. The third category, EI Only, provides only the business training and the $250 grant, without the quarterly cash transfer.
It is worth recalling that in March 2022, the Government of Sierra Leone and the World Bank approved the PSSNYE Project as an Investment Project Financing (IPF) worth $42 million, with a five-year implementation period ending on June 30, 2027. The project aims to provide essential technical and financial support to the government to advance its social protection and employment creation goals. Its core objectives are to improve access to social safety nets and increase income-generating opportunities for targeted beneficiaries. Major components include Social Safety Nets, Economic Inclusion Support, Entrepreneurship Support, and Urban Green Public Works.
Through this latest oversight mission, the ACC continues to demonstrate its commitment to ensuring that development funds reach the intended recipients, free from corruption, abuse, or diversion. The active presence and leadership of the Deputy Commissioner in the field serves as a powerful reminder of the Commission’s role in safeguarding the integrity of major national programs.
