The Deputy Minister of Youth, Feremusu Konteh has said that money-laundering and terrorism-financing are twin evils that are capable of destroying all great efforts by any Government in ensuring sustainable development.
She made this statement on Friday at the Open House Forum for Youths on Anti Money-Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) organized by the International-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).
Ferehmusu Konteh said that GIABA’s recognition of the role that youths can play in exposing such evils, with a deep sense of patriotism, is therefore a testament to the need for collaborative, complementary and concerted efforts from all stakeholders, in order to root out these evil practices.
The Deputy Minister assured that, the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone will continue to ensure that the enabling environment to uphold the rule of law and justice is nurtured, along with the support to all stakeholders to carry out their duties in a responsible manner.
“I am convinced that participants will indeed come out equipped with more knowledge, and strength, with the resolve to henceforth carry out their duties in a fair, balanced and objective manner”, she said.
She reiterated that “the dictates of justice establish that every patriotic citizen has his or her fair share in the building of our societies. To this end, youths in this country are, and will always be, encouraged to join hands with relevant agencies without bias or ill-feeling towards others, in line with the objectives of our common good. We therefore call upon all youths, students, journalists to endeavour to assist our Government in exposing corrupt people and systems”.
Madam Konteh reiterated that this Forum by GIABA, which has commendably drafted in a good number of Sierra Leonean youths, will indeed go a long way in filling the capacity gap, adding that the other ingredients could be complemented by attitudinal change and patriotism, as always intimated by the President of the Republic.
The Deputy Youth Minister noted that youths, who are usually the perpetrators and victims of ML/FT and organized crimes, can effectively participate in fighting money laundering, through advocacy, research and partnership. This would indeed require special skills and competence, which are usually lacking in our part of the world.
The objective of the seminar was to sensitize youths who will have a general knowledge of AML/CFT framework and to assist participants to become committed advocates against money laundering and financing of terrorism, and organized crimes.
The fight against economic and financial crimes, he said is a herculean task requiring concerted, coordinated, cooperative and collaborative efforts by all stakeholders, each with distinct but complimentary role.
She said that unfortunately, the outcome of the mutual evaluation assessment reports on ECOWAS countries show low level of compliance with international AML/CFT standards; a case in point is the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40+9 Recommendations, We recognize that this was due to poor understanding of the AML/CFT requirement, but efforts are being taken to address this misunderstanding.
By Abibatu Kamara
July 29, 2013
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