The Antic Corruption Commission (ACC) has commenced a two-day managerial accountability workshop for senior managers where top managers will deliberate on the prevention of corruption. At the programme, which started yesterday at the Miatta Conference Hall in Freetown, the keynote speaker Julius Sandy who is the Establishment Secretary said in other to prevent corruption and to ensure that managers took the right decisions and accountable, control measures must be put in place to facilitate best practices. These control measures most be supported by strong ethical code, learning opportunities and also capacity building initiative as put forward by other school of thought. The workshop, the Establishment Secretary said, demonstrated that institutions had to work together, share best practices and “cross jurisdictional expertise, if we are to maximize the use of both financial and non financial resources in the public sector.” He added that one must be mindful of the responsibilities as well as the need to be accountable for matters relating to financial administration and policy management in the search of excellence. On the issue of public servant, he added that they had a role given to them and that they were required to give stewardship of their responsibility. He stressed that public servant must continuously strive to remain responsive to their responsibilities. Julius Sandy said it would be less time consuming and earn themselves respectability if they prevented crimes rather than exposing and prosecuting crimes. The chairman of the programme, E.B. Osho Coker who is director of the Public Service Reform in his remarks, defined managerial accountability as the responsibility which the managers had to ensure that public resources were deployed in the most efficient and effective manner. Corruption, he went on, had many faces. “Each one depicts an ugly feature. This includes patronage which is a system by which an important person gives help or job to someone in return for their support,” he stated. Others, he stated, include nepotism, influence peddling, diversion of public funds, and embezzlement of assets, corruption in procurement, misuse of pubic property, and unnecessary delays in decision making. Welcoming participants, managers, and senior managers at the workshop, the commissioner of the ACC Abdul Tejan-Cole said his commission was not only there to sign warrant of arrest and prosecute but also engage in prevention activities. Tejan-Cole stated that they had come together with public servants and managers to share information and thoughts for the fight against corruption.
He maintained that they would continue to strengthen the partnership which had already been established and also that they would put mechanisms in place for accountability and transparency.
Betty Milton
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