4. CONTD FROM PG.1 comparative analysis of the various systems reviewed, but this scorecard is designed to ad dress these gaps. Deputy Director of Corruption Prevention, ACC, Samuel Muti Marah Esq., spoke on the m ethodology of the scorecard, which he described as an integrity assessment tool aimed at assessi ng the institutions’ framework to prevent corruption and promote integrity. He said that the scorecard will be a product of a questionnaire divided into three thematic areas; Management Culture and Structure, Administrative Systems in place and Financial Management Systems. He concluded that the overall objective of the Integrity and Ethics Sc orecard is to allow individual institutions to understand and work within their established instruments and framework, and to have a very effective administrative structure that would prevent corruption. Questions and answers, contributions and suggestions formed part of the engagement. By: Martina George, Communications Officer, ACC Commission, stating that “the ACC will not condone any form of corruption and will ensure that full cash payment is made to every eligible beneficiary.” She advised that the cash given to beneficiaries is meant only for them and members of their households and should not be given as a tip to anyone. Miss Massaquoi also explained to the beneficiaries the various means of reporting grievances or corruption issues to the ACC, including via the use of the toll free lines of 077 - 985 - 985 or 077 - 986 - 986. In Port Loko, the District Monitor, Salifu Kamara, gave an overview of the PSSNYE Project and the mode of selecting benefi- By: Amie Massaquoi, Information Officer, ACC CONTD FROM PG.2 Participants at the engagement in Kono ciaries. Data Entry Officer, attached to the North - east region, Jennifer Sesay, while addressing participants in Tonkolili encouraged them to utilize the messages conveyed to them to ensure a smooth implementation of the project. The Manager of the ACC Regional Office in Kono, Hawanatu Omotayo Kamara, while speaking to participants in the district, said women, persons living with disabilities and young people, will form the bulk of the beneficiaries of the project. She said that, under the emergency cash transfer, payments to beneficiaries will start soonest. Participants at the meetings thanked the Government, UNICEF, the World Bank and other partners for the project, which they said will make remarkable improvement and transformation in their lives and on their livelihoods. They commended the ACC for their support in ensuring transparency in the project. The meetings were climaxed with a question and answer session.

2. Page 2 T he Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC) has held a series of awareness raising meetings on the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) component of the Productive Social Safety Net and Youth Employment (PSSNYE) Project in Port Loko, Tonkolili and Kono districts respectively. The meetings were held in Mathaska community in Port Loko, Old Town community, Magburaka, in Tonkolili and Koidu City, Kono on 2nd, 3rd and 4th, October, 2023 respectively. The PSSNYE is a project sup- ported by the World Bank, UNICEF and the Government of Sierra Leone, implemented by the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA), to help extremely poor households in the country, and to support Government’s agenda to provide social pro- tection and employment to its citizens. The GRM component of the project is implemented by the Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC) to ensure smooth implementation and to also provide ben- eficiaries with the opportunity to report their grievances about issues that may arise during the implementation of the project. Deputy Director of Public Education and External Outreach of the ACC, Abuba- karr Turay, told participants that the PSSNYE is a five - year scheme by the Government of Sierra Leone supported by the World Bank to alleviate poverty from extremely poor households through direct cash transfer and to provide entrepreneurship support and means of employment for young people. Under the direct cash transfer component of the project, he said, the cash will be given to those who will qualify as the poorest of the poor from extremely poor communities and those adversely affected by climate change. He reminded them of the just - concluded Social Safety Net and how it positively impacted the lives of beneficiaries. He By: Amie Massaquoi, Information Officer, ACC Deputy Director of Public Education and Outreach, Abubakarr Turay (L) and Head of Outreach Unit, Al - Hassan Sesay (R) speaking at the engagements in Tonkolili and Kono. assured them that the PSSNYE purse is much bigger and expansive. The Head of Outreach Unit ACC, Al - Hassan Sesay, emphasized on the impact of the project on the livelihoods of the beneficiaries. He said the project will enable beneficiaries to venture into small scale businesses, farming and other sources of work which will help them to earn money and take care of their families. The aim, he said, is to uplift people from poverty and help them live a meaningful life. Mr. Sesay also highlighted the role of potential beneficiaries and encouraged them to judiciously utilize the money that will be provided for them. Highlighting the role of the ACC and how to report corruption, Information Officer of ACC, Amie Massaquoi, said that the presence of the ACC in the project is to build the faith of the beneficiaries. She elaborated on the role of the Information Officer, Amie Massaquoi, speaking at the en- gagement in Port Loko CONTD PG.4

3. Page 3 A Poem By: Joel Tejan Deen - Tarawally Esq. The heroes of Alkebulan once had a window through which they saw the future, Through time their minds traveled and exhumed the mysteries and realities of the present, No, they were not prophets, they merely presented us a reality cheque, Foretelling events unseen in yesteryears which today even the blind at the city of rest can clearly see. It is a pity! When brothers fail in unity to the penitence of a neo - colonial order, in truth was our black brother’s counsel, And of how the strangers placed a knife between the things that once held us together, wrote our dear cousin from the land of the eagle. How could we be so foolish and so blind! How! For generations our members slaved in their plantations and yet allowed their kingdom to rule us even unto this day? How!!! Where was Ubuntu! Ah...! I think I know just the answer. A man, well dressed with promises of vain gain, once visited a few of our patriarchs, In his deception they accepted bribe from the strangers in exchange for our brothers and sisters who in their prime ended up working in chains, In chains our mothers wept and like a woman in labor, mother earth groaned in pain at the sight of their bloody tears. Who did we offend? None but ourselves, even the heavens gave us plenty. Visionless was our great grandfather’s naivety, for that same man, well dressed with promises of vain gain, again paid them visit for an alien rule of Alkebulan, Desecrating our laws, strangers made us second class citizens in our own land, Not so in Ethiopia, for there with bravery our brothers fought and like dogs with their tails between their legs they ran. Like the serpent of old this man with promises must surely be an emissary from the underworld, for he has stolen the light in our night and defrauded our legal tender, Polluting the air with the stench of poverty he wines and dines with our leaders and our neighbors, sparing not their workers. It is sickening! How unwise can we be! How unwise! And it is he who whispered to our brothers in the Realm of the Free to lose faith and, for a decade, attacked their own from the trenches and bush- es of Daru and Zimmi, believing them- selves to be freedom fighters, Alas! The amputation, destruction and shedding of blood; an expression of the aggression of their frustration was wrongly directed all along. How I wish they had known that it was that man all along! His deception is deadlier and more costly than that of the strangers. He is clever indeed, With cunningly devised fable of a good life, he searches for the greedy and entices them with deceit and many his prey. Tothis beautiful land of plenty the workmanship of his enterprise brings only lack. The tenacity of his audacity knows no bound, even integrity he has challenged to a fight at the Freetown Cotton Tree, but there is an army, Of warriors trained to fight to the death, more dangerous than the great warriors of Ethiopia who once disgraced the strangers in the battlefield, In their ranks are gladiators in suit and the scorpion squad that stings with precision, the grand army of the People’s General, they sleep not. Not unaware that he will fight back, ready they are to fight to the death for their courage has been anchored in the assurance of the triumph of tomorrow, considering not themselves but the next generation unto the fourth. Like Rolihlahla of the Madiba Clan, like Bai Bureh the great warrior, they have been summoned to carry the sacred torch of emancipation from lack and misery in this dark cosmopolitan body, Their duty, that of a patriot who against all odds carries the map that bears the direction to the promised land, simple yet mighty.

1. 9th—13th October 2023 Issue 1 Volume 9 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) has engaged Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in an inception meeting on the adoption of Ethics and Integrity Scorecard that the Commission is set to introduce. The Scorecard is a Prevention Tool that will be employed to track Compliance and Integrity Remedial Actions within the various MDAs. The meeting which was attended by government officials, representatives from different institutions, took place on Tuesday 3 rd October, 2023 at the Conference Room of the ACC’s Integrity House, Tow- er Hill, Freetown. Making his opening remarks, Deputy Commissioner of ACC, Au- gustine Foday Ngobie, stat- ed that the ACC is charged with the responsibility to control corruption in Sierra Leone as a fundamental mandate. This he said informs the established working relationship with various MDAs, as an incentive to achieve and maximize this mandate. He emphasized the need for MDAs to em- ploy internal corruption prevention strategy. Deputy Commissioner, ACC, Augus- tine Foday Ngobie making a Statement Director, Corruption Prevention, ACC, describing the scorecard at the engagement . Representatives from various MDAs listening to the Deputy Commissioner, ACC, whilst making his statement By: Martina George, Communications Officer, ACC “Our common interest is when globally Control of Corruption assessment is done, and Sierra Leone performs very well like we have been highly rated especially in the past 5 years. The MCC scorecards have been rating Sierra Leo- ne with an excellent grade, which is something you and I should be proud of”, he said. He noted that the Commission has been con- ducting Systems Reviews, proffering recommendations and has developed Compliance Manual. The ACC Deputy Commissioner however maintained that the Commission wants to see which of the institutions have been complying with those recommendations, noting that this informs the development of the Ethics and Integrity Scorecard questionnaire, which will be provided to MDAs. He further said that this is to be completed and returned to the Commission, to be analyzed and presented to the people of Sierra Leone, highlighting institutions that are compliant. Director of Corruption Prevention, ACC, Rashid Turay, in his statement noted that the Commission is responsible to review practices and procedures in MDAs, with the view to identifying gaps in practices and procedures, and proffer recommendations to improve on service delivery. He said that the Commission has been constrained on doing a