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Africa needs to build institutions to fight corruption –Kaifala

Francis Ben Kaifala is the commissioner of the Anti- Corruption Commission of Sierra Leone. In this interview, he speaks on leadership in Africa, corruption on the continent as well as the role of women and youth in the political development of the continent, among other issues. ANAYO EZUGWU reports

 

What do you make of leadership development on the continent of Africa?

 

Leadership in Africa is in the middle of everything that has to happen to Africa. Whereas the people have to support what leadership does, the key thing that should happen is that leaders have to step up and really be who leaders are in order to move their countries with the vision and prosperity that Africa deserves.

 

The challenge Africa is facing today is actually leadership, how do we solve the leadership challenge with recent military incursion in the governance of some countries on the continent?

 

Leaders actually need to understand the dynamics of leadership and being leaders in so far as they are visionary they are influencers of change and become the models that they want to be emulated by others on the continent.

 

So, leaders have to step up to be problem solvers, to be creative, to really be the ones their people can look forward to for ideas and solutions and make sure that solutions are provided.

 

From the Sierra-Leonean experience, is it possible to fight corruption in Africa?

 

Yes, it is extremely possible to fight corruption in Africa. Everything that is happening now in Sierra-Leone points to the fact that it is possible. For example, when I was appointed the commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission of the Republic of Sierra Leone, we were performing badly in all indexes.

 

Today, the Afrobarometer confirms that corruption has reduced from 70 per cent to 40 per cent. In Transparency International, we have moved from 131 to 117 and we keep going forward. In the NCC corruption scorecard, we were failing at 49 per cent, today we are sitting at 81 per cent.

 

And of course, the citizens believe that the institution is fighting corruption. These are things that are pointing to the fact that it can be done because those who are measuring these things are independent institutions that we have no control over.

They have come back two-three years down the line to confirm that the strategies and measures we have put in place to fight corruption are producing results. That is why for example, we are here having this conversation.

 

Can you share your experience on what exactly you did to bring down the rating in Sierra Leone?

Institution building is very strong in the anti-corruption fight. It serves  as the pillar of prevention because prevention is the very work of the fight against corruption. So, the government has to invest in prevention, making sure that there are systems and processes that work.

 

Also, enforcement has to be incorporated into the system because enforcement has two comp o n e n t s . There is an investigation component and there is a prosecution component.

Both have to be there because no matter how you build an anticorruption fight without proper investigation and prosecution, it will be very difficult to achieve. In my country, there is something we normally say: ‘You kill a dog before a dog and a dog will know that there is death.’

 

You have to arrest people, detain them and prosecute the ones with issues to ensure that impunity does not exist. So, sanctioning has to be at the heart of what you do and that is another thing we have done.

 

But most importantly, in public education, African countries need more and more education about the evils of corruption and to equip the citizens with support to reject corruption. We have been doing a lot of massive public education engagement in Sierra Leone and that too has helped the citizens not only to understand the evils of corruption but to also rally support to what we are doing.

 

 

How do you handle political persecution in Sierra Leone? Prosecution of politically exposed persons is a tough one, but it is about getting the politicians to understand that if we have to change, tough actions and decisions have to be taken.

 

And you have to hold a balance to ensure that what you are doing is fair. Most times in Africa, we have this challenge of people thinking that corruption is only about organisations and enemies of the government and those in government.

 

But you have to make sure that the examples you set and the people you prosecute are done transparently and fairly.

 

It does not only about people who are no longer in government and less powerful but also those who are powerful.

 

In Sierra Leone, if you check, former vice presidents, ministers, heads of institutions and parastatals from up to down are standing trials or have been convicted. That is the kind of thing that has inspired the confidence we are enjoying in Sierra Leone.

 

What is your view on women and youth involvement in politics in Africa?

 

I think is it central because I don’t think there is any African country, where there are more men than women statistically. Secondly, in Africa, all data and statistics show that Africa is a young continent, which means there are more young people below the age of 35 than there are elderly people.

 

So, these people make up probably about 70 per cent of the population of the continent.

 

If you leave them in obscurity, you are likely not going to succeed with your policies. They need to have a seat on the table. They need to have a voice and they should participate because you cannot leave more than half of your population in obscurity and only men, probably older men take decisions.

 

So, women and youths are key to the transformation agenda of Africa and we have to make sure that they have a seat on the table, their voice heard and that they are given opportunity.

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