PROCEDURES
OF CORRUPTION PREVENTION DEPARTMENT
1.
INTRODUCTION
With reference to Section 5(2) a & b of the Anti-Corruption Act 2000,
it is the mandate of the Prevention Department to take necessary measures
for the prevention of corruption in Government Ministries, Departments and
other public bodies including instructing any person or authority on ways
in which corrupt practices can be reduced or eliminated.
2.
PROCEDURES
The Commission Standing Order has been prepared using the knowledge acquired
in corruption prevention exercises carried out in the field and from materials
on corruption prevention in various anti-corruption outfield in the world.
This Standing Order desires the procedure to follow in undertaking the corruption
Prevention function described in Section 5(2(a) & (b) of the Anti-Corruption
Act 2000 as amended
The Prevention
Department shall undertake three major types of interventions:
a.
Reactive
Intervention – This involves complaints received by the Report Centre, recommendations
arising out of an investigation and request made by client institutions.
Complaints, requests and recommendations for corruption prevention are minuted
through the appropriate channels to the Prevention Department for action.
The Director minutes the assignment to the Principal Prevention Officer who
in turn minutes it to a Senior Prevention Officer. The Senior Prevention
Officer shall then allocate the task to a lead Prevention Officer according
to their individual experience and expertise, considering the relative complexity
of the assignment.
b.
Review
of Legislation - Policies are examined to ascertain their relevance or adaptability
to the present situation or whether they have inherent corruption prevention
mechanisms. The strategy employed involves mostly discussion on proposed
legislations, scrutinizing draft legislation, and making verbal and written
submissions on issues to be covered by the legislation which directly or indirectly
concerns corruption prevention.
c.
Proactive
Intervention – Officers of the Department would undertake corruption prevention
initiatives in both public and private institutions emanating from public
perception surveys on corruption undertaken from time to time, or proposals
developed by the department for such interventions. The Director shall forward
such proposals to the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner for approval.
3
Prevention exercises shall be undertaken once an approval has been
received from the Director through channels descried in 2 (a) above. The
lead officer submits a plan of action to the Senior Prevention Officer
and subsequently the Principal Prevention Officer, amended as necessary, for
the attention and approval of the Director. Once the plan of action is firmed
up, the lead officer and his team shall proceed with the assignment as follows;
i
For corruption prevention exercises described in 2 (a) above which involves
complaints received from the Report Center is an recommendations arising out
of an investigation .A letter of notification is drafted for the
Director by the Lead officer stating a date for an interview and where necessary
request for documents and any other information required. The Officer and
his team shall then proceed with the work plan and where necessary
the recording of statement and seizure of documents to illustrate
the pattern of behaviour under study, consulting at every stage with
Senior Officers, supported by evidence until the assignment is concluded.
The Draft Report containing recommendations for remedial action is presented
to the Commission through similar channels to the Director for his/her consideration.
The Director for the approval of the Commissioner or his Deputy, minutes this
report. The approved report is then presented to both parties i.e.
Complainant and accuse. Where a corrupt practice is discovered in the course
of the study, the Prevention Officer should ensure that it is promptly reported
to the Director in a memorandum requesting an investigation.
ii
Corruption prevention exercises involving the review of legislation as stated
in 2(b) above shall take the form of discussion and consultation on draft
legislation and regulations as well as proposed legislation on issues concerning
corrupt practices. Corruption prevention exercises of this type involve considerable,
discussion, compromise and verbal submissions are likely to be more numerous
than written submissions. Such submissions must only be made with the full
knowledge and support of the Director and he/she is regularly informed of
progress by means of internal minutes regarding verbal submissions, and through
reports which will form written submissions for forwarding to the appropriate
parties through similar channel described above to the Commissioner or his
Deputy, as well as the Client institution for further action.
This type of exercise will be concluded whether by the enactment of legislation
or shelving of plans for its enactment and at this stage a final report is
submitted to the Director through channels.
iii With regard proactive intervention described in 2(c) above the
lead Officer and his team;
a. Hold meetings
with senior management of the client (organization) to determine the scope
of the study and arrange for a senior member of the client body to be appointed
to assist and liaise with the Officer conducting the exercise. The preliminary
meeting may be followed by other meetings at various levels.
b. Conduct a thorough
background research and interview key officers.
c. Study the legislations
and subsidiary regulations which may have been amended.
d. Determine whether
administrative rules exist, if not, it may be necessary to recommend that
rules should be devised. It is normal for the client body to issue administrative
instructions, directives or standing orders, sometimes embodied in the form
of a manual of procedures to supplement the legislation and regulations.
Such administrative rules are issued by the Management of a client body to
control, guide and direct its staff in the effective performance of its functions.
e. Examine financial
documents and systematically analyse these documents to identify corruption
opportunities.
f.
The
Corruption Prevention Officer should always attempt to see procedures in actual
operation. The exercise will also concentrate on the degree of supervision
by Senior Staff of the client organisation over their subordinates, the decision
taking process and the level at which decisions are taken. In effective or
non-existent supervision or too much discretion in decision making offers
potential for corruption and instances of such defects are identify during
the study.
3.
Report
writing is an essential aspect of every assignment undertaken by the Prevention
Officer. It is important that Officers carry with them note books to record
their observation/finding when on an assignment. The report shall be prepared
in time based on the following format:-
a.
Background:-
This part is intended to tell the reader how the system studied came into
being, the reason for its existence, and why it exists in its present form.
b.
Scope
– The study must indicate the extent of the investigation and the relevant
section of the Act, the issues or area in which it is undertaken, which may
include institutions, departments, persons contacted, materials used by officer(s)
in the course of conducting the study etc.
c.
Objectives
–These shall include the expected or desired outcome of the study. Stated
objectives must be concise and attainable.
d.
Methodology
–No two cases require the same methodology. Each case understudy requires
a particular and systematic approach. A step by step method in conducting
the study which is a reflection of the approved work plan shall be carefully
illustrated here.
e.
Findings
– In a course of the study, observation made by a Case Officer and his team
must be noted as principal outcomes. This shall form a major element of the
report. Corruption situations which are been identified as a result of the
exercise are precisely described in the report.
f.
Implications
– In corruption prevention, the Case Officer endeavours to present the effects
on the client institution of the findings as a measure of eliminating potential
opportunities and future indulgence in corruption.
g.
Recommendations
– In collaboration with the client, good practices are suggested for implementation
by client institutions, and shall also serve as a guide for good work habits.
In both pro-active and reactive interventions,
there are several sources of identification of assignments for prevention
work. Reported cases referred to the Prevention Department by the Report Centre
are one such source.
Others include:
1.
Closed
investigation files
2.
Concluded
prosecution files which do not have evidence or that have evidence of weaknesses.
3.
Suggestion
from staff
4.
Information
from Print and Electronic Media
5.
Client
Organisations
6.
Feedback
from Community Relations outreach Programme.
5.
CORRUPTION PREVENTION ACTIVITIES
Several activities have
been conducted on corruption prone areas in government departments and other
public bodies. Reports are issued with recommendations to client institutions
to help them remove opportunities for corruption in their system and procedures.
The following activities are:
a.
Talks
and Seminar
The Prevention Department
provides management oriented talks for staff at various levels in corruption
prevention techniques. The basic concept behind the effectiveness relies
on improving the quality of management, and the introduction of accountability.
The seminar on corruption
prevention techniques are specifically tailored to the needs of the organization.
Such techniques include:
·
The
Role of Managers in corruption prevention
·
Ethics
and professional standards in the work place
·
Positive
preventive measures
Such seminars had been
conducted for staff members in the
·
Ministry
of Lands, Country Planning and the Environment
·
Ministry
of Health and Sanitation
·
Ministry
of Agriculture
·
Headteachers
of Primary Schools
b.
Development
of Best Practices
In preventing corruption
through improved systems and procedures, you need corruption prevention Best
Practices. Good practices help minimize malpractices and corruption that
undermine an organisations operation and halt its reputation.
Therefore Best Practices
are developed for institutions after system examinations. Such Best Practices
have been developed in the following areas.
· Best Practice Guide on
the management of land and the environment.
· Best Practice Guide on
transshipment process, registration of vessels, record keeping system and
revenue collection.
·
Best
Practices on Financial Management in the Health Delivery Sector
· Best Practices on National
Council for Technical and Vocational Awards (MCTVA)
·
Best
Practice on the Award of Grant-in-Aid
·
Best
Practices on the Sale of Auction Goods.
c. Consultancy
Services
According to the mandate
of the department Sec 5 2 (b) of Anti-Corruption Act 2000 i.e. to instruct,
advise and assist any person or authority on ways in which corrupt practices
could be reduced or eliminated, invitations can be extended to the department
to help institutions to streamline their financial management system. This
is an indication of trust; both the private and the public sector have in
the Prevention Department. For instance, the Director of the Rokupr Rice
Research Station in his restructuring of the staff at the station, management
requested the assistance of the Commission in the payment of salaries in order
to establish that the names in the payment voucher represent actual bodies
who are legally employed by the station.
The Prevention Department
was then involved in providing assistance on the exercise in consonance with
Sec 5 (2) b as stated above. Similar invitation was also extended by the
Ministry of Finance in the auditing of Sierra Leone Transport Corperation.
d.
Participation
in Counterpart Activities
The Prevention Department
plays a leading role in supporting other sectors of society when called upon
to do so through workshops and other discussion forums. The following are
some of the participations made by the department.
·
Promoting
transparency in public procurement. According to a World Bank Report, 20%
of the total procurement undertaken by Government is wasted due to mis-procurement
hence, the need for a procurement law. The current public procurement law
went through various stages of consultation before its enactment in 2004.The
Prevention Department played a pivotal role in recommending safeguards into
the draft document to minimise corruption in public procurement.
·
The
Prevention Department was also part of the taskforce that was constituted
by Government to bring into fruition the decentralization process. During
the year 2003 and 2004 the Department on behalf of the Anti-Corruption participated
in all the activities that brought about the Local Government Act 2004, recommending
amongst other things the disclosure of assets by public officials.
·
Extractive
Industries Transparency(EITI)
ACC is a key participant
in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which is a government
led process that advocate for greater transparency in the Mining Industry.
The ACC especially the prevention Department has made its presence felt in
the various conferences organized by the coalition of Civil Society Groups,
by making far-reaching recommendations for the transformation of the process.
·
Justice
Sector Reform Development Project(JSDP)
Another area of intervention
by the ACC is the Justice Sector Development Programme (JSDP) funded by DFID
with the view to strengthening the country’s institutions of Justice and promotes
observance
and respect for the Rule of Law which is the bed rock of many civilized societies.
The ACC has participated in the proceedings of the JSDP since its inception.
This is indicated by the presence of two of its officers from the prevention
department. One of the officers is a member of the JSDP Small Grants Fund
committee which was constituted by the parent body to enable people to access
justice and or to monitor the justice sector and hold it to account.
· Public Expenditure
Tracking Survey(PETS)
The Department
is a strong counterpart of the Public Financial Management Reform Unit (PFMRU)
of the Ministry of Finance. The Department has always participated fully in
the Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS) process. Moreover, this survey
report is usually used in our preventative exercises.
· Media
and Civil Society
Over the years,
the department has been working with Civil Society Organizations, the print
and electronic media for effective outreach to the wider public. As part of
its pro-active approach to corruption prevention, the department has, this
year, started to look at newspaper articles that attract prevention work,
as a means of reacting to immediate public perception on certain corruption
allegations.
In this instance,
the following were identified in various publications and actions to address
them were immediately taken:
·
Advertisement
for the sale of scraps at Port Authority(SLPA}, which was in the Exclusive
Newspaper on Tuesday July 11, 2006
·
Local
Government bags $1 Million on the GOBIFO project in the standard times newspaper
·
Artesian
fisheries on micro-credit in the New Citizen
·
SALWACO
water project in the Awoko Newspaper 21st July, 2006
Some
of the examinations of these activities are near completion.
e. Monitoring
Monitoring exercises are
also conducted to ascertain the level of compliance in the implementation
of recommendations contained in the Best Practice Guide developed for some
ministries and also monitoring of service delivery in client institutions
such monitoring have been carried out in the following areas.
Monitoring exercises have
been carried out in the following areas:
·
implementation
of Best Practice Guides
·
Distribution
of Teaching and Learning materials
·
Payment
of fees subsidy
·
Distribution
of drugs and Medical supplies
·
Utilization
of Local Council Funds
·
procurement
process at the Ministry of Education
CORRUPTION PREVENTION ACTIVITIES FLOW CHART
Problem Identification
Best Practice
Inspection
Engage Stakeholders
Re-inspection