Community Relations Department

DEPARTMENTAL ACTIVITIES

A. (CRD) is one of the three operational departments of the Commission

Organizational Structure

Head - Director, Mrs. Neneh Dabo
Principal Community Relations Officer
Senior Community Relations Officers
Community Relations Officers
Community Relations Assistants
Graphic Artist

B. MANDATE AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE

Section 5(2)c&d of the Anti-Corruption Act (ACA) 2000 as amended gives the Community Relations Department the mandate to “educate the public against the evils of corruption; and enlist and foster public support in combating corruption”.

The strategic objective of the Department is to “change attitudes” by educating the society away from corruption, soliciting public support in the fight against corruption and enhancing the public image of the ACC thereby promoting confidence in the ACC

C. In carrying out its mandate, the Department has used several strategies as follows:

Use of electronic media - radio and TV
Interactive community sensitisation meetings in the regions
Seminars
Workshops
Participation in trade fairs
Coalition building
Establishment of integrity clubs in secondary schools
Production of soap opera “The Bottomless Pit”
Erection of billboards
Use of print media - newsletter “The Eye”
Production of promotional materials
Monitoring and supervisory visits to the radio stations
Interviews with Government Institution and Para-statals
ACC/UNIOSIL weekly radio discussion programmes
GTZ sponsored programmes

Use of Electronic Media

Radio Commission uses 3 radio stations in Freetown, 11 in the regions to disseminate ACC messages

The jingles introduced the ACC to the public and continued to warn them of the consequences of corrupt practices.

Discussions programmes and interviews are also aired on these radio stations.

Television programmes have included:

· Introduction of the Commission to the public;

· Explanation of the ACC Act including the 9 corrupt practices;

· Activities of the various departments of the ACC;

· Discussion programmes on the activities of government ministries and para-statals;

· Interviews with coalition partners e.g. SLTU, Market Women’s Association, Petty Traders etc;

· Showing documentaries on the Commissions activities;

· ACC soap opera “The Bottomless Pit”.

More than any other strategy, the use of the electronic media has helped to take ACC messages on the fight against corruption to the length and breadth of the country.

Interactive Community Sensitisation Meetings

These have been organized as follows:

· Regional meetings

· District meetings

· Chiefdom meetings

39 communities have been visited as follows:

· Western Area 6 communities

· Northern Region 16 “

· Southern Region 12 “

· Eastern Region 10 “

Meetings are held in the various communities to acquaint them with governments initiatives to fight corruption in the country and to solicit their support and welcome their recommendations. The meetings have also revealed that corruption is rife even at grass-roots level and that the masses are willing and ready to join the battle against corruption.

Seminars/Workshops

The objective of these seminars and workshops is to have improved interactive meetings with the public and private sector. Regional workshops were conducted in Bo for the South, Kenema for the East and Lungi for the North in 2000. The workshops attracted participants from Civil Society, Civil Service, Government Ministries, Local Government, NGOs, the Forces and opinion leaders. They were intended to give them an opportunity to have detailed information about the ACC Act, and to discuss with the ACC staff:

· How the communities can support the ACC

· Effective sensitisation, prevention and investigation strategies

· How the issue of ‘gift’ should be clarified

1^st workshops were in year 2000 as follows:

· Southern Region Bo 9 – 11 Nov. 2000

· Eastern Region Kenema 12 – 14 Nov 2000

· Northern Region Lungi 8^th Dec. 2000

The outcome of the regional workshops led to a National Consultative Conference to address the issues of ‘gift’ and ‘conflict of interest’.

Customised Workshops:

· Mass Media April 2001

· Parliamentarians September 2002

· Inter-Religious Council June 2004

· Civil Society Movement 2003

· Programme Planning Workshops

for Integrity Clubs March 2005

· Two day workshop for NRA, Petty

Traders, Dues Collectors and the

Police July 2006

· Corruption Hotspot Ministries July 2005

Coalition Building

Collaboration with various organizations have helped to strengthen the work of the ACC. A total of 26 organizations within the civil society and non-governmental organizations are working with us. The Coalition conducted an orientation workshop developed and launched a three year strategic plan. The plan outlines aims, objectives, strategies and activities of the coalition and projected the financial implications of these activities. The coalition is a strategy to win both political and national will to fight corruption.

Strategic plan containing programmes was developed in 2002

Participation in Trade Fairs

The Community Relations Department has participated in Trade Fairs organized by our coalition partners over the years.

The Trade Fairs have created opportunities to display ACC posters, distribute t-shirts, show soap opera series to the public and answer from the public about the operations of the ACC.

The Commission participated in the following Trade Fairs:

Bo Peace carnival Bo, April 2001

Chamber of Commerce Trade Fair Freetown, April 2002 and 2006

Northern Region Agricultural Show Makeni, 2003 February

Police Trade Fair Freetown, April 2003

Establishment of Integrity Clubs

Born out of the need for more face-to-face interactive approach, pilot integrity clubs were set up in three secondary schools in the Western Area in 2001. These were replicated in the regions.

The objective for setting the clubs are to:

· Instil a culture of integrity and patriotism into school children;

· Educate parents about the evils of corruption and the benefits of a corrupt free society through their children.

Clubs in the regions are as follows:

Western Area 7

Northern Region 7

Eastern Region 7

Southern Region 6

Total 27

Production of Soap Operas

Use of comedy to explain ACC messages

26 episodes were produced between years 2001 – 2003

Erection of Billboards

Objective is to display ACC messages boldly to the public

ACC billboards are displayed at Lungi Airport and different locations in the Western Area, Southern, Eastern and Northern Region.

Use of Print Media

The ACC newsletter was identified as a good strategy to reach Sierra Leoneans and non Sierra Leoneans with anti-corruption messages and to give an update on departmental activities.

Several volumes have been produced and work is going on to produce another edition.

Production of Promotional Materials

The department produced 4,000 t-shirts with anti-corruption messages in 2001 and have been distributed to the public over the years at trade fairs and workshops.

3,000 posters with anti-corruption messages were also produced and distributed to government ministries, para-statals, diplomatic missions and schools.

10,000 bumper stickers were also produced and distributed to the drivers union countrywide, schools, government institutions etc.

10,000 fact sheet on the ACC were also produced and being distributed in Sierra Leone and to the international community.

Community Theatre Training Programmes

Community theatre is used widely by both Governmental and non-governmental originations in Sierra Leone for community education and mobilization to foster development with various degrees of success. It is the most interactive strategy the Commission is using to research corrupt practices affecting people at community level.

Two theatre training workshops have been organized by the department.

November 17 – 26, 2002 CRD trained two theatre groups, OPARD from Mile 91, Northern Region and Combined Artists (WAN POT) from Western Area and from December 7 – 16 the department conducted a theatre training workshop for two groups of theatre practitioners at the National Pastoral and Development Centre, Kenema.

Workshop for Training of Integrity Club members in the use of street theatre was also organized in Bo in October 2005

Monitoring Trips to the Regions

The activities of the Community Relations Department are monitored on quarterly basis. This involves visits to towns in the provinces where ACC radio and TV programmes are aired. CRD staff pay for ACC radio and TV slots, hold discussions where possible, conduct interviews and assess the impact of our programmes on communities.

ACC/UNIOSIL Radio Discussion Programmes

In year 2005, the civil affairs division of UNAMSIL agreed to help strengthen the ACC radio education programme by granting ACC regular radio discussion series on radio UNAMSIL FM 103 airtime free of cost. The series started in May 2005 and was hosted every Monday. At the end of 2005 the Civil Affairs Division considered ACC programmes as relevant and recommended its continuation.

The programme is therefore ongoing.

Discussants have been our coalition partners, integrity clubs members, but mainly staff of the ACC.

GTZ Sponsored Programmes

In 2006, the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ) signed an agreement with the ACC on behalf of the German Government, to fund a project – “Raising Awareness on Corruption and How it Works Through Community Education and Prevention”.

The project was designed to be implemented by two departments of ACC: Community Relations and Prevention Department.

Other programmes include:

1. Payment for some ACC Radio and television programmes.

2. Distribution of comic posters through training workshops to Integrity Clubs and other schools generally.

3. The inclusion of ACC issues into the school curriculum.

4. Talent competitions among schools with ACC Integrity Clubs.

5. Conduct symposiums, dramas, workshops etc.

6. Monitoring radio stations, Integrity Clubs and schools.

7. Monitoring the teaching of comic posters in schools.

8. Observation of the International ACC Day nationwide.