Anti-corruption bill debated

Parliament’s review of the anti-corruption bill should be over very soon, presidential spokesman Septimus Kaikai told IRIN on Thursday. “The initial reaction of parliament was that it was needed,” Kaikai said. He added that the bill would likely be ratified “very shortly” and would cover all aspects of public life in a bid to stamp out corruption. “No-one will be immune, not even the President,” Kaikai said. An independent commission would be created, he added, to help ensure successful implementation of the bill. Corruption has been a major and ongoing problem in Sierra Leone. For example, the government of former president Joseph Momoh (1986-92) was unable to control corruption, smuggling and high public spending. This was underlined in findings by a commission of enquiry which found that Momoh had also embezzled public funds, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The civil war, launched by the Revolutionary United Front in 1991 to express its dissatisfaction with the ruling elite in Freetown, has exacerbated the problem of illegal mining and smuggling of diamonds.