ACC Vs. Parliament: Corruption Wins

By Samuel Wise Bangura

For a decade, the Auditor General’s report in Sierra Leone has transitioned from a document of fiscal accountability to a political football, kicked between the goalposts of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the House of Parliament. But as these two giants engage in a sophisticated dance of jurisdictional dominance and tactical retreat, the Sierra Leonean taxpayer is left watching from the sidelines of a game that is rigged.

If the very institution tasked with overseeing the public purse is consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt in the land, and the corruption watchdog has suddenly clipped its own claws in deference to that institution, the conclusion is inescapable: Corruption wins.

Between 2015 and 2018, under the All People’s Congress (APC) administration, the Annual Audit Reports were treated like classified state secrets. Despite the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone mandating fiscal transparency, the reports gathered dust.

The public outcry was deafening. Sierra Leoneans watched as billions of Leones were flagged as unsupported expenditure or missing funds, yet the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament remained stagnant. Parliamentarians argued that they had the sole constitutional mandate to examine these reports before any prosecutorial action could be taken. This period was characterized by a deliberate legislative bottleneck that protected the status quo.

The then-opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) feasted on this. Their campaign trail was paved with promises of plugging leakages. They weaponized the APC’s legislative lethargy, painting Parliament as a shield for thieves. They promised a New Direction where the audit report would be a manual for prosecution, not a decorative piece on a shelf.

When the SLPP took power in 2018, the appointment of Francis Ben Kaifala signaled a paradigm shift. He didn't wait for the ceremonial laying of the report or the glacial pace of Parliamentary debates.

The ACC invoked its powers under the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 (as amended in 2019). The Act grants the Commission broad investigative powers, stating that the Commission can initiate an investigation into "any person" based on any information that comes to its attention. Ben Kaifala famously argued that the Audit Report was a public document once submitted to the President and Parliament, and as such, it constituted "information" the ACC could act upon immediately.

The results were visceral. The ACC recovered billions in non-conviction based asset recoveries. They bypassed the PAC, arguing that while Parliament has an oversight role, the ACC has a prosecutorial one. For a moment, it seemed the bottleneck had been smashed. 

Section 119 of the 1991 Constitution dictates “The Auditor General shall submit reports to Parliament... which shall be referred to the Public Accounts Committee.” Parliament claims this gives them exclusive first-right to purify the report through debates. 

The Anti-Corruption Commission Act (2008/2019) dictates “The Commission has the power to investigate any matter that "in the opinion of the Commission" involves corruption.” The ACC claims it can use the Audit Report as a lead for criminal investigation without legislative permission. The friction between these two bodies is rooted in a deliberate or accidental ambiguity between the Constitution and the ACC Act.

For years, Francis Ben Kaifala was a firebrand advocate for the latter. He argued fervently that waiting for Parliament, an institution frequently cited in Afrobarometer surveys as the second or third most corrupt body in Sierra Leone was an exercise in futility.

The skepticism regarding Parliament’s ability to referee corruption isn't just cynical public chatter; it is documented and admitted.

In a landmark moment on AYV’s AYV on Sunday that I hosted, Hon. Hindolo Gevao, a member of the ruling SLPP, dropped a bombshell. He admitted with startling candor that Parliament was corrupt; a culture he claimed existed long before he even darkened the doors of the House. This admission echoed the sentiments of a populace that has watched MPs approve astronomical budgets for themselves while the audit reports of their own constituencies remain unresolved.

When the judge is also the defendant, can justice ever be served? If Parliament is the second most corrupt institution in the country, giving them sole custody of the Audit Report is like asking a fox to guard the hen house and then write a report on why the chickens are missing.

In the last two years, a chilling silence has descended upon the ACC regarding the Audit Reports. The once-defiant Commissioner has seemingly accepted that Parliament has primacy. He has signaled that the ACC will no longer interfere with the audit findings until the Parliamentary process is concluded. 

Why the sudden change of heart?

Rumors of Francis Ben Kaifala’s presidential ambitions for 2028 are no longer whispers; they are the loudest sounds in the political corridors. To run for President, one needs the blessing of the party machinery. You cannot prosecute the very MPs and Ministers who hold the keys to the party’s delegate system and expect to be their flagbearer. By deferring to Parliament, the ACC effectively moves the hot potato of corruption from its desk to the PAC. If no one is prosecuted, the ACC can claim its hands were tied by the Constitution. The ACC is a creature of statute, but its budget and the security of its leadership are often at the mercy of the executive and legislative branches.

By retreating, the ACC has abandoned the very New Direction it once championed. They have returned to the APC-era status quo: a world where the Audit Report is a suggestion, not a summons. The "Wait-and-See" approach is a death sentence for accountability. By the time a Parliamentary committee debates an audit report from 2023 in late 2025, the trail is cold. The irony is bitter. The SLPP used the APC’s failure to debate audits as a weapon to gain power. Now, they have perfected a system where they nominally debate them, but the ACC—once the aggressive enforcer, stands down in a show of institutional respect.

If we are waiting on an institution that is consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt to lead the fight against corruption, we are not just delusional; we are complicit. The 1991 Constitution was never intended to be a shield for thieves, yet it is being used as one. The ACC Act gave the Commission the teeth to bite, but the Commission has chosen to wear a muzzle. If the ACC will not move until a corrupt-ranked Parliament gives it the green light, then the green light will never come or it will only flash for the small fish, while the sharks continue to swim in the deep waters of state resources.  In the battle of ACC vs. Parliament, there is no winner among the institutions. There is only one victor in the wreckage of our economy: Corruption.

If Parliament were truly doing its work of oversight, of integrity, of fiscal discipline, there would be no need for the ACC to exist. The very existence of the ACC is an admission of Parliamentary failure. For the ACC to now submit to that failure is the ultimate betrayal of the Sierra Leonean people.