According to the ACC, the role of the Task Force is “to ensure that the targeted beneficiaries for the World Bank supported National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) direct cash transfer efforts, are captured in a transparent and accountable manner.”

Speaking on radio two days ago, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the ACC – Augustine Foday Ngobie, warned that officers handling the cash transfer project must be very careful, adding that anyone caught manipulating the system for selfish purposes will face the full penalty of the law as provided under the amended Anti-Corruption Act of 2008.

“Our mandate in this particular cash transfer provided by World Bank through NaCSA is to ensure that the specific categories of persons affected by the economic downturn due to Covid19 in Bo, Kenema, Makeni and Port Loko are captured”, DC Ngobie emphasized.

Mr. Ngobie also said that the cash transfer is not meant for any political party, local leaders or groups other than those targeted, who are in the informal sector so as to ensure that their businesses do not hit rock-bottom with the outbreak of the pandemic which has halted many viable commercial activities in Sierra Leone.

Whilst commenting on the penalties for abusing the cash transfer system, the Coordinator for Operations at the ACC – Emmanuel Koivaya Amara,  reminded the people of Bo, Kenema, Makeni and Port Loko that President Bio’s administration signed an agreement with the World Bank in 2019 for US$30 million – a grant from the International Development Association (IDA), to finance the Social Safety Net (SSN) Project which initially targeted 35,000 beneficiaries in all 16 districts of the country.