IGR Launches New Report on Commissions of Inquiry

The Institute for Governance Reform has released findings of a new report titled “Citizens Views and Voices on the Commissions of Inquiry” at a press briefing held at the Institute’s conference room on Monday, 11th February, 2019.

Executive Director of the Institute, Andrew Lavali said  between 6th and 8th February 2019, IGR canvassed opinions of 1,146 citizens in three cities, one swing area (Freetown), one opposition stronghold (Makeni), and one government-controlled city (Bo Town). At a margin of error of +/- 5%, a total of 383 randomly selected interviews were conducted in each city targeting an equal number of respondents across all wards in the cities. Officials in ten government agencies also served as key informants on the potential impact of the COI and GTT report as it relates to the behaviour of public institutions. The study also solicited respondent views on how the COI can be improved.

Head of the Anti Corruption Commission, Francis Ben Kaifala, who was present at the launching ceremony praised the report, noting that the findings would find meaningful expressions in the ACC’s growing focus of working to prevent corruption. He said some of the findings were very interesting but that he was concerned about the number of respondents who said they did not know how to engage with the Commissions of Inquiry in case they had vital pieces of information to share.

The report’s key findings are that 82% of respondents think the COI will contribute to the fight against corruption in Sierra Leone. While 74% of respondent believe the COIs will be fair, another 19% said they feared the COI could lead to violence. Read full report here: http://igrsl.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IGR-Report-Commission-of-Inquiry-.pdf