Corruption has been widespread in Sierra Leone for decades and has negatively impacted many sectors of the economy and society. Citizens routinely pay bribes to access public services like healthcare and education. Companies seeking to invest are discouraged by corrupt dealings with officials. The natural resource sector, which provides most export revenue, has failed to boost economic growth due to corruption undermining local communities. The judiciary system is also compromised by bribery and lack of resources. However, the Anti-Corruption Commission established in 2001 has investigated and prosecuted many high-level officials, recovered funds, and its powers were strengthened in 2008.

1. Roughly ten years after the end of the ruthless Sierra Leone Civil War (1991-2002), Sierra Leone
continues to face overwhelming challenges of feeble governance, widespread poverty and systemic
corruption, which reduces sustainable development and long term economic reconstruction efforts.
Corruption in particular has proven the most abundant, compromising citizen’s access to public services
such as healthcare, education and policing.
Corruption over the past couple decades has been extensive from the local to the national level in
Sierra Leone. Inefficient elected officials, low salaries, stagnant legislation, and excessive bureaucratic
regulations, offer many opportunities for bribery and extortion. Citizens would routinely report having to
make informal payments to access public services such as medical care, school services, and court verdicts
further depleting their per capita disposable income. Many companies were exposed to corrupt public
officials when making deals, discouraging outside companies from relocating in Sierra Leone. Due to the
abundance of business malpractice in the country, interested companies would become discouraged to
make long term investments. Long term yields remain unpredictable and are further complicated by the
growing amount of domestic bribery and extortion.
There are many facets of Sierra Leone’s economy that have been impacted by corruption. One of
the most notable sectors is the natural resource sector. Sierra Leone relies primarily on its abundant
mineral, marine, and natural resources. These resources include diamond mines, timber, iron ore, and gold
which represent an overwhelming majority of the country’s export revenue. Unfortunately, these resources
have failed to translate the few resources this country can offer into economic growth. The government
and a major mining company have undermined villager’s access to food and prevented workers from
challenging malpractices (Mining Boom, 2014). As a result, residents lost their ability to cultivate crops
and engage in income generating activities that once sustained them (Mining Boom, 2014). As one of the
poorest countries in the world Sierra Leone relies heavily on the foreign aid of other more affluent
countries and external sources of revenue. As aid is often distributed, it comes with its own inherent
corruption risks. The country lacks the overall human capital and financial resources to manage and
monitor donor funded projects. Given this, donor funds become particularly vulnerable to corruption.

2. Furthermore, another sector affected in Sierra Leone is the judiciary. Powerful corrupt individuals
occupy high ranking positions, providing them with many opportunities to manipulate the justice system
to their personal benefit or to evade law enforcement (World Report, 2011). This is reflected by the
miniscule amount of investigations and prosecutions against these suspicious officials despite known
involvement by fellow officials and the general public. Scarce resources as well as low paid and under-
qualified personnel obstruct the institution’s ability to deliver justice services in an independent and
impartial manner, allowing corruption to exacerbate. Global Integrity also reports that human right groups
continuously draw attention to the fact that people pay illegal fees to court officials for reduced bail and
lighter sentences (Chene, 2010). Judicial presence outside the capital city remains limited, with only a
single judge appointed to each of the country’s 12 districts. This creates a surplus of delays and backlogs,
while law enforcement officials outside the capital are given considerable discretion.
Moreover, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was established in 2001 as an independent
commission to investigate government corruption. The ACC has since convicted many high ranking
officials such as the Minister of Health and Sanitation and Defense Director of Procurement (World
Report, 2011). The head of the ACC himself has even fallen under scrutiny for potential corruption
charges. After the election of President Koroma, the powers of the ACC have been strengthened under the
Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 with the appointment of a human rights lawyer to head the department
(Chene, 2010). A hotline and tips website has been established to allow members of the general public to
anonymously report any suspected corruption. Since 2010 approximately 13 high level officials have been
prosecuted and removed from their positions including vice president chief of staff and members of the
country’s legislature (Chene, 2010). In addition, the ACC was able to recover close to 2 Million US
dollars for the government and anti-corruption regimes.

3. Chene, Marie. "Overview of Corruption and Anti-corruption in Sierra Leone." U4. Transparency
International, 22 Sept. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2015. http://www.u4.no/publications/overview-of-
corruption-and-anti-corruption-in-sierra-leone/
Sierra Leone: Mining Boom Brings Rights Abuses." Human Rights Watch., 19 Feb. 2014. Web.
14 Nov. 2015. https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/02/19/sierra-leone-mining-boom-brings-rights-
abuses
"World Report 2011: Sierra Leone." Human Rights Watch., 24 Jan. 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2011/country-chapters/sierra-leone