Deadline: 1 November 2010
THE AURADICALS FOUNDATION
ESSAY COMPETITION 2010
Essay topic:
“Governance, Democracy and Corruption: The role of the Anti-Corruption Commission in addressing these concepts in Sierra Leone"
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was established in the year 2000 by the Government of Sierra Leone to address key questions of (state) corruption that marred Sierra Leone for decades. Most Sierra Leoneans regard the ACC as having the most important tasks of protecting and promoting integrity, accountability and transparency within government institutions. The Commission seeks to achieve its objectives by investigating and punishing acts of corruption within public institutions in Sierra Leone.
A decade since its establishment, the ACC has been led by at least three different Commissioners. However, recent events within the organization have given cause for Sierra Leoneans to question whether the ACC is capable of achieving its objectives. In early May 2010, Sierra Leone witnessed the sudden and unexpected resignations of Abdul Tejan-Cole as head of the Sierra Leone’s ACC and that of his lead prosecutor, Calvin Mantsebo, a Zimbabwean national. These resignations sent shockwaves across the country and beyond. One of Sierra Leone’s major international partners, the United States of America, expresses regret at the event and notes that the fight against corruption in Sierra Leone is a fight for Sierra Leone’s very economic, political and democratic stability.
It is worth remembering that this event comes less than a decade following the end of a terrible civil war in Sierra Leone in 2002 - a war that many observers have noted was caused by rampant corruption. So, as the ACC now has a new leader awaiting parliamentary approval, it is understandable that Sierra Leoneans are uneasy, posing questions about the viability and trustworthiness of an institution that carries with it the hope of an end to some of the causes that led to that bloody civil war.
It is against this backdrop that the Auradicals Foundation considers it appropriate to launch this essay competition on Sierra Leone’s ACC. The key aims of this essay competition are to gauge public opinion on the Commission, and provide Sierra Leoneans with the opportunity to express their views on the evolution and role of the ACC in Sierra Leone’s development. A winning essay should consider the following: what have been the factors limiting the operations of the ACC? to what extent can the ACC influence good governance and responsible government in Sierra Leone? Should central government play any role in the operations of the ACC? if yes, how can and should government interact with the ACC to ensure it properly performs its functions adequately? Should the ACC be an integral part of the Sierra Leone judiciary? How can the fight against corruption in Sierra Leone foster national growth and development? To what extent can the ACC play a leading role in this process? These are some of the core questions to address in a winning essay.
Submission guidelines / marking criteria / prizes
This competition is open to two categories of participants: pupils at senior secondary schools and students at colleges, vocational institutes and universities in Sierra Leone.
For pupils, the word limit for this essay is between 1700 and 2000 words and for students, the word limit is between 2700 and 3000 words inclusive of footnotes but exclusive of bibliography or reference list; anything less than and more than these limits will be disqualified.
Every essay must be well referenced with footnotes and bibliography, using the Harvard Referencing Style – visit http://auradicals.com/ for details on this referencing style. Essays which use any academic materials or other resources must provide full citation of those resources. Essays which simply rely on information from the ACC website may not be winning essays.
The deadline for the submission of this essay (i.e. must be received by us) is no later than 10pm Sierra Leone time on 1 November 2010 at submissionessaycompetition@auradicals.com. The essay must be word-processed and submitted via email only.
Participants are required to provide their full name, date of birth, home address, name of educational institution and student identification or registration number. These details do not form part of the word limit.
We will award prize money and plaques to the essays we assess as 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each category. We will announce the winners on Friday, 8th October 2010 and present them with prizes in a venue (to be announced) in Freetown on Friday, 15th October 2010. The prizes for secondary schools will be 1st prize: Le500,000 + plaque; 2nd prize: Le300,000 + plaque; and 3rd prize: Le150,000 + plaque and for tertiary institutions, 1st prize: Le1,000,000 + plaque; 2nd prize: Le500,000 + plaque; and 3rd prize: Le300,000 + plaque.
About the competition organizers
This competition is organised by the Auradicals Foundation. The Auradicals Foundation is made up of members of the Auradicals Club of Fourah Bay College (FBC), University of Sierra Leone, who have now graduated from FBC and are currently residing, studying, working or living in Sierra Leone, USA, Canada, Australia and the UK/Europe.
By submitting your essay to Us (i.e. the Auradicals Foundation and any of Our successor organisation) for this competition You (i.e. the participant) agree to grant Us a perpetual, exclusive, free of charge permission, right and licence to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, play, and exercise all copyright and publicity rights with respect to Your essay in any way We (i.e. the Auradicals Foundation) want in Sierra Leone and worldwide in any media now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist. By submitting Your essay to Us, You also warrant that such essay is Your own original work, it has not been previously published elsewhere and that You have the right to make it available to Us for all the purposes specified above, is not defamatory, does not infringe any laws in Sierra Leone or elsewhere, and that You have the consent of Your parent / guardian to grant Us the above rights and warranties if You are under 16.