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SL leader pledges graft crackdown SL leader pledges graft crackdown
(about 9 hours later)
Sierra Leone's new president has pledged to fight corruption and help reduce abject poverty ahead of his official inauguration on Thursday. Sierra Leone's new president has pledged to fight corruption and help reduce abject poverty in front of the crowds at his official inauguration.
Ernest Bai Koroma said he had advised everyone, including members of his own family, that it had to be dealt with. Ernest Bai Koroma said there should be progress within three years and a change to people's mentality.
He made the remarks after a report he commissioned showed widespread graft under the previous administration. "The police must stop taking tips from the driver and the teachers must stop taking handouts from kids and parents," he told the BBC before the ceremony.
Correspondents say he faces a tough task as corruption affects all walks of life and cripples the economy. A BBC reporter says the handover is the most orderly Sierra Leone has seen.
Thursday's inauguration will mark the most orderly democratic handover of power Sierra Leone has seen.
The ceremony in the national football stadium is due to be watched by at least half-a-dozen African heads of state and tens of thousands of Mr Koroma's supporters.
The BBC's World Affairs correspondent in Freetown, Mark Doyle, says it will stretch the logistical resources of Sierra Leone to the limit.
Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world, is very slowly recovering from a decade of brutal war that ended in 2001.Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world, is very slowly recovering from a decade of brutal war that ended in 2001.
'Chaotic' Fainting
"I have made the position very clear that we have to take on corruption and I have advised everybody, including members of my family that it is going to be a serious business this time," Mr Koroma said. The inauguration ceremony in the national football stadium was watched by five African heads of state and tens of thousands of Mr Koroma's supporters, dressed in red and white.
I have made the position very clear that we have to take on corruption and I have advised everybody, including members of my family that it is going to be a serious business this time President Koroma
The BBC's world affairs correspondent Mark Doyle says it was so hot in the stadium that some of the soldiers fainted.
Other people also fainted but the Sierra Leonean Red Cross were doing their best to look after them, he says.
President Koroma's anti-corruption policy has been welcomed by foreign diplomats.President Koroma's anti-corruption policy has been welcomed by foreign diplomats.
But our correspondent says sceptical Sierra Leoneans say he will be judged on his actions, not his words. "I have made the position very clear that we have to take on corruption and I have advised everybody, including members of my family that it is going to be a serious business this time," Mr Koroma said.
He made the remarks after a report he commissioned showed widespread graft under the previous administration.
But our correspondent says sceptical Sierra Leoneans say the president will be judged on his actions, not his words.
They say they will be watching to see if any high level prosecutions take place.They say they will be watching to see if any high level prosecutions take place.
Tackling endemic corruption will be a massive task that extends from top officials taking kickbacks on government contracts, right down to teachers, who often go unpaid because someone higher up has stolen their salary. They then ask for tips from their pupils if they want to attend class, our reporter says.
Laws and regulations will have to be tightened up but a whole culture and mentality will also have to change.Laws and regulations will have to be tightened up but a whole culture and mentality will also have to change.
Our correspondent says the inauguration ceremony could potentially be chaotic because this country does not have the resources to easily mount such an event. Our correspondent says the inauguration has stretched the logistical resources of Sierra Leone to the limit.
It does not have helicopters, for example, to bring the heads of state across the wide river estuary that separates the international airport from the capital city - so it has borrowed some from the United Nations. It did not have helicopters, for example, to bring the heads of state across the wide river estuary that separates the international airport from the capital city - so it borrowed some from the United Nations.
It does not have access to enough limousines to ferry the visiting VIPs around, so it has been given some by friends, including some cars reportedly from nearby Senegal. It also did not have access to enough limousines to ferry the visiting VIPs around, so it was given some by friends, including some cars reportedly from nearby Senegal.