As CENTAL Criticizes Boakai Led Government.
Monrovia, Liberia – According to the Most Recent Corruption Perception Index, Liberia received a score of 25 out of 100 from the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL). President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has been under fire for failing to raise Liberia’s anti-corruption, accountability, and transparency standards.
CENTAL called on President Boakai to lead by example and establish a very high bar for Liberia and other government officials to meet. The group noted that since he continues to lavish his officials with privileges, even those who flagrantly violate the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, particularly the asset declaration component, the President has not yet raised the bar for anti-corruption, transparency, and accountability. CENTAL noted that strong political will, in part, entails prompt action on issues concerning those seen to be closer to the president and the ruling party. In order to do this, the President must suspend and fire individuals involved in corruption as well as those who break the code of conduct and other relevant laws.
The group said that corruption in the public sector is still a problem in Liberia, as seen by the country’s alarming 25/100 score on the Corruption Perception Index. In order to address and improve this situation, CENTAL has called on the President to demonstrate strong political commitment and take the initiative.
CENTAL also call on the Liberia Government to provide adequate financial and logistical support to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission and other public integrity institutions and respect their independence and financial autonomy. Adequate financial and logistical support will enable these institutions to fully execute their mandates by identifying, investigating, and prosecuting corruption cases involving current and past public officials. This will they said will go a long way in ending the culture of impunity for corruption and other abuses in Liberia.
“The work of public integrity organizations like LACC, GAC, and others has to be more resilient, interesting, creative, and goal-oriented. Large amounts of asset declaration data and corruption cases are currently available to LACC. In order to take full advantage of these asset declaration instances and other important information that they have, they must act. They must promptly look into and bring charges against current and former public sector corruption officials who have been sanctioned by the US government. Even if anti-graft institutions have the complete backing of the people, they still need to do enough to keep the public’s trust and support.”
“The media and civil society should keep spreading the word about the dangers of corruption and encouraging people to take firm action against corrupt officials and those whose passivity allows corruption to thrive. Members of the media and civil society should achieve this by setting an example in their organizations and interactions with partners and the general public.”
