The integrity institution of Liberia Center for Transparency and Accountability of Liberia is calling on President George Weah to stand on the side of the Constitution to demonstrate what they called zero tolerance of Corruption and bad governance in his administration.
CENTAL Executive Director Anderson Miamen said over the last few days with disappointment, his institution has again observed accusations and counter-accusations of significant corruption among some public officials of the country’s statistical house, the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS).
It can be recorded on March 30, 2022, Frontpage Africa report alleged financial malpractices at LISGIS under the headline “Corruption Gallore at LISGIS” the paper revealed that out of 1.8 million United States Dollars received by LISGIS from the government of Liberia as a share of the budget to conduct the delayed national housing and population census, only US$ 700,000 has been transferred by LISGIS to the Census account, which is being managed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Appearing on the April 9, 2022, edition of the Spoon Talk, the Census Coordinator and Deputy Director-General for Statistics and Data Processing at LISGIS, Mr. Alex G. Williams confirmed the allegations and further implicated the management of LISGIS in the scandal characterized by irregular payments that are at odds with Liberia Laws. Mr. Williams further disclosed that corruption is the main reason why Liberia has not substantially fulfilled its undertaking to contribute to the census cost and that the census cannot be held until such a contribution is made.
These grave allegations did not only point to the abuse of taxpayers’ money but also a flagrant disregard of internal control procedures as well as side-stepping of procurement and public financial management laws and guidelines. They portend an avoidable collapse of the democratic order through violations of constitutional provisions on holding the national census and general and presidential elections which are germane to democracy.
The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia notes with utter dismay that these alleged unorthodox dealings do not only signal corruption, but undermine partners’ and citizens’ confidence in the governance process, undermine Liberia’s democracy, and indicate a flagrant disregard for public financial management and procurement laws by public officials. CENTAL warned that the President must not turn a blind eye to these happenings in an attempt to protect his officials and to create the impression that the government is corruption-free.
As mere utterances do not constitute a show of commitment, Liberians look forward to seeing timely, decisive, and impartial actions from the President against public officials at the center of grave corruption allegations, including the current saga at LISIGIS. The institution reiterates calls for increased financial, moral, logistical, and technical support to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission and other public integrity institutions to independently, effectively, and efficiently deliver on their mandates in fixing corruption and bad governance issues of the past in Liberia.
Reporter: Darius Karnga
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