DESCRIBES THE REPORT AS UNTRUE
Monrovia, Liberia – The Executive Mansion through its Presidential Press Secretary Kula Fofana has termed as ‘lie’ the statement made by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) that only seventy-five government officials out of five-hundred have declared their assets.
Recently, the Executive Director of the LACC Alexandra Zoe revealed over a local radio station that of the five-hundred appointments made by the President, only 75 individuals, including legislators, had disclosed their assets.
However, Madam Fofana stated, “About the 500 persons, I have been informed that this number is far beyond what the actuality is, that out of 500 government officials that have been appointed and confirmed by the Senate, only 75 persons have declared their assets, that is not true.”
The Presidential Press Secretary stated that more public officials had disclosed their access and that the information provided by the LACC was inaccurate on Friday, May 18, 2024 at the Executive Mansion regular press briefing in Monrovia.
“I’m not sure how many people have disclosed their assets exactly, but I can tell you with certainty that it is not 75 people.”
According to Madam Fofana, President Boakai has repeatedly urged public servants to reveal their access. He also threatened to take action against any official who refused or failed to do so.
She stated that the President is anticipated to take some action during the upcoming cabinet meeting. The President has urged all public servants to declare their access at the LACC, according to Madam Fofana.
It can be recalled, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, Madam Zoe of the LACC announced that, “Currently as we speak, the assets declaration process has actually been slow. Based on the statistics that we have, the President has made a nomination of 500 persons and as we speak, we have only 75 persons declaring their assets. We think this is uncheckable.“
Commissioner Zoe said that while the majority of the appointments have passed, the LACC is aware that some nominations have a 30-day time remaining in compliance with the code of conduct. She has therefore encouraged all government officials to visit the LACC and reveal their assets.
According to the LACC Executive Director, the Commission is keeping tabs on both persons who are in compliance and those who are not, and on May 15, 2024, a comprehensive list of those who are in conformity with the LACC will be released.
Section 10.3 of the National Code of Conduct states, as mentioned by Madam Zoe, that the commission would also recommend and request that the appropriate authorities impose the appropriate sanctions on government employees and public officials who violate the code.
According to Section 10.1 of the 2014 code of conduct, all public officials and government employees who are involved in making decisions about contracts, tenders, procurement, and the issuance of licenses of various kinds must sign financial or performance bonds and disclose their income, assets, and liabilities before taking office.
Furthermore, an official nominated by the President shall declare his or her assets within thirty (30) days of appointment, according to Section 10.2(h) of the Amended Code of Conduct. If noncompliance is detected, the employee’s position will be immediately suspended until complete compliance is achieved.
