The NEWS (Monrovia)
16 April 2008
Monrovia — The Liberia Watch for Human Rights (LWHR) has written Justice Minister Philip Banks to begin an independent investigation into allegation that the names of some officials of Grand Bassa County were on the payroll of the Liberia Agricultural Company (LAC).
LWHR, in a release said, its decision to write the Justice Minister comes in the wake of denial by LAC General Manager Dr. Samuel Barnett that no official of the county was on his payroll.
The group said the allegation has caused the public to speculate that there is more to unearth about the alleged "revised/adjusted government relations" document dated May 1, 2006 and signed by the company's former General Manager George Quateng Mensah.
The human rights organization said whether these allegations are true or not, democracy has to be put to test in order to appease public opinion and the Unity Party led-government's stance on zero tolerance for corruption.
LWHR: "Justice is increasingly accepted as the core principle of good governance; it becomes more and more clearly the most effective way of implementing the principles of transparency and rule of law as such, we herein appeal to your kind offices to ensure that independent and impartial investigations are carried out; it is not enough for Dr. Bennett to simply shrug, down play or treat with scorn such a matter given the negative potential such allegations may have regarding the integrity of the nation of Liberia especially at a time when the criminal justice system still has a lot to deliver relative to impartial jurisprudence in the court."
According to the group, the public reaction to such allegation could only be laid to rest through credible independent probe as a means of not bringing out the facts but to serve as a deterrent to would-be corrupt companies and government officials in other resource-rich communities and also to reveal what drastic legal actions await perpetrators of thievery, dishonesty and misuse of office.
LWHR said "here is no telling for how long these 'underhand' games have permeated the ranks and files of successive governments; notwithstanding, our organization insists that the matter is probed to its rational end."
The group called on the Justice Ministry to quickly constitute the investigation panel to investigate the matter so as to lay it to rest.
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