The Inquirer (Monrovia)
3 December 2008
Several employees of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) have taken issues with some media institutions who they say are trying to bring the Governor of the Bank, Dr. J. Mills Jones to public disrepute and embarrassment.
The employees who spoke to this paper said that the way and manner in which the recent discovery of the recycled checks scandal by some employees of the bank and others at the Finance Ministry is being reported by some media institutions was not professional.
They said what was disheartening was some headlines in which it is insinuated that the Governor was involved in the scandal. "This is sad because the Governor is not involved. The evidence is clear. Let the journalists investigate the matter,' one of them said.
Another employee asked, "If a reporter of a newspaper commits an unethical act, should the public blame the editor?" That will not hold waters. This should be the same in this matter. The fact that the Governor is the head does not mean that he was part of the scandal.'
Some of them said that the Governor and officials of the bank should be credited because it was the bank that discovered and have taken many actions against those involved. They said the press should compliment the efforts of the bank for promptly investigating the matter, rather than making insinuations that are far from the truth.
Meanwhile, an employee of the Central Bank of Liberia has condemned in the strongest possible terms a story carried on Monday, December 1st edition of a local daily entitled: "Corruption Wastes! Rogue Millionaires on the Increase."
Speaking to this paper, Mr. Theophilus Totee Bettie, a Yale trained economist who recently joined the bank as an advisor to its Research, Planning and Policy Department emphasized the need for journalists to be fair and objective in their reportage.
"I have known Dr. Jones since his days at the World Bank & IMF. Not only is this man an accomplished economist but he is also an individual of immense integrity. Is this any way to reward someone who has returned home to help rebuilt his country?" Mr. Bettie wondered.
"Like Dr. Jones, I too have foregone the comforts of life in the United States just for the satisfaction of participating in the rebuilding of my country; but judging from the unjustified abuses of peoples' reputations someone has to face, I am beginning to wonder if I made the right move," Mr. Bettie said.
In a related development, this paper has reliably learnt that at the request of CBL Governor, a high powered delegation from the Ministry of Finance met with senior officials of the CBL on Monday, December 1. CBL Governor, Dr. Mills Jones and Finance Minister, Augustine Ngafuan discussed sensitive issues focused exclusively on the current "recycled-checks scandal.
A joint task force comprising of senior employees of both the CBL and the Ministry of Finance was constituted to develop measures necessary to prevent such recurrence. A furious Dr. Jones was quoted as saying, "The reputation of my institution is at stake. My personal reputation has been called into question; I intend to get to the bottom of this and bring to book those unscrupulous individuals responsible for this mess," he said.
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