On accounts of 'he who comes to probity, must come with clean hands,' President Joseph N. Boakai and his officials have been push to limit to demonstrate the highest of commitment in walking the talk, ensuring absolute adherence to the hallow promise of fighting corruption.
As a candidate and now President, the Liberian leader does not hold back chastising his predecessors' lukewarm corruption fight approach, and promised to hold the bull by the horn, in terms of holding his officials accountable for abusing public trust.
But under his watch, things are wobbling under alleged corruption, prompting Liberians and the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) to raise alarms over floods of corruption allegations, including off-budget spending, low asset declaration compliance by public officials, and others.
So as not to seen as repeating the same mistakes he accused his predecessor of condoning, CENTAL urged President to take bold and decisive action.
CENTAL, through its Program Manager, Gerald D. Yeakula, pointed out that the administration's inability to address recent controversies of corruption has the potential to undermine Liberia's progress on transparency and accountability.
The $150,000 vehicle purchase scandal involving Minister of Commerce Amin Modad, off-budget expenditures amounting to $15 million by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), and widespread violations of asset declaration laws by government officials topped CENTAL's concerns it wants the President to act upon.
The Commerce Minister and the Liberia Revenue Authority are embroiled in the purchase of a vehicle for Minister Amin Modad, with reports that the Ministry requested $150,000 from the LRA for the vehicle, although LRA later clarified that the actual amount approved was $96,000 for the purchase of three vehicles.
"Why were funds meant for capacity building in trade-related activities diverted to purchase a luxury vehicle?" Atty. Yeakula asked, saying the procurement violated the 2024 Budget Law, which caps vehicle purchases for officials, excluding a few top positions, at $45,000.
As a way of getting to the nitty-gritty of the issue, the transparency and accountability watchdog called on the Liberian President to commission an independent investigation into the purchase and hold Minister Modad accountable.
It also called for the strengthening of the management of funds generated through customs services to prevent future abuse.
On the $15 Million in Off-Budget spending by the Finance Ministry, CENTAL said such process is it directs violation of Liberia's Public Financial Management (PFM) law, which allows for spending only within approved budget lines, except in exceptional circumstances where contingency funds may be used.
"Contingency fund expenditures must not exceed 2% of annual domestic revenue, which amounts to $13.92 million for the 2024 budget. However, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning reportedly exceeded this threshold," the law states.
Expressing concern that both the current and previous administrations have shown a pattern of ignoring financial regulations, the entity calls on President Boakai to take action against those responsible for these violations and to provide a comprehensive report justifying the off-budget expenditures.
With reference to Non-Compliance with Asset Declaration Laws, CENTAL recalled only 26.5% of the 1,900 government officials required to declare their assets had done so as of July 31, 2024. In the Legislature, only 26 out of 73 Representatives and 12 out of 30 Senators complied, while none of the Senate's administrative staff submitted declarations.
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"The Executive and Judiciary branches showed similarly poor results, with hundreds of officials failing to meet the legal requirements," it said, and urged the President Boakai to suspend all Executive officials who have failed to declare their assets and urged citizens to demand greater accountability from their elected leaders.
"This widespread non-compliance amount said Yeakula, while calling on the Chief Justice and Legislature to ensure full compliance within the Judiciary.
"We cannot allow these violations to continue unchecked," concluded Atty. Yeakula. "President Boakai must take decisive action to uphold the rule of law and restore public trust in Liberia's institutions."
