Monrovia — As Liberia celebrates International Anti-Corruption Day with the rest of the world, Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia or CENTAL, criticizes the Boakai administration, calling on the government to immediately desist from pampering corruption and take drastic actions that to deter corrupt officials from looting state resources.
"However, the Liberian government's efforts have not been good enough to send a very strong message to corrupt officials and deter others from feasting on public resources and assets", CENTAL notes here.
Executive Director Anderson D. Maimen made the observation on Monday, December 9, 2024, at CENTAL head office in Monrovia during the observance of International Anti-Corruption Day.
Reading a three-page press statement, he notes that the biggest threat and missing link of the country's anti-corruption drive is government's gross failure to end the culture of impunity for corruption, heavily fueled by inadequate funding of public integrity institutions and limited presidential and legislative will powers.
He believes this continues to be the biggest challenge, which has haunted the country for too long.
He recalls that successive governments had made flowery anti-corruption promises/commitments. Still, sadly, he notes, they had not matched them with required individual, collective, robust, and holistic actions or deeds.
"If the fight against corruption must succeed, he underscores, "the President must lead by example and set a very high standard for others to follow."
The Anti-Corruption advocate continues that while leadership from lawmakers and other actors in government is important, President Boakai has the greatest power and responsibility to shape the country's fight against corruption in the right direction.
"As we celebrate this year's international anti-corruption, we wish to remind President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., that Liberia's score on the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International is 25/100", he points out.
He says this means that the Liberian public sector is at its lowest level in terms of being corrupt, adding while it poses a challenge, it presents an opportunity for the President and his government to boldly lead the country in ways that help to reverse this negative trend.
He recommends that President Boakai should lead by example and set a very high standard for others in government and Liberia to follow.
He observes that since the inception of the government, the President has not raised the anti-corruption, transparency and accountability standards very high, as Mr. Boakai is still pampering his officials, including those in gross violation of the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, especially the component on asset declaration.
CENTAL says strong political will means timely acting on matters involving those perceived to be closer to the Presidency and ruling party. He also wants the President to suspend and dismiss those at the center of corruption and violators of the code of conduct and other related laws.
According to Maimen, the Liberian government should provide adequate financial and logistical support to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission and other public integrity institutions as well as respect their independence and financial autonomy.
He says adequate financial and logistical support to various integrity institutions will enable them to fully execute their mandates by identifying, investigating and prosecuting corruption cases involving current and past public officials.
"LACC, GAC and other public integrity institutions must be robust, more engaging, innovative, and result-driven in their work."
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At the same time Maimen notes that the LACC now has enormous assets declaration information and corruption cases, so it must move to make the most of these cases and asset declaration and other vital information in its possession.
"They must timely investigate and prosecute current and former government officials sanctioned by the U.S. Government for public sector corruption."
He says while the public fully supports anti-graft institutions, they must do enough to continue enjoying the support and confidence of the public.
Meanwhile, Director Maimen wants civil society and the media to raise consciousness regarding the dangers of corruption and rally citizens to take decisive actions against those engaging in corruption and those whose inactions lead corruption to flourish here.
