Justices of the Supreme Court of Liberia come under pressure to declare their assets in compliance with the Code of Conduct for public officials here.
By Lewis S. Teh
Monrovia, Liberia; August 6, 2025 – Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia, or CENTAL, is urging legislators on Capitol Hill to exercise their oversight responsibilities by introducing bills that will make Supreme Court Justices comply with the Asset Declaration code of conduct for public officials.
“We call on the Legislature to exercise its oversight responsibility in ensuring compliance by Supreme Court Justices, including through other sanctions provided by law.”
CENTAL Executive Director, Anderson Miamen, made the call on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at CENTAL head office in Sinkor, Monrovia.
He also called on the majority of lawmakers who have laudably declared their assets, incomes, and liabilities to push for sanctions against their colleagues, who have deliberately refused to respect the Code of Conduct.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the Press, we are also concerned about the status of actions taken by President Joseph N. Boakai in February 2025, leading to suspension and withholding of the salaries of 457 appointed officials.”
He noted that the public is yet to be informed whether those officials have resumed work, and if so, whether such resumption is a result of their compliance with the President’s directive to declare their assets, incomes, and liabilities.
“Therefore, we call on the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) to publish a full status report on these affected individuals to allay concerns of disregard of the Code of Conduct and the Presidential directive.”
Mr. Miamen recalled that upon taking office, President Joseph N. Boakai laudably appointed and commissioned a team, headed by Cllr. Findley D. Karngar, to oversee activities of the Office of Ombudsman, whose responsibilities include but are not limited to enforcing the asset declaration requirement and ensuring that public officials fully comply with other relevant integrity, accountability, and transparency standards.
“We are pleased to highlight some notable progress recorded so far in asset declaration compliance, including full compliance by the President and Vice President, Speaker, President Pro-Temore and other officials, and 100 percent compliance levels at the Liberia Revenue Authority”, he added.
However, data gathered from the Liberia Anti-corruption Commission (LACC) shows that a considerable number of officials of government, including appointees, Legislators, and Justices of the Supreme Court of Liberia, are still reneging on declaring their assets, incomes, and liabilities
Miamen said CENTAL strongly believes those actions will promote greater transparency within the asset declaration regime as well as increase compliance, accountability, and transparency in government.
He called on President Boakai to go a step further from suspension to dismissing all officials within the executive found to have remained defiant by their refusal to declare their assets, incomes, and liabilities.
The CENTAL Executive Director also urged the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission to ensure that assets declared are not just kept on the shelves, but are timely verified, to ensure that the true essence and objectives of the process are fully realized. Editing by Jonathan Browne
