CENTAL urges President Weah
By Lewis S. Teh
The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia or CENTAL, calls on President George M. Weah to immediately suspend officials implicated in the audit report on the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission or LACC.
“We call on President Weah to suspend all officials implicated in recent investigative reports released by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission”, CENTAL says.
These investigations, according to the Center, involved corruption scandals at the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo-Information Services, Ministry of Agriculture, and Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation, among others.
Addressing reporters over the weekend in Monrovia, Executive Director Anderson Miamen said President Weah cannot continue to love his officials more than the vast majority of the Liberian people, noting that the President’s stance against corruption has been extremely weak and disappointing.
Mr. Miamen also calls on the President to provide necessary moral, financial, and logistical support to public integrity institutions to enable them operate at full capacity. He stresses these institutions have critical roles in giving the government and Liberia necessary reputation and standing to, among other things, mobilize resources from traditional and non-traditional partners to address critical development needs of the country.
He notes that the state and quality of governance in Liberia continues to decline due to failure of the most critical players to engender necessary reforms that will make Liberia a transformed, developed, more livable, and prosperous society for all.
The CENTAL boss says the Liberian Presidency appears indifferent, adding “from all indications, we need a committed leader to foster a genuine and committed fight against corruption; one that gives public integrity institutions the required leverage and push to operate at full capacity.”
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He laments that scandals continue to be reported in government, involving key and strategically placed public officials.
“Those actions that are needed to prevent and arrest the situation and bring the perpetrators to book have not been full and complete, especially from the end of the Presidency”.
Mr. Miamen recalls that on 22 June 2022, President Weah appeared on a local radio station and said to the Liberian public that adhering to the democratic process and human rights norms means that provisional administrative sanctions cannot be taken against officials investigated by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) and forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for prosecution.
“CENTAL is deeply disappointed in the Presidency’s attitude towards the fight against corruption in Liberia, as his inaction is inconsistent with continuous verbal commitment to deal with the vice in the country.”
According to the CENTAL Director, it has been more words from the President than concrete actions to support public integrity institutions morally, financially, and logistically to play their respective roles. Editing by Jonathan Browne
