The Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), T. Negbalee Warner, has classified the disbursement of US$30,000 to lawmakers as ‘official corruption.”
The Dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia (UL) is however encouraging civil society organizations in the country to challenge the legitimacy of the process before the Supreme Court of Liberia.
Speaking at the launch of the collection of Liberia Anti-Corruption Statutes, a National Chapter of Transparency International (TI), Warner stated, “We (CENTAL) don’t just condemn and criticize, but we foster partnership; we support and help solve problems.”
Cllr. Warner used the ceremony to pay special tribute to the Government and people of Sweden for their continuous support not only to CENTAL, but to the Government of Liberia through different projects and programs.
The Chairperson of the Law Reform Commission (LRC), Cllr. Boakai N. Kanneh said the Government of Liberia must muster the political will in the fight against corruption in the country.
He acknowledged that the compendium is a very useful tool for the fight against corruption as it allows auditors, investigators, and other actors to easily access different laws from a single document.
Cllr. Kanneh thanked CENTAL for the compilation exercise and called on anti-graft institutions and stakeholders to use the book to inform their works and research activities reminding that, “There must be political will in the fight against corruption; mere pronouncements are not sufficient.”
The Law Reform Commission Chairperson also blasted members of the 54th National Legislature for allocating US$30,000 to themselves for “legislative engagement projects” with absolutely no instituted mechanism for transparency and accountability.
Meanwhile, the Book compiled all anti-corruption legislations in Liberia into a single book for easy access by researchers and the people of Liberia dubbed, “A Compendium of Anti-Corruption Statutes”, while its initial draft was validated earlier in May at an event attended by diverse stakeholders including representatives from government, civil society, media, private sector, and public integrity institutions in Monrovia.
The initiative was made possible by CENTAL with support from the Government of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and at its officially launch on Thursday, in Monrovia, the Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden, Johan Romare, considered it as a laudable venture for CENTAL to work with other national stakeholders/partners to undertake such an innovative initiative that will further enhance the fight against corruption in Liberia.
He said the Government of Sweden through its Embassy in Monrovia cherishes its partnership with CENTAL as the Organization continues to play very critical role in the fight against corruption and integrity in Liberia.
“Sweden is very happy to partner with CENTAL. We know that CENTAL is playing very important role in the fight against corruption in Liberia,” Mr. Romare said.
The NIBA program is a 3.5-year program funded by the Government of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) that is engaging every sector of the Liberian society to increase citizens’ awareness and understanding of corruption and other related issues and to demand for accountability at all levels. Engagements are being held at the community level as well as with national government. It covers seven counties – Bong, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Rivercess, Bomi, Gbarpolu and Montserrado.