By Precious D Freeman
The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) is calling on President Weah and the CDC to remove Garrison Yealue from their campaign team, as it sends a very bad signal to the public, development partners, and even staff of the institution who are supposed to be politically neutral.
Addressing the press yesterday at its office, the Executive Director for CENTAL, Anderson Miamen, said that the appointment of Mr. Garrison Yealue on July 28, 2023, as the Deputy Campaign Manager for Administration, Chairman of the Governance Commission – GC, does not only contravene the law, but is ill-advised and counterproductive to good governance efforts in Liberia.
According to him, the sooner the Government and CDC do this, the better it will be for their reputation, the independence of the Commission, and the much-needed rebranding of the institution that has been largely dormant since 2018.
The CENTAL boss added that the Governance Commission has had a history of playing a very critical role in reviving democracy by promoting good governance in Liberia.
“This institution has had some of Liberia’s best brains as heads, including President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, The late Dr. Amos Claudius Sawyer, and others who managed to ensure that they and the institution stayed neutral during heated political periods,” he said.
“The action of the CDC violates several provisions of the 2007 Act of the Commission, which is required to be independent and politically neutral. Also, the decision violates the 2014 Code of Conduct for public officials and its amendment of 2022. This is an extremely troubling decision that should be immediately reversed, to avoid rendering the already dormant and underperforming GC unworthy of the trust and confidence of the public and development partners, whose engagements and partnerships with the Commission are indispensable to her success. Section 2.2 of the 2007 GC Act states; ‘’The Commission shall be an independent body of the government,” he explained.
He maintained that it shall be financially autonomous, operationally Independent, and generally free of undue influence from any source, in pursuit of its mandate. The Independence of the Commission is reinforced by Section 5.3.4, which states; ‘’thus Commissioners must be non-partisan to prevent the governance agenda and process from being a political one.’’
Anderson Miamen mentioned that additionally, section 5.1 of the Code of Conduct states that “All officials appointed by the President of the Republic of Liberia shall not engage in political activities or serve on a campaign team of any political party, or the campaign of any independent candidate.” “We are, therefore, not only astonished by the latest decision of the Party, which undermines her own government’s anti-corruption and good governance agenda, but are also dismayed at the acceptance of the appointment by the said official.”
“For a government underperforming at all levels on key governance indicators, especially Liberia’s 26 score and gross underperformance on the 2022 Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International, it should endeavor to win the trust and confidence of the public and development partners.”
He indicated that the latest decision of the party and government does not help such a cause. This is more than troubling, especially for the head of such an institution that should know better and lead by example.
In a March 7, 2023 statement published on the Governance Commissioner’s website, welcoming her newly appointed Chairperson, among other things, the Commission asserted that Mr. Yealue brings experiences from three branches of government and that the commission ‘”will lean largely on his experience to rebrand the institution and lead reform processes across the public sector.’’
“CENTAL fully agrees that the Commission desperately needs such rebranding, as it has been engulfed by gross underperformance and in-fighting among commissioners on one hand and among commissioners and some staff on another hand. Unfortunately, the contrary is what the public has witnessed since his ascendency to the chairmanship of the once revered and enviable Commission that promoted meritocracy, led by example, and set other high standards in the public sector, Mr. Miamen said.
Meanwhile, CENTAL is urging all Liberians, especially ordinary citizens, to thoroughly examine those who seek their votes for elective offices, whether President, Vice President, Senator, or Representative.
He emphasized that Anti-corruption and Integrity should be the main qualities required of candidates seeking the support of voters.
“Corrupt and greedy politicians will dash your hopes when elected. So, be very careful whom you trust with your precious votes during these elections. Support or vote only for people who do not steal or have proven to have Integrity,” he warned.
