By Laurina B Lormia
(Cub-Reporter)
The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) is encouraging President Joseph Boakai to consider competitive recruitment processes in the future employment of individuals to critical roles especially integrity and the fight against corruption institutions.
It can be recalled that on Friday, April 5, President Joseph N. Boakai nominated Cllr. Findley Karngar, as Chairperson of the Office of Ombudsman of Liberia.
According to the report, President Boakai’s nomination was in consonance with Part XII of the Code of Conduct approved on March 31, 2014, which established the Office of Ombudsman as an independent autonomous body with responsibility to enforce, oversee, monitor and evaluate adherence to the Code of Conduct.
Addressing the press on April 11, at the office in Sinkor, the Executive Director Anderson Miamen, said, CENTAL encouraged President Boakai to appoint the ombudsperson as said office is critical to ensuring compliance with the Code of Conduct, which sets out standards of behavior and conducts required of public officials and employees.
“Considering the failure of past administrations to ensure the Office of Ombudsman is functional despite, flagrant abuses of the Code of Conduct, CENTAL believes that the step by President Boakai, if followed to proper fruition, would represent a capstone in the country’s anticorruption endeavors,” he said.
He added that, transparent recruitment minimizes the likelihood that persons with questionable independence, competence, and credibility surface in public offices adding, “We cannot independently verify the veracity of the allegations; we would like to register that allegations of such levied against an individual designated to occupy a role as critical as ombudsperson is concerning.”
“The current situation regarding the President’s nominee to the Ombudsman would have been avoided. We must note that open and competitive vetting processes with participation of civil society, government and other relevant stakeholders has now become the standard for recruitment to integrity institutions, even where the law does not explicitly require,” he reminded.
“We believe that appointments under the current law can only suffice as a stop gap measure until the Office of the Ombudsman is properly established, with all necessary insulation to truly equate it as an independent integrity institution,” he averred.
The group said the Office of the Ombudsman is adequately supported through the national budget, but there exists no such support in the draft 2024 national budget before the Legislature for review and or passage into law.
“Cllr. Findely and his would-be team and co-workers lead by example in terms of fully complying with the Code of Conduct for Public Officials and other relevant laws and policies. Also, we admonish them to be independent, fair, efficient, and effective in carrying out their functions, as they serve in this very important capacity, he warned.
Meanwhile, CENTAL said Liberians must speak against settling for mediocrity or pettiness; in other words, they should demand very high standards and performance from their national and local leaders, especially in line with established laws, their mandates, as well as commitments and promises made to citizens or the public before, during and after elections.
