Integrity Watch Liberia (IWL), a monitoring partner working with the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the full implementation of the government of Liberia administrative regulations for county councils, prospects improvement in local governance across the country, with the assistance of the guidelines.
The administrative regulations for county councils is a comprehensive guideline that structures an operational body of each of the fifteen counties on developmental purposes, with total inclusion of members from diverse backgrounds in every setting.
The document was accordingly structured to improve the working functions of county structures established under the local government act, and give every citizen a sense of involvement in the democratic administration of the country.
Speaking at a news conference over the weekend in Monrovia, when the guidelines were officially launched by Integrity Watch Liberia, its executive director, Harold Aidoo, intimated that it is laudable on the part of the government to have the Ministry of Internal Affairs working with several partners and entities to have tools developed to promote the implementation of the local government act.
According to Aidoo, the administrative regulations for county councils will enable the people to have access to key decision making, through the membership of the council that will represent their interest in every process along the way.
He said this is not only going to amplify the working power of locals across the country, but will also decentralize the governance system of the nation which he termed as a positive tendency to democracy.
“These administrative regulations are promulgated to guide the process of selecting qualified persons, to include representatives of county organizations, women, youth, people with disability, and others, that will be used as guides for establishment, administration and governance of the county councils,” he explained.
The Integrity Watch boss added that the guideline will provide administrative framework and regulations for inclusive and transparent elections of council members to run the operation of the various counties.
Looking at the daily perception and reported mismanagement of funds allotted to county development and social projects, Aidoo stressed that a fully operational county council will address many issues of unaccountability, among others.
He said, “We believe that this is a monumental milestone that will address accountability challenges and problems at county sitting, county development fund and the county social development fund.”
Calling on others to partner with the government in making the guideline effective, he noted that Integrity Watch will continue engaging other civil society organizations to create awareness and training on such a keen instrument to avoid it lying on the shelves without imparting the country as intended.
