By Grace Q. Bryant
Speaker Fonati Koffa has mandated the plenary to move quickly to establish the corruption court to hold past and present individuals responsible for robbing the State and citizens of valuable resources.
He said, when established, the corruption court seeks to end the issues of corruption in the country, saying, “Concomitant with the House’s passage of the War and Economic Crimes Resolution of March 5, this will be the end of impunity in Liberia.”
Meanwhile, Speaker Koffa has welcomed the President’s Executive Order 126 establishing the asset recovery office.
Taking to his Facebook page on March 6, 2024, he said, “We welcome the President’s Executive Order on Asset Recovery.”
President Boakai charged that assets that were illegally and wrongfully acquired at the expense of the government and people of Liberia have served to enrich certain current and past government officials who acted with impunity and affront to the country and their fellow citizens.
“It is the responsibility of all public officials to declare their assets upon entry into public service and upon exit therefrom, in the interest of transparency and in keeping with established law, in order to give account of their stewardship whilst in public office, and in order to avoid corruption and illegal acquisition of assets,” President Boakai noted.
He added that it is paramount that public assets that were illegally obtained and converted to private use be retrieved and returned to the Liberian people, and the perpetrators be brought to justice, in accordance with appropriate laws that provide for confiscation through criminal investigation and legal prosecution.
“In order to put into place the required legal framework for the recovery of all assets wrongfully acquired by current and former officials and employees of the Liberian Government, in order to appropriately and robustly curtail this alarming menace that has engulfed our country and address the situation of converting public fixed and liquid assets to private use by officials placed in positions of trust, the Government of Liberia has decided to establish a Task Force of Assets Recovery within the Office of the Minister of State for Special Services that will have the legal authority and mandate to retrieve all wrongfully acquired government assets,” he said.
“Thetask force shall consist of a chair and co-chair, and shall have the full cooperation of the General Services Agency, the Ministry of Justice, and all security agencies.
The Asset Recovery Task Force shall also retrieve assets from private individuals who have illegally purchased government assets,” he added.
The President noted that, given the gravity of this situation and the need to immediately restore lost assets in order to ensure economic viability and development, it is imperative to issue this Executive Order that cannot await the lengthy legislative process that may derail the process of assets restoration.
