Tiawan Saye Gongloe says there should be “no sympathy in the fight against corruption.”
He attributed the attitude to ‘fight’ to the conjunction spoken in all the tribal languages spoken in Liberia called “keh” meaning “but” in the English language that is making the campaign difficult but not impossible.
He said “keh” has made the country’s leaders unable to take tough decisions against corruption on grounds that all Liberians are interrelated either as school or classmate, society (fraternity), church mate, teammate, workmate, housemate, club mate or somehow.
Gongloe made these assessments or comments when he served as one of the guest lecturers during the 2022 University of Liberia’s Alumni Homecoming Day Celebration held on Friday, March 11, in Monrovia.
Speaking on an assigned topic; “Ethics and Corruption in the Liberian Culture,” he said there is no culture that belongs to any ethnic group in Liberia where rights or wrongs are ascribed uniquely to a certain group of people.
Gongloe believes that governance is by law therefore no law provides an excuse for corruption but because of “keh” it continues to frustrate the effort of fighting against corruption in Liberia.
He stated further that Liberia is a signatory to all of the good treaties, protocols or accords globally but there is no commitment to practicalize the same by domesticating those instruments which is an embarrassment not only to the country but to its people as well.
Gongloe then introduced the “Gongloe’s 12-count prescriptions for combating corruption” in Liberia when he ascends to the presidency.
He indicated that corruption has been at the foundation for the country’s underdevelopment and Liberia, which is the oldest independent republic in Africa, is currently much more underdeveloped than a lot of countries in Africa.
“Countries like Mauritius, Lesotho, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, The Gambia, Botswana and even Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast, are more developed than Liberia,” Gongloe noted.
He continued: “Although, most African countries are affected by corruption, Liberia seems to be in the top bracket of corrupt countries in Africa. Botswana, for example, at independence in 1966, 119 years after Liberia’s independence, had a budget of US$3 million.”
Gongloe said that Botswana’s first President, Sir Seretse Khama, was an honest leader and left a legacy of honesty that all succeeding presidents of that country’s budget had grown to US$4 billion.
About his 12-count corruption principle, he stated that before his swearing into office upon winning next year’s election, he will declare his assets and cabinet ministers and all commissioned appointees shall declare their assets as well before their names are submitted to the Senate for confirmation and at the beginning of each year as well as upon leaving office.
Others are all asset declarations will be published by government for the citizens to be informed about their government’s functionaries, consistent with Article 15© of the Liberian Constitution; that the salaries and benefits of the President and all officials of government in the three branches of government shall be published on line in the leading newspapers in Liberia.
Gongloe is a presidential aspirant seeking the Liberian People’s Party (LPP) nomination during its expected convention to be held any moment.
