The National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NCSCL) is urging the Liberian government to swiftly adjudicate all cases of corruption without fear or favor.
NCSCL, otherwise known as the CSO Council, is the umbrella body for all civil society organizations in the country issued a statement at the weekend pointing out that despite public outcries regarding these latest General Auditing Commission (GAC) reports and other cases of corruption, the government under the guidance of President Joseph Boakai must remain focused and true to its campaign promises of fighting corruption.
It can be recalled that several senior officials of the immediate past regime of President George Manneh Weah and Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor were indicted for corruption predicated on GAC audit reports/findings.
The ex-officials include: former Minister of Finance and Development Planning Mr. Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr., former National Security Advisor to the President Jefferson Karmoh, former Solicitor General Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, former Comptroller of the Financial Intelligence Agency Mr. D. Moses P. Cooper, and former Director General of the FIA Stanley Ford. Cllr. Tuan, Karmoh, and Cooper were imprisoned for days before being released after meeting up with their criminal appearance bonds.
At the same time, the governor of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), Mr. Aloysius Tarlue was suspended after an audit found irregular loans to the government and unauthorized spending.
It could be recalled that President Joseph Boakai commissioned an audit of three key government institutions, including the central bank, after taking office in January.
Based on the findings, the CBL was found of alleged violations of several financial laws, including the CBL Act of 1999, the Revenue Code of Liberia Act of 2011, and the Public Financial Management Act of 2009.
Tarlue has meanwhile has petitioned the Supreme Court of Liberia against his suspension, raising critical questions about executive power and the legality of his removal.
In the wake of these rigmaroles around the government’s effort to curtail corruption, its action has been greeted by huge criticism, especially from the arm of the immediate past ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and its supporters. In that, former President Weah himself joined his CDC folks to describe the government’s action as a witch-hunt targeted at his administration.
However, the CSO Council is reminding the government to be relentless in its corruption efforts by exerting all necessary actions in adjudicating all cases tied to corruption in a more free, fair and transparent manner.
“For us, as umbrella organization for all CSOs, our role is to ensure that the right things are done in society regardless of who is involved or regardless of what is being said about it. Therefore, we want to seize this opportunity to call on the Government of Liberia to be swift and transparent in adjudicating all cases of corruption,” said the Council’s statement under the approval of Chairperson Loretta Alethea Pope-Kai.
“The CSO Council would like to see a holistic process; no one should be shielded in this fight, which we solely support. We want to see corruption minimized because it is eating up our country; it has, and continues to stall major developments,” added the statement.
