President George Weah has suspended three of his named corrupt officials with immediate effect.
According to a release from his office, the President views the allegations against the Minister of State, Nathaniel McGill, the Managing Director of the National Port Authority Bill Twehway and Solicitor General Seyma Serenius Cyphus as grave, thereby relieving them temporarily to enable them face investigation.
Receiving the United States Treasury Department Report designating three of his officials for specialized sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act US yesterday while on his county tour across Montserrado County, has made the Liberian leader to institute stance on his first long-awaited reshuffle.
Describing the report as a serious concern, President Weah has thereby designated the principal deputies of the suspended officials to act in their stead which many are made to realize is the first major decision by the President against his trusted allies.
In 2021, Liberia ranked 136 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index.
Meanwhile, 2022 Investment Climate Statements on Liberia regarding corruption acknowledged that Liberia has laws against economic sabotage, mismanagement of funds, bribery and other corruption-related acts, including conflicts of interest.
The recent report on the three senior government officials has also emphasized how glaring Liberia suffers from corruption in both the public and private sectors because the government does not implement its laws effectively and consistently, and there have been numerous reports of corruption by public officials, including some in positions of responsibility for fighting corrupt practices.
On December 9, 2021, the United States Treasury Department sanctioned Nimba County Senator Prince Yormie Johnson under the same Global Magnitsky Act for personally enriching himself through pay-for-play funding schemes with government ministries and organizations.
The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) currently cannot directly prosecute corruption cases without first referring cases to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for prosecution and if the Justice does not prosecute within 90 days, the LACC may then take those cases to court, although it has not exercised this right to date.
The LACC continues to seek public support for the establishment of a specialized court to exclusively try corruption cases but is doubtful whether cases for prosecution might be proceeded with as the government has succeeded in getting rid of the old LACC through an amended Act thereby causing all of its commissioners to either reapply or allow for new individuals to be named to its board.
In October 2021, the LACC), with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), launched “The Anti-Corruption Innovation Initiative Project” where the LACC hired at least 15 officers around the country who were to report on corruption to the entity.
Just on August 15, 2022, like foreign investors generally reported, the US inter-agency investigation showed that corruption is most pervasive in government and that is noticeable in procurement, contract and concession awards, customs and taxation systems, regulatory systems, performance requirements, and government payment systems.
Multinational firms often report paying fees not stipulated in investment agreements while private companies do not have to generally agree and structure internal controls, ethics, or compliance programs to detect and prevent bribery of public officials. No laws explicitly protect NGOs that investigate corruption.
Liberia is signatory to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol on the Fight against Corruption, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC), and the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), but according to the report, Liberia’s association with these conventions has done little to reduce rampant corruption in government.
