SINCE HIS APPOINTMENT AS head of the Liberia Anti Corruption Commission, Cllr. James Verdier has had an obsession with leaks. Who leaked what to the media from his office and even going as far as to set up a probe to determine how it got out?
NOW IT APPEARS that a Verdier-inspired Memorandum of Understanding with the General Auditing Commission is poised to keep Liberians from reading details of assets declared by those in authority.
THE ISSUE HAS been resurrected in the wake of President George Manneh Weah’s final bow to pressure after six months in office by declaring his assets. However, many are raising concerns over the secrecy surrounding the disclosure of the President’s declaration.
IN A STATEMENT LAST FRIDAY, the GAC announced that it had received the declaration of personal interests, income, assets and liabilities forms from President Weah, on Wednesday, July 25, 2018 at 6:05 PM in fulfillment of Section 10.2 of the Code of Conduct which calls on public officials of the Executive Branch of Government to declare their personal interests, income , assets and liabilities to the General Auditing Commission.
THE GAC then proceeded to announce that it was forwarding the declaration to the LACC in line with the MOU signed on October 6, 2016.
THE PRESIDENT’S declaration may never see the glare of the public eye owing to a major clause in a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) and the General Auditing Commission (GAC) to collaborate in the handling of assets declaration documents submitted by public officials of the Executive Branch of government who are required to declare their assets.
THE MOU WAS SIGNED BY the respective heads of the LACC and GAC, Cllr. James N. Verdier and Madam Yusador S. Gaye, who pledged their commitment to its full implementation. They expressed optimism for similar collaborations with other institutions in the fight against corruption.
AS PART OF THE MOU, the GAC designated the LACC as its authorized agent to receive Asset Declaration documents on its behalf as mandated by the 2014 Act of the Legislature Prescribing a National Code of Conduct.
THE MOU PROVIDES that the GAC shall, upon receipt of asset declaration documents for the Executive Branch of government, immediately forward those declarations to the LACC for inclusion in its data base in furtherance of the spirit and intent of the MoU.
IN ORDER TO EASE FILING, the LACC shall establish electronic points for filing with copies forwarded to the GAC. The two institutions have accordingly pledged to maintain the highest level of confidentiality in the handling of asset declaration documents in keeping with the MoU, a press release said on Thursday.
WE ARE FIRMLY of the belief that the confidentiality clause stipulated in the MoU is a clear attempt at circumventing public’s access to the assets declared by the President.
THE LACC’S OWN guidelines states: “Nominees should accept to comply with the LACC income, assets and Liabilities declaration regime as a condition precedent for appointment, and bi-annually(once every two years) thereafter.
SADLY, CRAFTERS of the Code of Conduct in the previous administration have made it even more difficult to shield declared assets from the public’s glare.
CODE OF CONDUCT 10.2 of the Code of Conduct states: “All such declarations shall be accessible to both the public employer and the general public upon a court order; as well as to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) and the General Auditing Commission (GAC) for investigative purposes. The declaration shall be promptly updated by Public Officials and Employees of Government upon subsequent changes in his or her interest and/or assets. Each declaration along with the updates thereto shall include disclosure of income, assets, liabilities, net worth, financial and family interests held by the official.
FRONTPAGEAFRICA has made two previous attempts to use this process to no avail with a lot of bottlenecks standing in the way of the public’s right to know.
ASSETS DECLARATION is an essential ingredient for the growth of any government serious about the welfare of its people.
THIS IS WHY MOST serious serious-minded around the world adopt ethics and anti-corruption laws requiring public officials to declare their assets, income and liabilities.
THE GOAL IS SIMPLE: These disclosure systems is crucial in combatting corruption and accumulation of wealth by those tasked with the responsibility of governing.
PUBLICATION OF ASSETS offers media and civil society a chance to thoroughly probe information declared and help to exposure substantial and unjust enrichment by officials in government.
THE PRACTICE HAS helped some countries around the world thoroughly investigated illegal accumulation of wealth.
LATVIA FOR EXAMPLE has over the years seen a decline in corruption because of the way it thoroughly implements its policies on the practice.
ADDITIONALLY, a strong assets declaration regiment enhances the legitimacy of the government in the eyes of the public and stimulate foreign direct investment. This is why many countries looking to raise foreign aid and assistance take the issue of assets declaration seriously.
COUNTRIES WITH A high degree of success continue the trend of requiring financial disclosure by government officials, including publication of asset declarations because they want to combat corruption, foster public confidence in government, and encourage foreign investment.
A WORLD BANK SURVEY of 147 countries that receive World Bank assistance, 101 require senior government officials to declare their income and/or assets, of which some 31 (more than 30%) require that the declarations or a summary thereof be made available to the public. A more extensive World Bank of 176 jurisdictions completed in 2012 shows that 137 (78%) have financial disclosure systems. 93% of those countries require disclosure for cabinet members, 91% for Members of Parliament and 62% for high-ranking prosecutors. However, only 43% of countries provide the public with open access to public officials’ financial disclosures.
ASSETS SHOULD not only be declared but they should be made public. In fact, Liberia is a signatory to the 1998 Rabat Declaration during which countries proclaimed their belief in “[a] well-performing and transparent public service” and recognized this principle as an “essential prerequisite for private sector growth and Africa’s economic recovery.”
IN FACT, LIBERIA WAS HAILED IN THE past of being among the few countries that actually made assets declaration public.
ANOTHER WORLD BANK SURVEY found that, in Africa, 28 countries require disclosure of income and assets by public officials. Of these 28 countries, 23 require officials to declare assets to an anti-corruption body or other government entity, while only 5 (Cape Verde, Republic of Central Africa, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe and South Africa) require publication of the declarations. 20 of the African World Bank client countries do not require income and asset disclosure by public officials.
DESPITE THE COMPLICATED LEGAL wrangle surrounding the public disclosure and the brutal laws aimed at keeping them from the public, former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf deserves some credit for voluntarily declaring her assets near the end of her tenure.
SIRLEAF HAD PLEDGED during her January 2006 inauguration that she would lead by example by requiring all officials in her government to declare their assets. “In this respect, I will lead by example. I will expect and demand that everyone serving in my Administration leads by example. The first testament of how my Administration will tackle public service corruption will be that everyone appointed to high positions of public trusts, such as in the Cabinet and heads of public corporations, will be required to declare their assets. I will be the first to comply, and I will call upon the Honorable Speaker and President Pro-Temps to say that they comply. My Administration will also accord high priority to the formulation and passage into law of a National Code of Conduct, to which all public servants will be subjected.”
SIRLEAF, IN SPITE OF HER FLAWS realized the importance of putting her best face forward. Concealment of declarations of assets is not good for any leader or government, it only elevates existing levels of suspicion from the public.
THIS WAS THE KEY motivation for newly-elected Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio’s declaration of his assets immediately after taking office as required by the country’s anti-corruption law.
LIKE LIBERIA, the Sierra Leone 2008 Anti-Corruption Act requires every public official, to deposit with the Commission a sworn declaration of his income, assets and liabilities.
PRESIDENT BIO’S DECLARATION came amidst growing call for him to do so. The President told the ceremony at State House in Freetown that he wanted to live by example by ensuring that he declared his assets within the stipulated time. “Every public officer like me is compelled by law to declare their assets but besides that I want to lead by example and ensure that it is done within the stipulated time. As President, I think it is good to lead by example. I hope others will follow,” Bio said in a statement.
IRONICALLY, HIS PREDECESSOR, Ernest Bai Koroma, also faced mounting pressure to declare his assets on leaving office, in line with the dictates of the same law.
KOROMA’S FAILURE to do so led to numerous speculations and a damning report detailing illegal sales of state assets and loans by state-run banks to business people connected to the former president’s All Peoples’ Congress which were never repaid, as well as untendered, overpriced and unfulfilled state procurement deals.
THE MOST SERIOUS of the report’s claims is that in April 2012 the last government ordered the sale of the state’s 30% share in the profitable Sierra Rutile company to its former chief executive, John Bonoh Sisay, at an artificially low price of US$12.3 million (plus $5.2 mn. in tax). The sale went through in spite of a law stating government assets may only be sold at public auction.
PRESIDENT WEAH and his supporters must realize that they will not be in power for the rest of their lives. This is why it is important to strive to do the right thing by the Liberian people.
WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE is that the publication of asset and income declarations do not offend privacy or other fundamental rights. They only clear doubts and misconceptions in a nation so skeptical about its leaders that a 1980 coup executed 13 former officials of the William R. Tolbert government. None were given the chance to defend themselves in a court of competent jurisdiction.
CORRUPTION WILL never be eliminated in Liberia unless our leaders take the bull by the horn and strive to ensure that transparency and accountability is the hallmark of our society.
IF THE INTEGRITY INSTITUTIONS who should be the last bastion of hope for the people engage in controversial interpretations and establishment of laws and bottlenecks aimed at shielding assets declarations from the public, Liberia will continue to linger in impunity to detriment of its own survival.