Monrovia – One of Liberia’s main opposition political party, Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) has commended President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for the fight against corruption in Liberia.
Report by Edwin Genoway, Jr – [email protected]
The CDC through its Youth League Chairman Jefferson Koijee commended the Liberian leader for the first steps taken in the ongoing audit at the Ministry of Finance Development Planning.
“I know it will sound strange for us from the CDC to hear that we commending the President for what she has done.”
“We must say this for the record, if the President does good we must applaud her for what she did and if she does wrong we will also criticize her for her wrong,” Koijee told a news conference at the CDC party headquarters in Congo Town.
The CDC Youth League Chairman however noted that the President still needs to do more and go beyond just the recalling of Dr. James Kollie to answer question to the current ongoing audit at the finance ministry.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in furtherance of the preliminary results of an ongoing audit process of the Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI) at the Ministry of Finance & Development Planning, commissioned by the Minister of Finance issued a special statement to the effect.
The preliminary audit revealed some shocking outcomes and results show that officials at the Ministry of Finance & Development Planning were making loans to themselves in violation of the law.
The President’s special statement added that the audit, which covers the period of 2014 to current, is being executed by the Internal Audit Agency.
The statement added that while the process is still ongoing, “We can say with a high degree of confidence that such a scheme set up at the PDSI is clearly a conflict of interest and will be dealt with by the full weight of the law.”
President Johnson Sirleaf in furtherance of the audit immediately ordered the principal administrator of the program during the audit period, Commissioner of Maritime Affairs, James Kollie to return to Liberia from his official trip to assist in the audit and answer all of the issues associated with it, President Sirleaf directed.
The action taken by the President to order the return of Dr. Kollie has been commended by the CDC describing it as a commendable action on the part of the President.
The office of the Youth League of the CDC has written the President commending her for her action.
“We register our profound commendation to your office and person for taking decisive action to actualize the outcome of audits at the Ministry Of Finance and Development Planning, with particular emphasis on the Private sector Development Initiative,” the letter states.
The communication which dated June 12, 2017 revealed that commending the President is not normal.
“I must acknowledge what you already know. Commending you is not a normal thing that we do.”
“We strongly distrust your motives and feel that your overall performance has been painfully poor, however, as gatekeepers of Liberia’s pending democratic revolution, we find ourselves obligated to recognize the display of those ideals that represent the characteristics we wish to see in a new Liberia,” the letter reads.
In the CDC communication to the President, the Youth League reminded the Liberian leader that thousands of Liberians still continue to live in abject poverty due to what they (CDC) primarily to the insistence by members of the government to personalize state funds and bastardize national resources.
Koijee said in the past when the President’s officials were accused of corruption she stood in the front to defend them.