LACC Acting chair Says “Liberia’s Anti-corruption Rankings to Improve in 2022”

MONROVIA – The acting executive chairperson of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), Cllr. Kanio Bai Gbala has declared that Liberia’s 2021 global anticorruption rankings as reported by Transparency International are set to improve drastically in 2022.

Speaking to reporters after representing the LACC on the governance and transparency sector of the ninth edition of the European Union (EU)-Liberia Political Dialogue, Cllr. Gbala revealed that there are many measures being undertaken by the LACC to ensure Liberia is favorably reported next year.

Some of the measures Cllr. Gbala outlined included improving the legal framework for fighting corruption, forging innovative partnerships with civil society organizations, securing convictions for corrupt acts at the Supreme Court and fostering an environment of openness when engaging with the public.

On the improvement of the legal environment, Cllr. Gbala averred that the LACC had concluded draft legislation seeking to establish a fast-track corruption court, remove the statute of limitations for acts of corruption as well as obtain exclusive jurisdiction for the prosecution of corrupt acts.

Cllr. Gbala explained that removing the statute of limitations for corrupt acts would be a groundbreaking move by the George Weah-led government as it would ensure that no matter how much time passed, acts of corruption will still be tried in courts of competent jurisdiction.
The EU-Liberia Political Dialogues was a result of article eight of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, which calls for regular developmental and political dialogue between the EU and African states.

The ninth edition was chaired by Foreign Affairs Minister Dee Maxwell Saah Kemayah and Ambassador Laurent Delahousse, head of the European Union Delegation to Liberia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 12 March 2021.