Monrovia – Transparency International’s latest ranking of Liberia in the corruption index has put the country to fifth place among the 10 most corrupt countries in Africa.
The last of 10 most corrupt countries in Africa was released recently by Transparency International (TI) using a Global Corruption Barometer. The list rates countries based on the level of corruption citizens perceive in the country.
To determine the level of corrupt practices that have engulfed each country in Africa, TI surveyed people in 54 African countries on their perception of corruption in their respective countries.
In the 2019 Corruption Perception Index, Liberia scored 28/100 and ranked 137/180. Since has continuously taken a downward trend in the perception index since 2012 – 13 points down since 2012.
In Liberia, majority of the citizens believe that in order to gain anything service from the government, you must pay bribe. 54 per cent of the respondents say they have at some point paid bribe to officials of government for services.
The judicial, most citizens believe is rotten but 96 percent of the respondents say the Legislature is the most corrupt branch of government.
President George Weah last week submitted a bill before the Legislature seeking the establishment of an independent anti-corruption commission with defined duties and responsibilities to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption.
The Liberia Anti-Corruption was established through an act of Legislature on August 21, 2008 and to, among other things, lead the implementation of the Anti-Corruption strategy of Liberia by preventing and investigating corrupt conduct in the public sector.
However, officials have complained that the law did not clearly outline the functions of the LACC in investigating acts of corruption and prosecuting alleged corrupt officials.
Many believed it is against this backdrop that President Weah is requesting the enactment of an act to clearly spell out the functions of the anti-graft institution.
The Weah-led government has, at the same time, been heavily criticized for doing too little to curb corruption in the country. Mr. Weah himself came under the spotlight for his refusal to declare his assets within the required time frame and further refusing to make his declaration public — something most citizens believe does not augur well for the fight against corruption.