Careysburg,Montserrado County – The National Youth Movement for Transparent Elections (NAYMOTE) has revealed that Government of Liberia has not taken any concrete actions so far towards the fulfillment of its promises made towards the fight against corruption.
In its Liberia’s President Meter Project report, NAYMOTE indicated that the government made four promises in promoting accountability and anti-corruption.
According to NAYMOTE they include the “review structures, mandates and operations of the four major agencies (names not mentioned) with responsibilities for ensuring accountability and transparency; review and build upon the current Code of Conduct for public officials together with the asset declaration platform; review mandates, structures, administrative procedures and staffing levels and requirements of current ministries and agencies and undertake necessary restructuring exercise and to pursue without fear or favor legal actions against companies involved in bid rigging, price fixing and corrupt practices.
However, with almost a year into its six-year mandate, the report showed that the government has not taken any concrete actions in implementing its anti-graft promises and there is no tangible information available on the fulfilment of these promises.
Addressing a group of residents, predominantly young people of Montserrado County’s Electoral District #1 in 15-Gate community recently, NAYMOTE’s Program Officer, Joshua Cleon averred that out of the 85 promises of President George Weah that were documented during the pre and post-election periods, four promises including the payment of WAEC fees for all students in 2017, renovation of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital, the passage of the Land Rights Act and the reduction of salaries for public officials under the Executive Branch of Government were fulfilled.
Mr. Cleon added that 28 of those promises are being implemented, 38 has not started and 15 are not rated.
Meanwhile, NAYMOTE has intensified its civic engagement campaigns across six electoral districts in Montserrado, Bong and Nimba Counties.
Cleon told participants that in addition to tracking the President’s promises, the pledges of several lawmakers from five counties including Montserrado and Nimba are being followed and will be released in January 2019.
He further that when citizens have access to information on the status of these promises, they become civically engaged, more informed about government’s action, appreciate the performance of their government and are able to make informed decisions at the ballot box in the next elections.
He called on participants to hold their elected leaders accountable on their campaign promise and demand them to be accessible and responsive to their needs.
According to him, NAYMOTE’s intervention is to promote democratic accountability, improve government’s performance, strengthen public service delivery, counter misinformation as well as educate the citizens on the workings of their government; thereby creating a line of communication between the governed and the government.
He used the opportunity to educate participants on the methodology used to derived at the rating of elected officials; provide clarifications where necessary accept recommendations to improve the next report.
The citizens, in response, hailed NAYMOTE for the project aimed at holding their elected officials accountable on campaign promises and noted that it will bring development in their district, strengthen competition through issues-based campaign and ensure adequate representation, especially for the lawmakers who neglect their constituents after the election.
NAYMOTE Partners for Democratic Development was established in 2001 by student leaders and activists; and has been one of the leading national institutions promoting democracy, peace building and civic engagements in Liberia.
The institution is a member of the World Movement for Democracy, the World Youth Movement for Democracy, the African Movement for Democracy and the National Civil Society of Liberia.