Accountability Lab Liberia conducted a perception survey in 5 counties: Bong, Grand Bassa, Margibi, Montserrado,& Nimba.
A total of 123 persons were randomly interviewed from different works of life across 10 key government sectors: Agriculture, Education, Fisheries, Forestry, Health, Internal Affairs, Information, Justice, Lands & Mines, and Public Works. The number of females interviewed during the survey constituted 42%, while the males constituted 58%. The survey was conducted as part of the Anti-Corruption Project implemented by Accountability Lab Liberia, in collaboration with the LACC, CENTAL, and Integrity Watch, with support from UNDP Liberia.
Top 3 Perceived Corrupt Sectors
- The Education Sector was rated as the Most Corrupt Sector (74%), followed by Health (73%) and the Justice System (72%).
Top 3 Perceived Corrupt Sectors Per County
- Bong: Internal Affairs, Justice, Education
- Grand Bassa: Education, Health, Justice
- Margibi: Internal Affairs, Health, Justice
- Montserrado: Health, Education, Justice
- Nimba: Justice, Education, Health
Citizens Scale of Government’s Fight Against Corruption
On a scale of 1 – 10, where 1 is the least value and 10 is the highest, the average score of the government of Liberia’s fight against corruption for each County is stated below:
- Bong – 2
- Grand Bassa – 6
- Margibi – 4
- Montserrado – 3
Citizens Recommendations to the GoL’s Fight Against Corruption
- Conduct periodic performance evaluation of public officials, and motivate them to work satisfactorily
- Empower the judicial and anti-corruption institutions to bring corrupt officials to justice
- Employ people with integrity, and some form of livelihood, and not based on partisanship
- Setup the war and economic crimes court to persecute the corrupt officials
- Dismiss and punish the corrupt government employees according to the law
- Setup an independent and specialized court to prosecute corruption
- Ensure Transparency and Accountability in government dealings
- Government employees should be paid fair wages and on time
- Properly vet government officials and employ them based on merit
- Enforce the anti-corruption laws
Corruption Cases
Accountability Lab Liberia also checked on active corruption cases in the 5 project counties: Bong, Grand Bassa, Margibi, Montserrado,& Nimba, and here is a summary of the 15 active corruption cases currently in the Ganta Magisterial Court, the 7th Judicial Circuit Court, and the Criminal Court C:
- There are 15 active corruption cases found in three of the five counties mentioned above, namely; Bong (5), Montserrado (7), and Nimba (5)
- Those accused comprised 13 males and two females.
- 73% are government employees, and 27% are private-sector citizens and residents.
- These cases have been in the courts between 1-6 years
The crimes associated with the 15 cases are: Criminal Conspiracy, Criminal Solicitation, Declaratory Judgment, Economic Sabotage, Extortion, Forgery and Counterfeiting, Misapplication of Entrusted Property, Money Laundering, Tax Evasion, Theft of property, Unlawful Compensation, and Wire Fraud
