MONROVIA – Top Liberian lawmakers attending a landmark anti-corruption dialogue have admitted that the Liberian Legislature has not done enough over the years to combat graft.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh – [email protected]
On Wednesday, House Speaker J. Fonati Koffa and several of his colleagues including Senator Amara Konneh of Gbarpolu County, Representatives Clarence Gahr (District #3, Margibi County) and Moima Briggs (District #6, Bong County) attended the anti-corruption financing dialogue organized by the CENTAL for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), the national chapter of Transparency International.
The dialogue held under the theme “Increasing Funding for Anti-corruption” was geared towards enhancing the effectiveness of the national budget as a tool for anti-corruption campaign initiatives.
It offered the opportunity for stakeholders from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, the 55th Legislature, civil society, public integrity institutions, and donor partners to discuss issues related to budget allotment to integrity institutions, and associated budget processes such as audit and budget performance reports.
Speaker Koffa acknowledged that the Legislature has not done enough to lead by example, and it was now time to change the narratives in the 55th Legislature.
Said Speaker Koffa: “The Legislature is going through a period of change. In Liberia, change can be heavily resisted. And there will be some casualties in terms of what we do. This institution has not been audited… It has been unaccountable. And we cannot continue to do business as usual. It is our determination as Senator Konneh pointed out, that we will take the necessary steps to ensure that the Legislature falls Under the ambit of accountability.”
Following his election as Speaker in January, Speaker Koffa, in his quest to promote accountability at the House of Representatives, invited the Auditor General to make a presentation on the importance of transparency and accountability as it relates to the work of the House of Representatives. In his presentation, AG P. Garswa Jackson, Sr., proposed a system review audit of the Legislature within a period of two years as part of efforts to ensure a future comprehensive audit of that branch of government. The audit, if carried out, would be the first post-war audit of the House.
Speaking at the dialogue, Speaker Koffa revealed mechanisms are being worked out for the House’s Public Account Committee to set up its own internal audit unit that will work alongside the Internal Audit Agency.
Prior to his election to the Liberian Legislature in 2017, Speaker Koffa was former President Sirleaf’s anti-corruption czar serving as Minister of State without Portfolio in charge of anti-corruption measures. In that position, he served as chief prosecution in the Global Witness trial. He said because of the interconnectedness of almost every Liberian, it is very hard to fight corruption. However, to be successful in this fight, it requires the commitment of everyone. Currently at the Legislature, he said there are some unpleasant discoveries of corruption and he and his colleagues are determined to straighten the system.
He said: “One thing that I have learned in fighting corruption in this country, corruption fights back. It is very powerful. We are only going to fight corruption when it does not come near us, and it always comes near us. You suspend somebody [for an act of corruption], the next day you see someone who you are very close to, that you have a lot of respect for coming to beg for that person. At the Legislature they are funny things that are being discovered. At some departments, the father is the head, the mother and children are all staff. You get some people who are on payroll but are not going to work. The Legislature will go through a lot of changes. within the next few years.”
Corruption within both the public and private sectors of Liberian society has long been endemic. Scandals and allegations include the manipulation of contract bidding, the looting of state coffers, and the misappropriation of development aid by government officials.
In its 2023 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Transparency International (TI), a global coalition against corruption, reported that Liberia has declined by 7 points from 32 in 2018 to 25 in 2023. The Corruption Perception Index scores and ranks countries based on how corrupt their public sectors are perceived, according to experts and business executives.
This statistic was backed by the Afrobarometer 2023 survey which says large majorities of Liberians say corruption in the country increased during the past year and the government is doing a poor job of fighting it.
Among key public institutions, the police, the House of Representatives, the Presidency, and the Senate are most widely seen as corrupt, according to the survey.
Earlier, Senator Amara Konneh noted that the Legislature’s refusal to subject itself to audit has been a bad precedent for years and a stumbling block to the fight against corruption and promotion of accountability and transparency.
“The Legislature is not the solution to our integrity problem, it is the problem. Even if the country were to say today let’s audit the Legislature, it will not be possible because there is nothing there to be audited,” said Senator Amara Konneh, chairman of the Public Account Committee at the Liberian Senate.
Konneh lauded Speaker Koffa and the Senate Pro Tempore for instituting measures that are geared towards changing the narratives at the Liberian Legislature.
He pledged the Liberian Senate’s support to increase funding for integrity institutions, but called on them to be robust in their advocacy for transparency and accountability.
“So long as you are part of the fraternity, then everything is ok. Why are you quiet? Civil society and media rise up. It is not just about throwing money at integrity institutions, it is about civil society using donors’ money to demand accountability and transparency irrespective of who is in power.”
