MONROVIA – Six members of the U.S. House of Representatives led by Representative Gregory Meeks will be arriving in Monrovia today to hold discussions with President George Weah on issues relating to governance and accountability and to join Liberia in celebrating the Bicentennial.
Rep. Meeks is the House Chairman on Foreign Affairs. He is being accompanied by Representatives Ami Bera, Ilhan Omar, Joyce Beatty, G.K. Butterfield, Brenda Lawrence, and Troy Carter.
The Delegation will also be visiting Sierra Leone where they are scheduled to meet meet with President Bio, his Cabinet and other government officials, as well as Sierra Leonean opposition leaders, members of civil society, and NGOs. They will also tour Bunce Island, a former slave trading port, where public remarks will be given.
In Tanzania, the delegation will meet with Prime Minister Kaasim Majaliwa, alumni of the Young African Leaders Initiative, and conservation officials and partners and in Cote d’Ivoire, the delegation will meet with President Ouattara and Prime Minister Patrick Achi, President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, and observe U.S. Africa
The Liberian Agenda
In Liberia, Rep. Meeks and his colleague, according to the U.S. House of Representatives, would be particular about the fight against corruption and good governance in Liberia.
Rep. Meeks, recently sponsored a Resolution currently before the House that calls on the U.S. State Department to continue to impose sanctions on individuals who plunder state resources without accountability in Liberia.The Resolution continues to receive huge endorsement by members of the House.
The U.S. Department of Treasury over the last two years has imposed sanctions on two members of the Liberian Senator – Senator Varney Sherman and Prince Y. Johnson – for corruption, subverting judicial independence and good governance.
Rep. Meeks recognized the strong ties between Liberia and the United States and the U.S. huge investments in Liberia, especially to end the 14-year civil crisis, help in rebuilding infrastructures and the combat against the Ebola and coronavirus epidemic amounting to about US$ 3 billion.
In his resolution dubbed, “Reaffirming our commitment to support progress toward transparency, accountable institutions, and other tenets of good governance in the Republic of Liberia as it approaches the bicentennial of the arrival of the first free Black Americans to Providence Island, Liberia” tends to foster relationship between Liberia and America based on its longstanding relationship and ties and improve governance in Liberia.
It was submitted on February 4, 2022.
It calls on the U.S. government to remain committed to nurturing the enduring ties between the two countries and its people through the provision of United States support for strong civil society, reputable accountable institutions, transparency and other tenets of good governance that would help lay a solid foundation for the 2023 presidential elections.
Despite recognizing ongoing efforts to address government corruption and other critical reforms in Liberia, Representative Meeks, in the Resolution, further admonished the Liberian government to increase its efforts in the fight against corruption and prioritize human rights issues, and implement critical economic reforms necessary to accelerate sustainable economic growth and human capital development.
The Resolution, among other things, “calls on the Departments of State and the Treasury to continue to impose targeted sanctions and other measures against those responsible for undermining the rule of law as well as the faith and trust of the Liberian people through the conduct of corruption, gross violations of human rights, and other acts that threaten the peace and security of Liberia…”
The Resolution calls on the U.S. Government to continue to work with the Liberian Government to advance the objectives of the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission and other anticorruption agencies and goals underpinning Liberia’s participation in the Summit for Democracies in December 2021.
Stern against Corruption
From all indications, by Biden administration is stepping up its game in the combat against corruption in Liberia.
This was further manifested in the remarks by his representative to the launch of the Bicentennial celebration, Ms. Dana Banks, who is also President Biden’s Special Assistant.
In her remarks, Ms. Banks lamented that the Liberian government continues to underfund integrity institutions while at the same time exerting its influence on these anti-graft bodies, yet expecting the United States and the international community to provide the needs of the country while corruption remain their hallmark.
Banks: “Liberia has a host of anti-corruption institutions. But while these institutions are nominally and legally independent from the Government of Liberia, the truth is that the government fails to adequately fund them and exerts its influence upon them.
Too many of Liberia’s leaders have chosen their own personal short-term gain over the long-term benefit of their country.
“The expectation, sometimes, is that the United States and the rest of the international community will step in to solve Liberia’s long-term problems.
So let me be clear. The United States is a proud and dedicated partner and friend of Liberia.
“But ultimately, only the Liberian Government and the Liberian people can tackle corruption, fight for accountability and transparency, and move this country forward.
Still, in the meantime, we will continue our strong and unique partnership’s.”
Poorly Performing against Corruption
Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranked Liberia among the poor performing countries in the fight against corruption. Out of 180 countries captured, Liberia ranked 136, with score of 29, climbing just one step above the 2020 ranking of 28.
The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
Unveiling the report on behalf of Transparency International (TI) in Liberia, the organization’s national chapter, the Center for Transparency and Accountability (CENTAL), said although Liberia’s score is 29, compared to 28 in 2019 and 2020 respectively, it remains an under performer and one of the biggest decliners worldwide, since 2012.
The country now ranks 136/180 and remains further down the table, joining the list of countries significantly declining on the CPI. With the exception of Saint Lucia that has 15 points and Syria, 13 points globally, only Liberia has fallen 12 points since 2012, the report indicated.
CENTAL said since the country attained her highest score of 41 in 2012, it has failed to perform any better; indicating that Liberia’s improved performance then was largely due to passage of key laws and establishment of public integrity institutions.
However, it pointed out that the Country has since failed to make these institutions and laws work, as the laws are not enforced and public integrity institutions are not fully supported morally and financially to satisfactorily deliver.
“CENTAL is deeply worried over Liberia’s continuous poor performance, especially her place among the Worst Decliners worldwide. In part, this speaks to the Liberian Government’s inability to address entrenched culture of impunity and fully enforce existing anti-corruption laws and policies,” the group said in a statement through its Executive Director, Anderson Miamen.
It continued: “Liberians have heard more words and promises from the President and other public officials than concerted genuine efforts/actions in the fight against Corruption in the country. There can be no successful fight against Corruption if the rule of law is not upheld; if the Legislature and the Judiciary are weak; if infrastructure projects are prioritized over governance and anti-corruption issues; if the President remains silent on numerous allegations of corruption against his officials; if the laws are meant for others and not senior government officials and their friends and relatives; and if, among other things, the national budget is used as a tool for political corruption, and investigations into major scandals and allegations of corruption are stalled or seemingly endless.”