Monrovia – The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), the national Chapter of Transparency International, says despite appreciable legal frameworks including laws, policies and institutions) to fight against corruption, corruption is on the rise.
The corruption watchdog’s 2019 Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) Report produced by Transparency International samples worldwide public opinions on Corruption.
In this year’s Africa Report, part of the Global Corruption Barometer, Transparency International partnered with Afrobarometer and Omega Research, which spoke to 47,105 respondents across 35 countries in Africa on their perceptions about corruption and direct experiences with bribery. The survey took place between September 2016 and September 2018.
In Liberia, 1,200 respondents were targeted between June 2016 and July 2018. Many persons in Liberia perceive their public institutions as being highly corrupt with the Police, Legislature and Businesses, again topping the list of most corrupt public individuals in the country. Majority (nearly 60%) of Liberians surveyed believe that their government is performing badly in fighting against corruption. Additionally, 43% of public service users said they have paid bribe in the last 12 months and that the poor are more likely to pay bribes (36% compared to 25% among the well-offs), often against their will, than the better-offs in society. Also, many Liberians (less than 33%) believe reported cases of corruption will not be acted upon by authorities, despite a lot more (52%) indicating that citizens have critical roles in dealing with the vice in the country.
According to the report, efforts to address impunity by timely and impartially prosecuting alleged corrupt individuals remain limited and very disappointing. “While passage of laws and the existence of anti-corruption and integrity institutions are pivotal and welcoming, it must be noted that the rigorous application of these laws is equally important, CENTAL said.
The report decried government’s indifference to effectively applying anti-corruption legislations. As a result, it is allowing unscrupulous individuals to feast on public resources without fear of prosecution.
The report said this is leading to increase in perceived and reported incidences of corruption as well as negative public perceptions about government’s commitment to robustly and impartially tackle the menace. “The culture of near endless investigation is also contributing to citizens’ apprehension about the success of government’s anti-corruption efforts.”
CENTAL cautioned public officials that in the midst of worsening economic conditions, it’s ironical for citizens to feel negative that their government is doing very little to deal with corruption and bad governance, arguably the leading cause for Liberia’s underdevelopment.
Said the report: “The accruing wealth only for those in high positions and their cronies do not represent the reforms and new Liberia we all seek to build. Liberia is a great country and that greatness can be solidified, in part by collective action to fight corruption and improve our governance systems and processes. We wish to close on the following broad recommendations.”
The report urged the Liberian government to take steps to deliver on its anti-corruption commitments by scrupulously and impartially implementing existing anti-corruption laws and policies, including the African Union Convention to Prevent and Combat Corruption. “The culture of impunity, which has seen many alleged corrupt persons go unpunished, must stop if government wishes to make concrete gains in winning the war against corruption in Liberia. Among other things, the Code of Conduct and assets declaration requirements must be fully implemented and respected by all concerned parties, including the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.”
The report also urged the government to match its professed commitment to fight against corruption with concrete actions and deeds by supporting integrity institutions like the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, the General Auditing Commission((GAC) and the Public Procurement Concessions Commission (PPCC).
The corruption watchdog urged to government to push the passage of the Whistle Blower Protection Bill and called for the establishment of a Specialized/Fast Track Anti-Corruption Court and other well-meaning efforts to create the necessary enabling environment and incentives for successful fight against graft in the country. “The perceived increasing waves of corruption among the Police, government officials, Legislature and other institutions show that ongoing reform efforts are slow, inadequate, ineffective and need drastic improvements, especially a strong prosecution regime.”
CENTAL said businesses and companies need to be transparent in their dealings, as corruption often thrives in a culture of secrecy and an environment where there is a giver and receiver. “Concrete efforts and reforms are needed to avert and address rising trends of private sector corruption as the business executives were ranked just below the Police as the second most corrupt individuals/group in the country.”
Across Africa, the report said more than half of all citizens (55%) think corruption is getting worse in their countries and that their governments are doing a bad job at tackling it. Meanwhile, 23% thinks corruption is on the decrease and 16% believe it remains the same. People living in DRC (85%), Sudan (82%) and Gabon (80%) were the most likely to say that they think corruption has risen in the 12 months prior to the survey compared to Tanzania (10%), Burkina Faso (28%), and Ghana (33%) respectively. The percent of people who claimed that Corruption has increased in Liberia stands at 47%, compared to Sierra Leone (43%) and Guinea (62%) respectively. In 22 out of the 35 countries surveyed, a large majority of people said their governments are performing poorly in the fight against corruption. Across the region, majority of the people (59%) think their governments are doing a poor job at handling corruption, compared to 64% in the immediate past survey.
Only a third of people (34%) surveyed feels that their governments are doing either fairly or very well at fighting against corruption. However, in some countries, this is far more pronounced. 87% of citizens in Gabon think their government is failing to fight corruption, followed by Madagascar (83%) and Sudan (81%). Liberia is among the least performers in this regard, as more than half of citizens surveyed (nearly 60%) say their government is doing badly in dealing with corruption. By contrast, 66 per cent of citizens in Sierra Leone think their government is doing well, while 61 per cent of citizens in Lesotho and nearly 60% in Ghana think the same. Citizens in these countries were some of the most positive in the region about their governments when discussing corruption.
In terms of sectoral corruption, Citizens think the Police are the most corrupt public institution, with nearly half (47 per cent) believing that most or all police officers are corrupt. This is consistent with the previous round of findings from the 2015 survey, suggesting that more work needs to be done to improve citizen trust in Police. Many Africans also think that most or all government officials, parliamentarians and business executives are corrupt (39 per cent, 36 per cent and 36 percent respectively). Citizens tend to perceive religious leaders, traditional leaders and NGOs as cleaner, yet some citizens still think Corruption exists in these groups (16 per cent, 22 per cent and 20%) respectively).
Regarding the effects of corruption on citizens and their experiences, the results show that of those who had contact with key sectors such as education and health, more than one in four people (28 per cent) paid a bribe in the previous 12 months for basic services. This equates to approximately 130 million people across the 35 countries surveyed that paid a bribe in the preceding year. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has the highest overall bribery rate (80 per cent), followed by Liberia (53 per cent), Sierra Leone (52 per cent), Cameroon (48 per cent) and Uganda (46 per cent). Mauritius maintains the lowest overall bribery rate (5 per cent), followed by Botswana (7 per cent), Cape Verde (8 per cent), Namibia (11 per cent) and Lesotho (14 per cent). The poor are more vulnerable to corruption, as they were more likely to pay bribe for basic services (36%) compared to their well-off counterparts (25%). Meanwhile, more men who accessed services reportedly paid bribe (32%) compared to their female counterparts (25%), perhaps highlighting the patriarchal culture in Africa whereby men control and manage family finances and may pay bribe for their families to access basic services.
Some 68% of respondents fear retaliation and inaction. However, citizens are hopeful about progress and reform. Fifty-three (53) per cent of citizens believe ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against Corruption, while 39% think otherwise.
This is especially true in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Gambia and Lesotho, where between 65 and 71 percent of people believe their voice matters. However, far fewer people in Niger (26 per cent), DRC (32 per cent) and Sierra Leone (39 per cent) think they can make a difference, suggesting that governments, civil society and stakeholders in these countries need to do more to engage citizens and demonstrate that their (citizens’) actions are leading to positive changes.