MONROVIA- As the election date gets nearer, the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) through its Executive Director Anderson Miamen, has urged Liberians about the need to properly examine the various Candidates vying for public offices before making selections on who to support in Liberia’s impending October 10, 2023 Presidential and General Elections.
By Francis G. Boayue
The CENTAL Boss, on Tuesday in a press conference, lauded Liberians for their largely peaceful participation in the ongoing campaign activities, which are key components of the ensuing Presidential and Legislative Elections, and also reminded Liberians about the need to properly scrutinize the various Candidates contesting for public offices.
“As the election date gets nearer, we would again like to remind the various political parties and candidates about their responsibility to uphold the Farmington Declaration, which was signed on April 4, 2023, demanding peaceful, free, fair, and credible elections.
“Voting for corrupt and bad leaders will mean stalling the development and progress of the country. So, be careful whom you vote for, as you will have to live with the consequences of your October 10, 2023, decisions/choices for the next six to nine years,” CENTAL Boss said.
He, however, used the occasioned to call on the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) New Board of Commissioners to be “robust, independent, well-resourced, and public-interest driven more than ever before which is particularly important as Corruption is becoming unavoidable in Liberia, especially in the public sector.”
The Liberian Senate on September 6, 2023, confirmed seven (7) Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission’s Commissioners who were nominated by President Weah on June 8, 2023. Those confirmed by the Liberian Senate included Cllr. Alexandra Kormah Zoe, Chairperson, Mr. Ernest R. Hughes, Vice Chairperson, and Mr. Randolph E. Tebbs, Commissioner for Monitoring and Investigation. Dr. Miatta Jeh and Atty. Samuel F. Dakana was confirmed as Commissioner for Monitoring and Investigation, while Cllr. Oretha Snyder Davis and Cllr. David Wilson was confirmed as Commissioner for Prosecution respectively.
Following their confirmation by the Liberian Senate, the Executive Director of CENTAL, Anderson Miamen, on Tuesday in a press statement commended the outgoing leadership of LACC, especially Cllr. Edward Kla Martin and his team for bringing relative stability and sanctity to the Commission, and called on the new batch of officials to follow the significant foundation upon which they can build.
According to Miamen, the Country cannot afford to waste any more time in decisively dealing with her worst enemy, Corruption. While we acknowledge past efforts, they have not been enough to give Liberians the positive results anticipated, as public officials abuse public resources with so much Impunity.
“The burden is on the new batch of Commissioners to change these negative narratives and give hope to Liberians by making impunity for corruption an issue of the past. CENTAL, the public, development partners, and other stakeholders will be keenly watching to see if this new LACC will live up to expectations by
serving the Liberian people, instead of the appointing authority or so-called big hands in government and other places in society, Miamen said.
He further said: “Liberia needs a robust, independent, well-resourced, and public-interest driven LACC more than ever before. This is particularly important as Corruption is becoming pervasive in Liberia, especially in the public sector. The government’s 26 score out of a possible 100 on the 2022 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of Transparency International shows the scale of the problem at hand.
“The lack of actions against public officials sanctioned by the United States Government for alleged significant corruption shows a lack of will and major gaps in the Liberian government’s anti-corruption efforts. Thankfully, on the other hand, citizens are becoming more concerned and demanding accountability and transparency from their government.
“Considering the criticality of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) in the fight against corruption in Liberia, we encourage the new corps of officers to tread cautiously and lead by example during the discharge of their duties. With
the confirmation of these officials, the public expects to see a new, energized,
and robust LACC, especially now that it has Direct Prosecutorial Power, which has since been lacking.