When the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was formed in 2003 in the process of ending the civil war in Liberia, the citizens were jubilant when the Governance Reform Commission, (now named Governance Commission) was included in the document. The crafters of the document knew very well that bad governance and corruption were the root causes of the civil war in this first independent black nation.
To Save Country From Further Destruction, Government Must Shutdown or Reconstitute Governance Commission and LACC
The governing structure of the country since the genesis of the country has never been a success.
Because of these factors, majority of the citizens are illiterates and trapped in poverty. And we are all aware that the more the people are illiterate and extremely poor, the more vulnerable they become thus turning to extremist, fundamentalist and terrorist groups.
It is no secret the world over that a society where poverty is at its peak and illiteracy reign supreme, the easier it is for terror groups to engage the citizens. It was based upon these factors that warlords seized the opportunity by recruiting foot soldiers in the Liberian civil war.
After about thirteen years of the Governance Commission existence, the country still finds itself in a terrible governance structure.
The reason why the crafters of the CPA included the GC in the document was based upon the historic nature of the country and they also knew very well that if the governing structure is better organized the faster the country will improve and easier it will take for the understanding of democracy and government.
The general mandate or purpose of the Governance Commission shall be to:
- Promote good governance by advising, designing and formulating appropriate policies and institutional arrangements and frameworks required for achieving good governance, and
- Promoting integrity at all levels of society and within every public and private institution
Unfortunately for Liberia, the GC has not live up to its mandate. All the citizens keep witnessing are, conferences, workshops, recruitments of highly educated staff and travels. But what has been the trigger down effect of all these programs and policies, Nothing.
Every day in the media and in the society, the issue of mismanagement of public funds/tax payers’ monies by public corporations, agencies and ministries has become the government trademark. Not a day has the country or people heard the Governance Commission speaking on these negative norms in government and society.
This has become an embarrassment to the country thus leaving the country and people vulnerable to terror. And to make matter worse, the GC is headed by one of the country’s best minds, Dr. Amos C. Sawyer, who has been in government as interim president and also been an advocate on bad governance and corruption. He has gone extremely mute to all the bad practices unfolding in government.
Is it because of his proximity to the president and the fear of not hurting the friend? The Chairman must understand that the formation of the Commission was for government to function in a way that is accountable to the people, transparent in all its activities, participatory by involving the people and responsive to the needs and interest of the Liberian people in the provision of public goods and services.
On the issue of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, the Commission has now become a disgrace and an embarrassment to the people of Liberia. This institution is run and headed by the country’s highest civil society advocates, Cllr. James Verdier and Cllr. Augustine Toe.
These two personalities were active in advocating against previous regimes that were heavily corrupt and the issue of bad governance was the order of the day.
Due to their advocacies, the president appointed them to this integrity institution to fight corruptions in government and society. But today, things are terrible in the country. The country is being governed by corruption and mismanagement and yet the LACC has become a shadow in the wind.
The roles and main objectives of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission are:
- Ensure a coordinated, consistent, effective, realistic, and sustained fight Against Corruption;
- Promote transparency, accountability, integrity and access to information at all levels of society in Liberia’s Fight Against Corruption;
- Engage and work with the citizens of Liberia and the government, business, education and national/community based organizations in the Fight Against Corruption;
- Provide a governmental and non-governmental framework for the effective participation, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and review of anti-corruption activities in the Fight Against Corruption;
- Break the culture of impunity that has engulfed Liberia by punishing people fairly, but effectively in keeping with rule of law in Liberia’s Fight Against Corruption;
- Ensure that Corruption investigations and cases are handled fairly, effectively and efficiently, free of political influence in the Fight Against Corruption;
Promote public awareness related to the direct and indirect cost of corruption to the Liberian people and the role of each citizen in the Fight Against Corruption; - Ensure effective monitoring of the Fight Against Corruption through oversight bodies and mechanisms that involves the consistent participation of Civil Society
With these mandates, the Commission does not have to wait for the president or the legislature to tell it how to run its institution. What is wrong with the allegations and poor management of NOCAL, JFK, FDA saga, LWSC, Ministry of Agriculture, renovation of the Executive Mansion since 2006, Speaker Tyler and the Michael Allison Saga, the EU funds TOto government on health in 2003, etc.
Cllr. Verdier has remained adamant in addressing these allegations. Or is he waiting for the President to tell him to act before he can start calling press conferences?
The counselor failed to understand that he and his institution are gradually shifting the country to terror attack and the use of the citizens by extremist groups.
The more the people are engulfed in poverty, illiteracy and lack the basic social needs, the probability of the citizens being used as terrorists become possible. And these factors are cause by bad governance and corruptions in government.
Let it also be known that the more the citizens continue to hear about government officials stealing public funds and going with impunity, the more agitated and disgruntle they become thereby distrusting the government.
There is this notion that it is difficult to fight corruption in a country like ours, but I disagreed. My argument is, when the president is so trenched and walloped in corruption, it becomes difficult to fight but when the leader is clear and determines to fight bad governance and corruption, it makes it easier for the state to fight these viruses. From what we are observing from the outside, it seems like the GC and LACC Commissioners are in the know of every corruption in government.
Due to these factors and the failure of these institutions to live up to their mandate, the center for governance and regional security is calling on the government to dissolve these two institutions or restructure the heads and commissioners of these institutions.
Secondly CGRS is calling for an independent body to appoint the commissioners of LACC and GC and not the presidency.
The appointment of the commissioners by the president makes the institutions to lose their determination and will power to fight corruption. Failure on the part of the legislature and president to abide by our recommendations, we foresee total anarchy and civil war in the distance future. We are also calling on the international community (U.S., EU, UN, AU, etc.), to start shifting their support to these institutions and find a better strategies by which the people can directly feel their impact.
About Author:
Phillip Saa Tali, Jr. is the Executive Director for the Center for Governance and Regional Security. Mr. Tali has a Masters in International Relations and Diplomacy and has written extensively on politics, security and governance issues affecting Liberia, Africa and the Global community. www.cengovarsec.org
