Monrovia – In the aftermath of the recent arrests and indictments of several current and former officials linked to an international bribery scandal unveiled by the London-based watchdog group, Global Witness, FrontPageAfrica has learned that several international stakeholders have expressed their impressions over the Liberian government’s response in getting to the bottom of the scandal but have serious concerns over whether the government has the political will to continue pressing on with the investigation at the level that is drawing commendations amid some criticisms toward the presidential task force probing the saga.
According to our sources the diplomats commended the government for the steps taken, were concerned that government maintains the will to see it to the end, and were concerned that government takes all necessary action to ensure that the matter is followed to the end
A diplomatic source confided to FrontPageAfrica this week that the government recently briefed members of the diplomatic corps on the steps being taken to probe the matter and many left with the impression that the probe was going well with some reservations.
The source said some diplomats at the briefing commended the government for the steps taken but were concerned that government maintain the will to see it to the end, and were concerned that government takes all necessary action to ensure that the ongoing investigation is exhaustive.
The source disclosed that diplomats from powerful countries including the United States of America, France, Germany, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, European Union, Ghana, and Britain were all in attendance during the meeting.
Corruption has been a major Achilles of the Sirleaf administration despite a declaration of zero tolerance against graft made in 2006 when Sirleaf took office after nearly fourteen years of a bloody civil war as she vowed to make corruption, which was and remains deeply entrenched in government, public enemy number one.
The government scored some high marks early on by establishing a number of integrity institutions – including the General Auditing Commission, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission to provide the necessary structural framework to aid existing institution like the Ministry of Justice to address the problem of corruption in the country.
These steps were crucial in helping the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf-led government fulfill the Heavily Indebted Countries (HIPC) bottlenecks en route to debt relief.
But even amid the strides made, graft remained an impediment to the country’s development, a point former Ambassador to Liberia, Dr. Linda Thomas Greenfield now the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State hit home when she visited Monrovia recently.
Dr. Greenfield said corruption is holding African Countries like Liberia down while emphasizing that every country could do better in fighting corruption and the only way to do better is to persecute those involved in corruption. “Corruption robs countries of vital resources needed to move forward on development.
And Liberia cannot afford to lose resources. so all of us must work together to stop corruption at all levels and stop people from using their political connections to fill their bank accounts and building mansions … We have to fight corruption if we want to see this country progress.”
Dr. Greenfield emphasized the need to hold people accountable for their involvement in corruption as she underscored the need for the government of Liberia to take the Global Witness bribery report seriously as the watchdog organization is a credible organization that everyone should take very seriously, admonishing the government to investigate and take actions.
The U.S. envoy lamented that corruption robs countries of vital resources needed to move forward on development and cautioned that Liberia cannot afford to lose resources.
“So all of us must work together to stop corruption at all levels and stop people from using their political connections to fill their bank accounts and building mansions.”
A senior Sirleaf administration official who was privy to the discussion with the diplomatic corps confided to FrontPageAfrica that the administration realizes that corruption has undermined the efforts of the government and diminished the country credibility with international partners and is keen to make serious efforts to allay the concerns being expressed by partners.
In recent weeks, the GW report has sparked a debate with some questioning why the government is moving seriously based on a report by a credible international anti-corruption organization alleging specific charges of a conspiracy among key officials of the Liberian Government, political persons and a foreign firm to change Liberian procurement laws to give an unfair advantage to the foreign firm.
Critics of the government have expressed concerns that the Sirleaf administration has treated the report as a national emergency given the threat to the nation’s already fragile image.
The setting up of a Presidential Task Force, comprising officials of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, the Ministry of Justice and the Minister of State without Portfolio, to examine the matter and deal with it robustly and expeditiously so that further harm to the country’s image can be prevented.
The government has had some limitations amid concerns that the Ministry of Justice has limited capacity and resources to muster the legal machinery to act within the timeline the President imposed on the resolution of the matter to wit.
At the time the Global Witness report was brought to public, the new minister of justice had not yet been confirmed and the Solicitor General, Betty Lamin Blamo, who would have ordinarily overseen this process, had to recuse herself from the Task Force because she worked at the Sherman and Sherman Law Firm at the time when these transactions referred to in the Global Witness Report occurred.
The limited capacity of the Ministry of Justice to handle this matter within the time prescribed by the President without additional resources and logistics is another issue that continues to baffle many.
The Task Force was tasked with the responsibility to investigate and prosecute any alleged wrong doing, going where the evidence leads it.
To date, the Task Force’s action has led to the Grand Jury of Montserrado County indicting Alex Tyler, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Cllr. Varney Sherman, Senator of Cape Mount County, Chairman of the Ruling Unity Party, and former Legal Counsel for Sable Mining Company; Chris Onunuga, former agent for Sable Mining in Liberia; Sable Mining, a British Firm on several charges including economic sabotage.
The individual defendants were arrested, and subsequently released after posting bond consistent with the law. Those indicted were either the ones who refused to cooperate or attempted to obstruct justice by trying to deceive the Task Force.
According to sources, the Task Force has also interviewed more than 12 witnesses in Liberia and abroad and complied more than 700 pages of evidence
For the foreseeable future, sources inform FrontPageAfrica that the Task Force will shift active prosecution of the cases to the Ministry of Justice and play a more background role providing personnel and logistical support.
Said one source: “The Task Force will concentrate on the resolution of reports of the General Auditing Commission (GAC), where allegations of wrongdoing or misappropriation have remained uninvestigated and unsolved by the Ministry of Justice mainly due to its limited capacity statutory agencies.”
One source told FPA” This is the first time in Liberia where alleged official corruption in high places is dealt with under the rule of law. Previously, allegations of corruption were handled by way of coup d’état, civil war and other undemocratic process”.
While there exist some level of anxiety in the public as a result of this courageous and necessary exercise Liberians have a strong will and are determined to preserve the peace with hope and optimism that in two years before elections the system will peacefully adjust to any ramification without resulting to organized violence.
For now, logistics appear to be a key handicap for law enforcement in the wake of the looming drawdown of the United Nations Mission in Liberia and the government is said to be making a strong push for international stakeholders to bolster its revived quest to fight graft by assisting with the provision of resources to the Ministry of Justice and the LACC for a concentrated effort in this fight.