The Institute for Democratic Action and Development and InfoQuest Liberia on Wednesday commenced day one of a two-day intensive training on legislative monitoring and Advocacy.

By: Julius Konton, contributing writer

The two days training came following the signing of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding Between the two entities intended to enhance legislative governance and accountability.

Speaking at the opening of the training, the Executive Director of IDAD Joseph Cheayan said as a key sector of the Government, monitoring and tracking the works and activities of the Legislature to ensure transparency and accountability in the governance process is essential.

Among other things, he wants a more responsive and accountable legislature in the interests of the Liberian people.

“We are working to close the gap left behind by other civil society organizations “, he re-emphasized.

Also speaking at the opening ceremony was the Executive Director of InfoQuest Liberia Matthias Yeanay who challenged the participants to make maximum use of the training opportunity to effectively execute the project.

He commended his partner, IDAD for the continued collaboration and reassured InfoQuest’s commitment to the process.

Yeanay stressed that accountability and transparency in any democratic space are important to the developmental growth process.

The ongoing training which brought together staff of the two institutions to serve as monitors under the project is now benefiting from the two days capacity development initiative.

Meanwhile, the training will also capture the functions, workings, and activities of the Legislature, reporting as well as tracking and tracking respectively.

The Institute for Democratic Action & Development (IDAD with funding from the governments of Luxembourg and the Republic of Korea through UNDP organized a one day project inception meeting on Wednesday December 13, 2023 at the Corina Hotel in Monrovia with key stakeholders and the Legislature. During the inception meeting, stakeholders highlighted issues undermining participatory democracy, the fight against corruption and responsive governance in Liberia. According to them, these issues include Lack of political will, enforcement mechanism of policies and laws, and the adherence to follow legal and administrative best practices by public administrators.

Speaking at the inception meeting, the Chairman of the Law Reform Commission, Cllr. Boakai Kanneh welcomed the project idea and described it as a worthy initiative and stressed the importance of these democratic frameworks in national development and economic recovery. He highlighted the need for the review of all laws relevant to the fight against corruption and bad governance. He also commended UNDP for its continued support to Liberia`s development and governance reform process and  also praised IDAD for the worthy initiative aimed at enhancing the capacities of Civil Society Organizations and the Media to lead advocacy efforts for  improved governance system in Liberia.

For his part, the Deputy Auditor-General of the General Auditing Commission (GAC), Winsley Nanka emphasized the need for concerted efforts to strengthen democratic reforms and enhance the fight against corruption in Liberia. He pledged his institution willingness to provide any technical support to the overall implementation of the project initiatives in the counties.

Also speaking, the House’s Committee Chairman on Governance and Representative of Electoral District # 8 in Nimba County, Hon. Larry P. Yanqoui noted that those barriers identified by key stakeholders continued to affect the growth of the Country’s flourishing democracy.

Representative Yanqoui urged the Civil Society Actors and the Liberian Media to remain resolute and relentless in flagging these pitfalls that have kept Liberia stagnated for long period of time.

Also speaking, the Deputy Director for Audit Services at the Internal Audit Agency, James kerkula echoed calls for advocacy efforts to tackling these barriers and continue to retard good governance.

Mr. Kerkula mentioned that integrity institutions should surmount all odds to keep the government`s feet to the fire to ensure transparency, accountability, political participation, and responsive governance at the top of national decision making.

  The Community Relations Officer, Emmanuel Karnley emphasized the need for robust advocacy towards combating corruption and ensuring transparent and accountable society.

Karnley vowed to provide technical support that will enhance IDAD’s efforts to properly implement the project.

Providing the overview, the Executive Director of IDAD, Joseph Cheayan mentioned that the project is intended to strengthen the capacities of CSOs and the Media to lead sustained and reliable advocacies geared towards democratic governance.

The event brought together a total of 40 participants. The Participants included Representatives from the Legislature, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection, the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), the Governance Commission (GC), the General Auditing Commission (GAC), the Law Reform Commission, Civil  Society Organizations working on anti-corruption and the Liberian Media