IPNews-Monrovia: As the issues of transparency and accountability have been yearned for in Liberia, the Institute for Democratic Action and Development, IDAD, has held its Anti-corruption forum in Monrovia.
The objectives of the Forum were to critically analyze, evaluate, assess, and scrutinize the effects of corruption, integrity of both public, and private institutions, accountability, and transparency in Liberia, and to provide the empirical panaceas that will shift the paradigm of the country’s anti-corruption efforts.
The Anti-Corruption Forum was held on Thursday, October 29, 2020, at the Icampus in Monrovia.
IDAD’s Anti-Corruption Forum focused on two Thematic Papers, the best Anti-Corruption Approaches, Transparency, and Accountability, Political, Economic, and Social Effects of Corruption in Liberia, and Removing Barriers towards the fight of Corruption in Liberia. The Forum brought together over 40 participants to include civil society organizations, youth, and student organizations in Liberia.
IDAD’s invited two Legal Experts in Liberia, who threw spotlight and sharpened participants’ knowledge about the harmful effects of corruption its socioeconomic effects on lives of the ordinary Liberians.
The two Panelists, who presented during the forum, were the Vice Chairman of the Liberia’s Anti-Corruption Commission, Cllr. Kanio Bai Gbala, and Cllr. E. Gidu Johnson Savice, a Corporate Lawyer, and a member of Liberia National Bar Association and the Female Lawyer Association of Liberia.
The two Experts deepened participants’ knowledge on the best Anti-corruption Approaches, Transparency, and Accountability in Liberia, and provided clearer analyses on the drawbacks, challenges, and successes in the case of Liberia.
Additionally, the Experts dissected and dichotomized the approaches geared towards transforming Liberia’s anti-corruption efforts.
The Experts brought under spotlight the challenges of corruption, analyzed integrity and transparency in Liberia and compared and contrasted the effects of corruption in the country. The Experts provided drawbacks, challenges, and successes in Liberia over the past years.
The experts strengthened participants understanding about Corruption, Accountability, Transparency and Integrity in Liberia.
Speaking on the topic the best Anti-Corruption Approaches, Transparency, and Accountability in Liberia, during the forum, Cllr. E. Gidu Jonson Savice stressed that corruption continues to saturate the public and private sectors of Liberia. She mentioned that to be corrupt is to be dishonest, crook others, to commit fraud, to embezzle, exhibit, and unethical immoral behavior unacceptable to society.
Cllr. Johnson Savice mentioned that bribery, extortion, act of nepotism are in the government, a government which came with high expectation of fighting, and reducing corruption.
The Legal Expert mentioned that there has been abuse of entrusted powers for private gains and corruption has persisted throughout Governments in Liberia and not only to the current administration.
Cllr. Johnson Savice pointed out that legislative framework has little or no influence on corruption and low salary in public and private sectors is one of the reasons for corruption in Liberia.
She maintained that the General Auditing Corruption Commission, Public Procurement Commission, Liberia Revenue Authority, Liberia Extractive Transparency Initiative, and Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission of Liberia are all formal integrity institutions, and that these institutions remain underfunded, have capacity restraints to perform their functions and are not independent.
The Liberian Lawyer noted that the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission was established with the mandate to investigate and prosecute acts of corruption as well as educate the public about the ills of corruption, and the benefits of its education. Cllr. Johnson Savice, however, noted that the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission lacks the direct power to prosecute cases of corruption, and must refer cases to the Ministry of Justice.
In curtailing corruption in Liberia, Cllr. Johnson Savice recommended the following: the government must be clear, responsible, and answerable for corruption, implement a merit-based human resource management in public administration which, if implemented, makes it possible to curb corruption, civil society and the media can help by denouncing corruption and putting pressure on the government, but the real impediment to fight against corruption are as much the interest of the politico administrative apparatus, private sector can also make an important contribution to the fight against corruption by policing its own code of conduct and sticking to high standards of governance, report corruption demand transparency, accountability, and integrity at all levels and across all sectors in society, legislate corruption law and policies and its implementations.
For his part, the Vice Chairman for Prosecutions, at the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, Cllr. Kanio Bai Gbala mentioned that the Liberian society needs to deeply stand up against corruption in Liberia.
Cllr. Gbala noted that corruption continues to erode public’s trust and undermines the country’s efforts in its socioeconomic advancement.
The Vice Chairman observed huge dishonesty in Liberia, and urged Liberians to rise up self-interest to portraying traits that bolster transparency and accountability in Liberia.
The Liberian Lawyer stressed that many Liberians have refused to institute traits that that discourage corruption in Liberia. He noted the many Liberians have refused to be in straight adherence to standards, ethics, procedures, principles, and policies.
Cllr. Gbala indicated that massive public awareness, education, and sensitization, are needed to curtailing corruption in Liberia.
He stressed the importance of setting up integrity clubs, the teaching of integrity, and transparency models to discourage the acts of corruption in Liberia.
The Vice Chairman of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Corruption noted that civil society organizations, including the media need to monitor and report the acts of corruption in Liberia.
Cllr. Gbala recommended the establishment of specialized courts that will handle the cases of corruption in Liberia.
