THE NAME LIBERIA Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS) has now become synonymous with corruption as the government Agency continues to be in the news for alleged acts of financial malfeasance and other unwholesome acts.
JUST QUITE RECENTLY, LISGIS’ suspended census project coordinator, G. Alex Williams, accused officials of the Agency of squandering US$1.1 million intended for the national census.
BEFORE THEN, OTHER reports of alleged corruption had appeared on the front pages of local dallies.
APPARENTLY SHOCKED BY the repeated allegations of corruption, LISGIS Director General, Dr. Francis Wreh, has fallen ill and according to reports, is out of the country to seek medication.
THE LISGIS SUSPENDED official’s latest allegation also prompted the House of Representatives to set up what was considered a specialized committee to probe Williams’ allegation against his bosses.
THE HOUSE’S COMMITTEE on Good Governance chaired by Representative Larry P. Younquoi and the Government Reform Committee were also added to the House’s specialized Committee.
SINCE THEN, IT remains unclear as to whether the House’s Committee is still carrying on its investigation or Mr. Williams has no evidence to prove his allegation in spite of the aspersion his grave allegation has cast on the Government’s Agency and its senior officials.
EARLY THIS MONTH, during an editors’ forum held at a local hotel in Monrovia, officials of LISGIS clarified that it is impossible for them to misappropriate or steal census monies to that they have no access to.
THE OFFICIALS AT the time told the forum that all census-related monies were controlled not by LISGIS, but by donors, including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
IF THE LISGIS officials’ clarification is actually the case, then the question is: ‘Are these repeated allegations of corruption at LISGIS realistic or just mere propaganda?’
WHILE THIS QUESTION still remains unanswered, we also wonder why this year’s census is associated with controversies ranging from postponements to claims of fraud in the process.
JUST RECENTLY, HUNDREDS of Liberians, who, ahead of this year’s national census, applied to be enumerators also accused officials of the Agency of fraudulently proceeding with the entire process.
ALTHOUGH UNSUBSTANTIATED, many of the applicants claimed they sat and passed the aptitude test administered by the Agency, their names were replaced with names of individuals they believe were partisans of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), who did not sit the test. Again, these allegations are yet to be proven beyond reasonable doubts but can’t be entirely thrown out as such things have happened in the past.
ON EARLY TUESDAY morning, another bad news broke out that unknown individuals had burglarized LISGIS offices and made away with more than a hundred pieces of tablet computers. The LISGIS officials have also denied the reports of a burglary but said some unknown individuals had stolen some census-related items. If it weren’t a burglary as the officials claimed, how were those census-related materials stolen?
WHATEVER THE SITUATION was at this Government Agency, all allegations against its officials should be accompanied by solid facts and not fabricated for the sake of propaganda against its officials.
