By: Austin Fallah, U.S.A.
The institution of governance is a broad spectrum of operations that requires scrutiny, transparency, and accountability for any nation, particularly developing ones, to achieve substantial growth and prosperity.
One such pertinent action of good governance is the practice of auditing predecessors, an approach that fortifies a nation’s forward progress while simultaneously recovering ill-gotten wealth.
Similarly, upholding the rule of law and respecting court decisions is tantamount to the advancement of any developing country.
This candid opinion emphasizes these fundamental beliefs and explores their implications with Liberia, a developing nation in the MANO RIVER UNION, ECOWAS, AFRICAN UNION, UNITED NATIONS, and many other international organizations serving as the opinion study.
The importance of auditing predecessors can not be overstated.
In an environment guided by accountability, each outgoing administration must be subjected to an audit to ascertain its financial standing and institutional achievements during its tenure.
This process helps to evaluate the effectiveness of the previous administration’s policies, ensuring their alignment with the objective of national progress.
More importantly, auditing deters corrupt practices and aids in the retrieval of ill-gotten wealth, establishing a deterrent for future administrations and enhancing national coffers.
Consequently, it is an act of lazy, undemocratic, and unpatriotic reasoning for anyone to argue against this necessary scrutiny by stating that the absence of an audit on earlier administrations precludes the need for subsequent evaluations.
Such an argument undermines the essence of good governance and the pursuit of societal development.
Parallel to the relevance of auditing predecessors is the need to uphold the rule of law and respect court orders.
The prevalence of respect for judicial decisions and the rule of law demonstrates a society’s commitment to justice, fair play, and order.
These principles provide a firm foundation for societal growth and stability, fostering an environment conducive to economic development and innovation.
Conversely, a disregard for the established order as seen in unproductive demonstrations by undemocratic individuals with criminal motivations stymies societal growth.
The frequent challenge of court orders undermines the hierarchy of authority, induces chaos, and jeopardizes the tentative progress of developing nations.
In the context of Liberia, a member of the MANO River Union, ECOWAS, AFRICAN UNION, UNITED NATIONS, and many other international organizations and a developing country with a rich history of administrative discord and civil unrest, these principles hold even greater significance.
The country has been mired in a quagmire of political and economic instability, with episodes of corrupt practices tainting its governance structures.
The resulting image is a nation held back, with development and progress relegated to a secondary priority.
To emphatically change this narrative, Liberia requires robust systems of accountability, such as successors auditing their predecessors to both retrieve ill-gotten wealth and set a precedent for future administrations.
Moreover, a stringent adherence to the rule of law and respect for court orders will help to solidify public trust and encourage citizens’ participation in national development.
The interplay between auditing predecessors and upholding the rule of law stands as a cardinal framework in any country’s journey toward growth and development.
These concepts embody the hallmarks of good governance, foregrounding the need for accountability, justice, and transparency.
Their contributions to establishing integrity-driven national systems and fostering societal growth underscore their essential role in the governance structure of any country, particularly those in the developing stage like Liberia.
Consequently, it is incumbent upon every airbreathing, resourceful human being to uphold these principles for the common good and continuous progress of every nation, particularly Liberia.
