The plenary of the House of Representatives has cited the Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin, former Chairperson of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), and his entire team at LACC to appear before them to explain how the asset declaration form of former President George M. Weah leaked to the public, breaching the confidentiality clause of the LACC.
According to Representative Foko, while it is true that the LACC exercise is good, the LACC Act of 2022 is clearly guided by confidentiality while necessitating accuracy and compliance with legal standards.
“Asset declaration in no way constrains individuals to publish their assets; as such, President Weah opted not to publish same, same with President Boakai,” the Montserrado County lawmaker stated.
In furtherance, Representative Foko’s letter to the plenary of the House of Representatives explained that the law states that one can declare his asset, but does not compel anyone to publish their asset information, except doing so at their own volition.
“It will interest you to note that Cllr. Kla Martin, the former LACC boss who was removed after a new act came into force on March 21, 2021 told media outlets he had no record of former President George Weah filing hisasset,” the Montserrado district #9 lawmaker noted.
Representative Foko’s communication to plenary described the statement made by the LACC as false and misleading as GAC confirmed that President Weah declared his asset, and since this confirmation and Martin’s subsequent court appeal plus appointment to the Asset recovery team as head former President Weah’sasset declaration form is now in the public domain and on various social media platforms.
The lawmaker’s communication further stated that if integrity institutions are no longer carrying out semblance of integrity and confidentiality then Liberia is headed for trouble as a country.
A motion was proffered by Montserrado County’sdistrict #3 Representative, Sumo Mulbah, that the entire LACC appear in plenary on next week Tuesday.