–Scores Below 30%
The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) has disclosed the failure of the Boakai administration’s officials to comply with the asset declaration regulation, with only 26.5% of 1,900 identified elected, appointed and selected government officials complying with the exercise. The exercise, which started May 2, 2024, came to an end on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
The LACC initiated the asset declaration exercise to ensure that public officials comply with the national code of conduct and the LACC regulations regarding the declaration of their assets, incomes and liabilities, which is crucial in preventing and detecting illicit enrichment, conflict of interest, and other forms of corruption, in fulfillment of the “Rule of Law” pillar of the government’s ARREST agenda.
However, the LACC disclosed that, in the Legislative branch, of the total number of 73 elected representatives, only 26 representatives were in compliance—demonstrating their commitment to the rule of law—while 47 were non-compliant. The 56 administrative staff of the House of Representative that were identified, only one staff was in compliance, demonstrating commitment to the rule of law.
Out of the total number of 30 elected senators, only 12 were in compliance, demonstrating their commitment to the rule of law, while 18 were non-compliant. The 44 administrative staff of the Liberian Senate that were identified were non-compliant.
In the Executive Branch, of the 1,281 officials appointed who are required to declare their assets, only 322 officials fully complied with the declaration requirements, while 959 are non-compliant.
According to the LACC, it also received 84 asset declaration from non-appointed employees of government, thus bringing the total number of asset declaration received from the Executive branch of government to 406.
In the Judiciary branch, a total number of 333 persons are required to declare, but only 28 officials were in compliance, including 7 judges and 21 administrative staffs, demonstrating their commitment to transparency. Three hundred and five (305) were non-compliant.
Speaking at a press conference Thursday, August 1, 2024, the Chairperson of the LACC, Cllr. Alexandra Zoe, said there are other staffs from the three branches of government who are also non-compliant in declaring their assets, and the next course of action will be to request the listing of staff from government institutions, match them against LACC’s current records and address them like all other non-compliance.
Cllr. Zoe underscored that the asset declaration exercise is a vital tool in the fight against corruption, as it enhances public trust in institutions by holding public officials accountable and ensuring that they lead by example. According to her, transparency in asset declaration also acts as a deterrent to corrupt practices and promotes a culture of integrity.
She disclosed that over the next few days, the LACC will compile a full listing of the asset declarations and publish them for the public consumption. “We will also recommend to the relevant authorities to enforce sanctions against these non-compliant (eg. withholding of salaries and suspension until compliance).
The LACC boss recommended that asset declaration be monitored regularly to ensure on-going compliance for new appointments, change in position, etc.