Sirleaf tells Liberia its anti-corruption laws need teeth
The former president said accountability must start with those at the very top, and admitted the institutions her own government built have not ended graft.
Monrovia — Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has called on the country to enforce the anti-corruption laws it already has, saying accountability has to begin with those at the very top of government or it does not begin at all.
Sirleaf was giving the keynote address on Tuesday at an event marking the Month of Good Governance, which President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has proclaimed for October, the Liberian Observer reports.
Laws without consequences
Her argument was that Liberia does not lack laws or institutions. What it lacks, she said, is consistent prosecution. She pointed to thin resources for integrity bodies and gaps in political commitment, and warned that accountability with no consequences amounts to a report left on a shelf.
Sirleaf led Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Her administration set up the Governance Commission, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission and the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission, and passed the Freedom of Information Act. She acknowledged that those reforms did not succeed in defeating corruption.
This report is based on reporting by the Liberian Observer, via AllAfrica.
