Liberia - Corruption
According to Transparency International’s 2013 Global Corruption Barometer, Liberia ranked number-one in the world. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf soon after taking office declared corruption Public Enemy Number One. Two groups -- Concerned Liberians against Corruption and Impunity (CLACI) and the Movement of Liberians Against Corruption (MOLAC) - say Sirleaf has failed to deal with it.
The law does not provide criminal penalties for official corruption, although criminal penalties exist for economic sabotage, mismanagement of funds, and other corruption-related acts. Officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Low pay levels for the civil service, minimal job training, and few court convictions exacerbated official corruption and a culture of impunity. The government dismissed officials for alleged corruption and recommended others for prosecution. The Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) and the MOJ are responsible for exposing and combating official corruption. The LACC is empowered to prosecute any case that the ministry declines to prosecute; however, the LACC remained a weak option because of underfunding, understaffing, and judicial bottlenecks. During the year 2012 the LACC investigated 16 cases and recommended eight for prosecution, resulting in one conviction.
In July, over the LACC’s objections, the MOJ dropped charges against the former inspector general of police for irregularities in the procurement of uniforms. The LACC decided to prosecute, and the case remained pending before the court at the end of the year.
In July 2011 police rearrested a former Liberia Telecommunications Authority chairman for alleged bail jumping in the 2010 case of his reported misuse of 5.2 million LRD ($106,000). The first trial ended in a hung jury. In August, after a second trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison.
In September 2012, following reports in the press and from NGOs about irregularities in the Forestry Development Agency’s issuance of private use permits that authorized timber harvesting, President Sirleaf convened a Special Independent Investigative Body (SIIB) to draft a report with recommendations. At the end of the year 2012, SIIB released the report to President Sirleaf. She subsequently released the report to the public, along with endorsement of SIIB’s list of recommended corrective actions, including administrative dismissals of government employees and criminal prosecution of the most egregious actors in the government and private sector.
Judges were susceptible to bribes for awarding damages in civil cases. Judges sometimes requested bribes to try cases, released detainees from prison, or found defendants not guilty in criminal cases. Defense attorneys and prosecutors sometimes suggested defendants pay bribes to secure favorable rulings from or to appease judges, prosecutors, jurors, and police officers. The MOJ continued its calls to reform the jury system.
The Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs coordinated management of the county development funds. The funds were previously administered at the county level but frozen by President Sirleaf in 2010 because of evidence of frequent misuse. They later were reauthorized and began to be administered at the county level. Each county managed its development fund through a project management committee headed by its county superintendent, with the Ministry of Internal Affairs providing oversight.
The government dismissed or suspended a number of officials for corruption. On 06 July 2012, the president dissolved the board of directors of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) as recommended by the General Auditing Commission (GAC). The GAC cited board members’ alleged acts of amending by-laws to allow them to accept payments in addition to their salaries for services to the LPRC. The board was reconstituted on July 11.
Police corruption was a problem. During the year 2012 the LNP investigated reports of police misconduct or corruption, and authorities suspended or dismissed several LNP officers. In April LNP authorities fired an officer for criminal activities and prohibited conduct. Another LNP officer was detained at the same time and was undergoing investigation on charges of fraud and theft for the alleged withdrawal of salaries of four other officers from Ecobank amounting to $1,730.
During the year 2012 the government continued to take steps to improve transparency. The GAC continued its ministerial audits and referred findings to the legislature. However, the legislature did not recommend any GAC cases to the MOJ for prosecution. Although the GAC successfully prepared 13 audits, on 25 March 2012, the president announced she was not nominating the auditor general for another term. The Senate confirmed President Sirleaf’s new nominee in August. Also in August President Sirleaf suspended 46 government officials, including one of her sons, for not declaring assets. The government lifted these suspensions after each official declared his/her assets to the LACC. However, citizens and the press could not easily access officials’ asset declarations, as release of the declarations remained at the discretion of the LACC.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) published the national budget and quarterly financial results, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) published financial statements, but many of these SOEs had not been audited for several years. Periodic short-term advisors continued to support the ministry and other government entities during the year. Advisers helped improve financial management, purchasing, and contracting practices and instituted financial controls that increased government revenues and helped to curb corrupt practices. Government ministries and agencies did not always adhere to public procurement regulations, particularly for natural resource concessions, or to government vetting procedures when hiring ministry officials. Concerns remained about the transparency of the finances of the country’s state-owned enterprises and autonomous bodies.
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