“Liberia Cannot Be Indicted”

-Nyenkan Speaks Of Liberia Suspension From EITI

By R. Joyclyn Wea

On September 4, 2018 Liberia was suspended from the EITI, since this latest suspension, so much has been said within the public domain regarding the suspension of Liberia from the EITI. EITI is the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative.

There is still some level of confusion as to what the suspension means and what may have been the cause of said suspension.

In a six-paragraph communication to the LEITI, it says that the EITI board has decided on 4^th September 2018 to suspend Liberia for not publishing its report for the fiscal period ending June 2016 deadline though it was requested by the Liberian government to extend their reporting deadline something the EITI Board said did not meet the extension criteria.

Speaking at the Ministry of Information Cultural Affairs and Tourism on Thursday in Monrovia, J. Gaberiel Nyenkan said though it is unfortunate and sad that the country was suspended from the EITI it is just too clearly put the fact where it belongs.

He blamed his predecessor for failing to publish the report that led to the suspension of the country justifying that he inherited the suspension as well as gross inability to perform as he has no knowledge regarding the report that needed to have been published.

Session 8.4 Of the EITI standard and 7.4 of the Requirement; say that multi-stakeholder groups are to publish annual report on activities from the previous year.

According to him, they as a government cannot be indicted for pass government failure to publish the said report which should have been published between 2015/2016.

Nyenkan further argued that Liberia was suspended because it failed to publish the report and not because he (Nyenkan) could not write the report or does not have the capacity to do so saying “he lacks capacity to publish the report

He emphasized that his predecessor has the expertise and qualification to publish the report in two years prior to his dismissal in March this year but failed to do so.

He explained that ninety-nine percent of those rejoicing the suspension is supporters of the former regime something he considered as transfer frustration.

He indicated that this is not a good sound for anybody to celebrate in the country regardless of whatever reason.