Liberia News: Pressure Mounts On Boakai

By Mark N. Mengonfia

Liberia-Calls are mounting on Liberian President Joseph N. Boakai to dismiss officials of his government who failed to declare their assets as required of them by law and by him.

In consonance with the Code of Conduct which mandates all public officials to declare their assets upon taking office, President Boakai has been exerting pressure on his officials to obey the law and ensure their assets are declared.

Living by example, President Boakai on February 8, 2024 personally handed over the appropriate documents containing his assets to the Officer-in-Charge of Assets Declaration at the Liberia Anti-corruption Commission (LACC) Patricia Banaba.

He used the occasion to stress the importance of leading by examples for others to follow, and the need for Liberians to trust their leaders by what they do.

“We told the Liberian people that transparency and accountability was going to be the block the government would build on; we have to be clear with ourselves so that the future can be our judge by what we do today,” President Boakai said when he declared his assets.

There have been roaring calls by the Liberian leader and other stakeholders for officials of government to follow suit, but to no avail as majority of them continue to pay lip service.

The LACC, in a recent report, highlighted government official’s compliance to declaring their assets, saying that of the 1, 281 public officials appointed, only 322 of them have complied so far, meaning that 959 officials are still outstanding.

Liberians are now roaring against such blatant and disrespectful attitude on the part of appointed official, and mounting pressure on President Boakai to live up to the promise of fighting corruption.

Commenting on the issue. Sylvester Kollie, a staunch supporter of the Unity party said, “We are looking at the President keenly to see what he will do with those that have disrespected the laws and disrespected him.”

Kollie said the Code of Conduct for public officials to declare their assets upon taking office is clear and it should be respected by all officials of the ‘Rescue Team.’

“We were insulted and called names for this Mission so those who do not see the future in it should be replaced them with people who have it at heart,” he added.

Adding his voice also, James Gonkerwon, a motorcyclist who said he campaigned for the election of President Boakai asserted: “This is not the life I want to live; I am only riding bike because nothing doing now, and this is why we are holding on for a better day.”

According to James, he wants to see a society in which those in power will account for what they have and how they acquired it.

He said: “If every one of them declare their assist and we know what they are taking to government, the level of corruption will not be that high; but if we do not know, my brother, they will be no different from the George Weah government we saw people building all around here.”

He stuttered when asked if moneys used by those who built homes during Weah regime was ill-gotten, saying “the whole issue of corruption in the government was said in street corners.”

For her part, old-lady Sarah Tonpodeh said she supported old-man Boakai for a change and not for him to keep silent about disrespect and disregard of regulations intended to bring sanity to the governance process of the country.