THE LACC AND CONFLICTING REPORT ON ASSET DECLARATION/VERIFICATION A civil society group, the consortium of Right Groups, says it is taken aback and somehow confused on recent report by the Liberia Anti Corruption Commission (LACC) where it indicted several government officials. The LACC among other things categorized those officials as people who failed to coorporate in declaring their assets, verify their assets, etc. But what is somehow confusing firstly is the manner in which the information from the LACC is emanating which indicates there is a problem relative to information dissemination from such entity. With the media regarded as the watchdog and even the mirror, and is respected for putting out information to the public, the LACC recent report is a bit confusing as it according to some media outlets described some of the officials as “failing to cooperate with the LACC in declaring their assets”, while other outlets name these same officials as being “among those failing to cooperate with the LACC in declaring their assets, while other outlets name these same officials as being “among those who failed to verify their assets”. This shows there is a serious problem with the LACC communication arm as it needs to be precise on issues as the likes of FrontPage Africa online and the New Dawn reported that there were some officials who failed to cooperate in declaring their assets while the likes of Inquirer and New Democrat noted these officials failed to cooperate in verifying their assets, all quoting the LACC from its press briefing held on November 4, which shows the Commission has somehow confused things and is not definite. While we respect the fight against corruption in our country which must be welcomed by everyone, we however warn that it must be done holistically and not in a selected fashion as it remains unclear as to who really certify the verification of the asset of those at the LACC. At least according to the Commission, each of the five Members on the Commission of the LACC have declared their assets, but who actually verified these assets as there is a need for an independent body to be involved with such function. Let it be noted that few months ago, the Public Procurement Concession Commission (PPCC)accused the LACC of bridging its guideline and the LACC Chair Cllr. Francis Johnson-Allison upon being invited by the PPCC responded in an rather unconvincing and laughable manner claiming “it was a minor mistake”, which makes one wonder where we are heading. Frankly, there are serious contradictions in the LACC perceived fight against corruption as it at one point says people refuse to declare asset, another time it is “people refuse to verify asset” and at another time they claim “people lie under oath” which suggest the commission is getting things moving in a haywire or disorganized fashion. We think there is a need for professional training to take place at the LACC which will make their work more organized and coordinated and we recommend that the LACC send out a draft copy to those involved before coming out publicly to release their report. Also, the LACC chair describing those indicted as “being wicked” is quite absurd and out of order as there is a need for Cllr. Francis Johnson Allison to be civil and refine her words in dealing with salient national issues and must avoid begrudging people. What moral rectitude does Cllr. Allison have to describe reputable government officials as “being wicked?” Besides, reaction from some of the indictees and statements made by a host of civil society organizations, student groupings and individuals in the society have seemingly placed the LACC back on the wall as they continue to clarify to the public their report released which is quite another comical scenario. We recommend that there be a major shake up at the LACC as its head in particular has been involved with a host of controversy during her previous jobs and the current. It can be recalled that it was Cllr. Allison who led an election in 2005 when she once responded in a reckless manner to a journalist, “ I don’t know math” after being asked about how the tabulation was done relative to the elections result. This is a lady who has performed dismally at the likes of the ministries of Justice and Commerce and let it also be noted she once disappointingly described a colossal US$20,000.00 squandered by a certain government minister as “peanut and was “infinitesimal”, a rather astonishing response. The LACC head who has been perambulating various government agencies and ministries is now continuing at the same lackadaisical pace with a host of inconsistent and contradicting results that is only intended to malign the characters of reputable people who have meticulous built such characters over the year. From all indication those indicted were not given full due diligence and there is a need for such process to be revisited. Finally, it has since become a welcome news for the legislature not to give prosecution power to the LACC as it and its controversial chair must stop operating in a negative fashion in begrudging people in the name of fighting corruption. There is a need for tax payer’s money to stop being wasted by the LACC. Signed: __________________________________ Amos B.S. Kanneh NATIONAL CHAIRMAN
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 12:25:35 +0000
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