Corner of Gurley Street & UN Drive,Monrovia, Liberia Email: laccliberia@gmail Website: lacc.gov.lr INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION DAY (IACD) December 9, 2014 Statement by Cllr. James Nyepan Verdier, Jr., Executive Chairperson of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) on the celebration of International Anti-Corruption Day: Tuesday, December 9, 2014 ___________________________________________________ Liberia being member of our globalized and interconnected world acknowledges corruption as one of greatest challenges to the emancipation of its citizens from poverty. Because Liberia is part of the community of nations, where no nation is free of the threat of corruption, coupled with the good intent and spirit of the framers and signatories to the UN Resolution 58/4 of December 2, 2003 declared December 9, ” International Anti-Corruption Day”. In recognition of our obligation as a state party to observe and celebrate this day, I am delighted to issue this statement in observance of 2014 International Anti-Corruption Day. Officials of the Government of Liberia, diplomatic missions accredited near Monrovia, the African Union, ECOWAS, the UN organizations, fellow Liberian: It is exactly a decade since the world at large commenced the celebration of International Anti-Corruption Day in Merida, Mexico in 2004. Since then, appropriate programs have been planned and executed in observance of this day every succeeding year. The observance of International Anti-Corruption Day seeks to expose the damaging effects of corruption on every sector of our societies as well as generate awareness on the menace and mobilize global alliance to fight corruption, and thereby improve the economic and social well-being of peoples everywhere. Lest we become complacent with the gains made in the last ten years in this fight against corruption, we need to be reminded that corruption pervades the social, economic, and political fabric of nations and is responsible for weak governance, which in turn fuels criminal networks and promote crimes such as arms and human trafficking migrant smuggling, etc.; corruption also diverts funds intended for essential services, including healthcare, education, water and sanitation, housing, etc. Findings of a study conducted by the International Chamber of Commerce and other transparency organizations in 2008, discovered that every year $1trillion Dollars is paid in bribes while $2.6 trillion Dollars are stolen annually through corruption-a sum equivalent to more than 5% of the global GDP. In developing countries, according to the UNDP, funds lost to corruption are estimated at ten (10) times more than the Official Development Assistance (ODA). Additionally my fellow Liberians, a report released by the international Anti-fraud body (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners)in 2014, revealed that five percent (5%)of revenue is lost globally every year as a result of fraud and this amounts to 3.8 trillion of a projected Gross World Product. Even more scaring, is that in the same report, sub-Sahara Africa where Liberia is located is the second biggest ground in the world where corruption is heavily practiced. Earlier this year (2014), Transparency International ranked Liberia at 94th in its global corruption perception index. This is still not good for our country. This means there is still huge challenge in fighting corruption in Liberia. We must do more to garner international confidence which would lead to more investments and stronger developments across the country. It is particularly important to mention that corruption is not only prevalent in under developed countries; it also represents a colossal challenge in developed countries as well. Speaking at a seminar on the “Fight Against Corruption for Global Development” in Stockholm in 2009, Mr. Adrian Fozzard, C0-ordinator at the Stolen Assets Recovery Initiative run by World Bank/UNODC, asserted, that corruption is a problem in all countries, but a devastating problem in developing countries. The more rich part of the world is complicit in corruption since the proceeds of corruption often find sanctuary and safe passage in financial centers located in the developed world. Consequently, developed countries have inescapable responsibilities to be active in their own countries and to assist developing countries, like Liberia adhere to stricter law enforcement, improved supervision and regulatory mechanisms. This year, as the Government of Liberia and the LACC join the world in the observance of International Anti-Corruption Day, Liberia continues to wrestle with the political desire versus accepting the consequences of a legitimate fight against corruption; Liberia continues to struggle with establishing a robust legal framework as opposed to public accommodation of corruption; instead of experiencing massive condemnation of accused persons, Liberia continues to experience vilification of corruption hunters, many times by the very accused persons much to the chagrin and amusements of the very public whose rights and access are squandered and denied by these corrupt practices. Our environments, our communities, our societies, our Country must and should not expand the criminal territories for corrupt individuals. We should rather narrow the landscape for these criminal conducts by rallying around efforts to investigate and prosecute any and all persons who betray public trust, squander or misuse public resources and abuse public offices. The LACC, therefore, recognizes the importance of education and awareness in addressing and preventing the scourge and vestiges of corruption in Liberia. The development of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) in 2006 and the subsequent establishment of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission in 2008 demonstrate political will on the part of the Government of Liberia. However, funding the LACC to fully carry out its mandate remains a challenge. Budgetary allocations for the Commission in the National Budget since 2009 have been grossly inadequate. Corruption has officially been recognized as Liberia’s “Public Enemy Number One” since January 2006. We continue to look to increasing government’s support through all possible funding windows, but particularly through adequate appropriation in the national budget and practicalizing the financial autonomy and independence of the LACC. Distinguished compatriots, the Commission cannot effectively fight graft without enabling laws. It might interest you to know that the Corrupt Offences bill and the Illicit Enrichment bill are still languishing at the Legislature. We therefore call on the Legislature to enact enabling laws to provide the legal and appropriate frameworks to undergird and strengthen investigation and prosecution of corrupt conducts. Public support to the work of the Commission is critical for its success. Public support to the LACC over the last five years of its existence has been serio-comic. The Commission is often criticized in many quarters as weak and ineffective. But when the Commission acts tough either by releasing an investigation report or commences the process to prosecute individuals or institutions for their alleged involvement in acts of corruption, the Commission is chided for the most part by the public. Such development certainly undermines the fight against corruption. Notwithstanding, the LACC is pleased about the number of cases which have been and are currently being investigated in 2014. The Commission is currently working with the Ministry of Justice to commence prosecution of some of these cases. The LACC continues to be reassured of government’s support in furthering its mandates. Several discussions and processes are underway with responsible agencies to identify critical need areas and to source target funding for these areas. As the LACC begins to venture into a more aggressive and effective approach to combating corruption in Liberia, investigation, evidence gathering, case management and active prosecution of individuals accused of corruption have been identified as some of those critical need areas. The LACC therefore stands in dire need of support to infuse life, energy, professional service delivery, and commitment into these critical areas. The Commission shares the view that an effective way to combat corruption is by first preventing it from happening. That is why a lot of energy and attention need to be directed to the exercises and activities that provide early warning and alert to existing or potential cases of corruption. The Commission, although not satisfied, is pleased with the level of responses to the asset declaration regime. The Assets Declaration program of the Commission recorded an unprecedented success with more than 350 public officials declaring and filing their assets with the Commission in 2014. Fellow Liberians, several international surveys conducted in 2014 point to about 58% of the losses we incurred as a result of corruption or other fraudulent activities are never recovered. Therefore we must not sit and allow corruption to take place before we act. The Commission is placing strong emphasis on supporting prevention efforts. To this end, we are currently working with 12 institutions that received funding under the Ebola response to ensure that all the processes they are utilizing in expending the Ebola resources are in line with best practices and the risk of corruption is extremely low in these expenditures. By this, we can curtail corrupt activities before they get entrenched in our daily business transactions. We also encourage you fellow Liberians, to blow whistle on corrupt activities around you and refuse to be a participant. This will make those wanting to practice corruption afraid because by your actions you will increase the capacity to detection or suspect wrongdoing in individual citizens. The Commission is further pleased to report that during the year under review, staff of the Commission benefitted from various training locally and internationally. Today, three staffs of the Commission are obtaining Master of Arts Degrees in Anti Corruption Studies in Vienna, Austria. This will increase the Commission’s capacity to deliver on its mandate. My fellow compatriots, ladies and gentlemen, Liberia is rated the second poorest country in the world, perhaps mostly due to corruption. Our country is heavily endowed with natural resources to the extent that if we exploit them and manage the proceeds effectively and transparently we will improve the livelihood of Liberians and will experience improved infrastructure and public services beyond our imagination. But transparency and accountability in public space must be strengthened by enforcing the rule of law. I therefore, call on all patriotic Liberians to expose corruption where it exists, without fear or favor. I call on our development partners to help us follow the trail of corrupt proceeds and resources in banks and other financial institutions across the world. Help us to identify and recover stolen assets and institute mechanisms to extradite and prosecute those individuals responsible. Corruption is our common enemy; therefore, let us unite to fight it with all our might. The LACC will be a reliable partner in the fight against corruption. This is why we are seeking additional legislations to protect whistleblowers and also give the Commission additional flexibilities to deal promptly with corruption cases. Join me now as we celebrate our global theme: “breaking the corruption chain”. I leave you with these words from Transparency international: “One cannot protect democratic freedoms and human rights without addressing corruption. And one cannot end corruption without working towards democratic accountability and respect for human rights.” Thank you.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 11:19:02 +0000
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