MONROVIA, Feb 22 (LINA) - The United States Ambassador to Liberia Deborah Malac has given the Liberian Government a pat on the back for setting up institutions to fight corruption in Liberia.
According to Ambassador Malac, the setting up of institutions like the General Auditing Commission (GAC), Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), and the Liberia Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative (LEITI) are all commendable strides in the fight against corruption.
Ambassador Malac made the commendation Thursday, when she addressed the Great 16 Inter-High School Accountability and Transparency Forum, organized by the Mano River Union Youth Parliament Liberia chapter in Monrovia. The Forum was held under the theme: "Tackling Corruption and Promoting Accountability and Transparency in Liberia".
Meanwhile, the U.S envoy is calling on officials of the executive branch to follow the Code of Conduct and submit annual asset declarations that are verified. She also urged the legislative and judicial branches to implement similar measures to fight corruption. She noted that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in her inaugural address in
2006 declared corruption as 'public enemy number one', and that since then, the United States Government and other international partners have continued to work with the Liberian government to address the menace of corruption.
Ambassador Malac then urged Liberian students to join the fight to defeat this menace, if the country should become a better place for all Liberians, because she observed, corruption not only affects government and the private sector, noting that it also has infested the schools.
She explained that school administrators and teachers collecting pay checks they don't work for and students cheating in home work and exams are also forms of corruption which eat away at the fabric of a society.
She pointed out that corruption damages Liberia's social and economic growth by deterring foreign investment and greatly reducing the impact of development assistance, and hence that every Liberian should play a part in tackling corruption.
LINA CB/TSS/PTK