MONROVIA, April 1 (LINA) -An internationally-renowned consultant of the DAH Consulting, Inc. has called for the development of sustainability plans and mechanisms to support anti-corruption and rule of law programs in Liberia.
In his presentation during a conference on the validation of findings on the assessment of the 2006 National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) in Monrovia Tuesday, Dr. John E. Harvey noted that anti-corruption planning has made considerable progress and that some expected results have been accomplished.
He, however, added that “a number of areas have experienced poor performance” as it relates to key outcomes such as criminalizing and prosecuting corrupt cases.
“Anti-corruption enforcement, justice and security programs, once implemented, have been under-funded in their current configuration,” Harvey pointed out.
According to Harvey, integrity institutions should be further strengthened to increase their capacity in order to effectively achieve their mandates.
He indicated that reforms should include sustainability plan as current arrangements have resulted in deterioration of facilities and reversal of gains.
Meanwhile, findings on the assessment have revealed rampant corruption within both the Judiciary and the National Legislature.
The assessment revealed by Dr. Alpha Sampson of DAH Consulting, Inc. during his presentation, reported 87 percent corruption in the Judiciary, while 92 percent is within the National Legislature, according to public perception.
He quoted the report as saying that 92 percent of those interviewed said they have witnessed corruption, while 93 percent confessed they did not report the corrupt acts they experienced.
Sampson suggested that any anti-corruption strategy must address the issue of bribery which, according to him, is the most rampant form of corruption.
He said “by the very nature of our society, systems and processes have been created to support bribery,” adding, “his needs fixing.’
LINA