The Coordinator of the Economic Governance and Reform Project (EGRIP), Boniface Sam, says ethical behavior in the procurement sector will “greatly” help the fight to reduce corruption in Liberia.

In remarks at the opening of the eighth training circle of procurement personnel at the Liberia Institute of Public Administration (LIPA) Wednesday, he noted that unless financial managers demonstrate a change in behavior, corruption will continue to pose problems to the country’s transformation process.

He urged citizens to challenge themselves to get on par with their sub-regional neighbors whom, he said, have been imported to play consultancy roles in ministries and agencies of government.

“One of the cardinal reasons for this project is to reduce corruption and strengthen the capacity of the country’s financial managers,” Sam added, encouraging procurement officers to ensure proper documentation as most corruption cases are caused by lack of proper record-keeping.

According to Sam, EGRIP is a US$18 million World Bank-funded project that started in 2008 with the objective of building individual and institutional capacity and strengthening public financial management in government.

He lauded the collaboration between EGRIP and LIPA which began in October, noting, “We are almost at the end of the project.”

“EGRIP over the years has spent close to a million US dollars in training over 260 Liberians which in my mind has made significant impact in the public sector as well as improve service delivery,” he added.