President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has proffered a bill for the establishment of Criminal Court “F” for economic crimes and corruption as well as a one seeking prosecutorial power for the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC).
Giving this year’s State of the Nation Address on Monday, President Sirleaf stressed that the bills were prudent to elevate the fight against corruption and ensure human and infrastructural development.
“We will submit a bill outlining procedures for the exercise of the constitutional authority for expropriation, and a bill creating Criminal Court “F” as a specialized court for economic crimes of corruption,” the President told a joint session of the Legislature in a speech lasting more than an hour, basically stressing the impact of the Ebola virus on the country.
She said the fight against corruption was a pillar of her administration, adding “We recognized the root causes of this menace – lack of systems, lack of institutions, lack of policies and strategies, poor compensation survival due to deep rooted poverty which characterized all three branches of Government and the nation as a whole.”
She said much had been achieved in the fight.
“We made good progress in addressing these deficiencies by establishing integrity institutions – General Auditing Commission, Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, Public Procurement and Concessions Commissions, Internal Audit Agency, and Liberia Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative. We made even greater progress in developing the systems and improving the level of compensation for all public servants at all levels.
“Our performance indicators improved aggressively. Transparency International recognized this. As a competitor in the U.S. program, Millennium Challenge Corporation, we passed consistently for the past three years the index on corruption, which is a single determinant of continuation in the program.
Nonetheless, the President admitted that the battle against corruption had yet to be won and the menace was getting the best of the country and its people, calling for the passage of a bill to amend the act that created the LACC to give it direct prosecutorial power as well as expedited trials.
“Again, we ask for passage of the amendment to the Act that created the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission to authorize direct prosecutorial powers for the Commission without the delay caused by the current law which requires the Commission to first refer matters to the Ministry of Justice,” she said.
“Honorable legislators, we must intensify this fight against corruption through prosecution of persons accused of these malpractices. Our development programs – Roads, Power, Water, Housing, better pay for civil servants – are at risk if we do not do this. Corruption is a vampire of development and the obstruction of progress. I ask that we all commit to fighting this devil that destroys our principles and our pride; that makes us slaves to vested interests. I ask this of you, as respected lawmakers, and I ask for speedier trials from our judiciary.”