Senators Tuesday confirmed seven persons nominated to serve on the board of commissioners of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission after lawmakers put the confirmation process on hold for months citing legal defects.
Designated official’s failure to declare assets upon nomination and the conflicting county of origin of two persons were basis for the Senate near rejection of President George Weah pick for the anti-graft office.
Those certified to serve on the board of commissioners of the LACC are: Cllr. Alexandra Kormah Zoe, Chairperson; Ernest R. Hughes, Vice Chairperson; Randolph E. Tebbs, Commissioner – Monitoring and Investigation; Dr. Miatta Jeh, Commissioner – Monitoring and Investigation, and Atty. Samuel F. Dakana Commissioner, Monitoring and Investigation.
The new LACC chairperson told Senators institutional reform of the entity is paramount to winning the war on graft.
Alexandra Zoe said employees and officials of the LACC will be tied to an internal code of conduct and practice to guide their performance with a goal of having a disciplined troops of anti-corruption fighters that will set the tone and act above the fray.
Ms. Zoe promised the creation of a digital platform for assets declaration and for the purpose of ensuring smooth compliance and transparency. She wants an anti-corruption court established.
“Cases relating to corruption must be handled speedily so as to gain the public and our international partners’ confidence,” the nominee said during her confirmation hearing at the Senate Wednesday in Monrovia.
“One of the main reasons for corruption cases being slow is the lack of specialized court.
“We are considering establishing an anti-corruption academy where young people will be recruited and trained in the fight against corruption. We have to start the battle at all fronts.”
Liberia scored 26 points out of 100 on the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International.
The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. A country or territory’s score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
