By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor
Margibi County Senator-elect Nathaniel McGill will devote his time in the legislature pushing for the creation of a specialized court that will hear financial and economic crimes cases.
Liberians often make unfounded claims about corruption, he told reporters in a recent interview following his Senate win.
The existence of the court will minimize suspicion about financial related crimes and present the facts, said McGill who was sanctioned for corruption by the United States government when he served as Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Chief of Office Staff to outgoing President George Weah.
The elected lawmaker has since protested his innocent, expressing wiliness to stand on trial.
McGill: “In this country people have a way of lying on officials of the government about corruption. Just wait and see. Within a few months from now they will start to wrongly accuse the new government of stealing.
“They lied about madam [Sirleaf] the former president of having a hospital in South Africa; They also lied about the Weah’s administration of corruption. In order to find the facts and stop people from lying on public officials, the court will be established to prosecute those accused of corruption.
“I will lobby with my colleagues for the establishment of such a court. I am very sure they will love the idea. This court will help to reduce the falsehood and bring to book those who are engaged in corrupt practices.
Liberia ranks at 142nd out of 180 nations on advocacy group Transparency International’s annual corruption perception index. Incoming President Joseph Boakai has promised to fight corruption with “utter brutality”.
