–Calls on President Boakai to Dissolve Constituted Presidential Task Force
By Agnes M.Tarr
The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) has called on President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to dissolve the constituted Asset Recovery Task Force and direct its funds to support the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, which the watchdog group believes should head asset recovery in the first place.
The President recently issued Executive Order (EO) No. 126, establishing the Office of Assets Recovery and constituted the Assets Recovery and Property Retrieval Core Team headed by Cllr. Martin to locate, recover and retrieve public resources and properties in the country.
But reacting to the decision of the Liberian Chief Executive in a press conference Monday, March 11, 2024 in Monrovia, the Executive Director of CENTAL, Anderson Miamen said whilst it welcome the decision of the President, his group wants funds allocated for the constituted task force be directed to the Asset Recovery Unit to be directed at the LACC.
He said that President Boakai’s decision to set up a task force outside of the LACC is in contradiction to his initial plan of commissioning international auditors and being confident in the ability of the General Auditing Commission’s (GAC) to deliver.
Mr. Miamen said CENTAL believes that similar wisdom can be applied to repose confidence in the LACC in fulfillment of its mandate.
He stressed that if the Taskforce must be maintained, it should or has to be led or headed by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission and not exclusive of the Commission, as it is currently.
The CENTAL boss he does not argue that members appointed to the task force must have track records of integrity and be perceived to be independent and or politically neutral.
“Whilst we welcome President Boakai’s determination to follow through on earlier statements regarding tackling corruption, we believe that the Task Force is not the appropriate channel for attainment of anti-corruption objectives due to the following reasons,” he added.
According to him, the taskforce essentially usurps the role of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), thereby making it a parallel institution.
“The taskforce is not independent,” Miamen noted, “as it is situated in the Presidency and includes supporters of Boakai’s 2023 Presidential bid.”
Section 4.1 (d) of the LACC Act of 2022 gives it the power “to independently and in the name of the Republic of Liberia , investigate and prosecute any and all acts of corruption”. Further, Section 5.2(j) provides that the LACC shall serve as the agency of government of Liberia with primary responsibility for the investigation of all acts of corruption,” he added.
Giving some legal reliance, CENTAL said EO#126 provides in Count 2 that the Taskforce has the mandate to “constitute investigative panel to probe Liberia’s stolen and suspicious assets.”
The CENTAL boss furthered that Count 4 of the EO mandates the Taskforce to “initiate immediate criminal prosecution and civil litigation” where applicable on behalf of the Government of Liberia.
He averred that with LACC, having primary responsibility for investigating and prosecuting corruption, CENTAL holds the view that giving the task force the power to do the same job that LACC is legally required to do, including investigating assets lost to corruption does not only create confusion but serves to undermine the LACC.
Miamen pointed out that Section 5.2 (f) of the LACC Act of 2022 provides that the Commission shall serve as the primary agency of the government of Liberia authorized to make and receive requests for the purpose of international mutual legal assistance in the combat against corruption.
Count 7 of EO #126 he said, mandates the taskforce to employ diplomatic and Interpol means to extradite individuals identified as suspects that are outside the bailiwick of Liberia in order to bring them under the jurisdiction of the investigative team.
“With LACC being the primary agency of government authorized to make and receive requests regarding international mutual legal assistance including for extradition, CENTAL believes that LACC is being further undermined or its function is being usurped,” the Executive Director stressed.
At the same time, Anderson Miamen said the laws establishing key anti-graft institutions provide for their operational and financial independence, noting that it is, therefore, surprising that a presidential taskforce is mandated to recover stolen assets resides in the Office of the President – Ministry of State.
CENTAL believes that such a move is reminiscent of the past where anti-graft functions were an extension of the Presidency and were used at the whims and caprices of the President. Meanwhile, the Center for Transparency and Accountability is encouraging the government to respect the mandates of existing anti-corruption institutions and remain engaged with them in making decisions bordering on their mandate areas, if the desired collaboration and results must be achieved.
