MONROVIA – The Heads of two major revenue-generating public entities, the National Port Authority and the Ministry of Transport, have failed to comply with the exit asset declaration process.
The George Weah administration of the Liberian government phases out later this month to give way for a new one following President-elect Joe Boakai’s inauguration on 22nd January.
Liberia’s 2014 Code of Conduct on the declaration of Assets and Personal Interest, calls for exit assets declaration by outgoing public officials.
The deadline for the submission of Exit Declaration expired on 12th December 2023.
The NPA boss, Diana Nebo, and Transport Minister, Samuel Wlue, are listed as non-compliant exiting officials of government in a recent document published by the institution statutorily responsible to execute the country’s Asset Declaration and Verification Regime, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC).
In the first batch of Exit Declarations list published by the LACC, Nebo’s deputy for operations, Sam Doe, Jr. is also listed as being non-compliant.
At Samuel Wlue’s Transport Ministry, he’s not the only one intransigent regarding the exit asset declaration process, as his deputy for administration, Ralph Tyler Sirleaf, and Assistant Minister for Administration and Insurance, Gertrude J.D. Williams, are also non-complaint.
The LACC’s first batch of Exit Declarations list also contains names of several officials from various government institutions, who have either complied or are in non-compliance.
On the non-compliant list at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is a sizable number of officials including Deputy Minister for Research and Planning, Olayee S. Collins; Assistant Minister for Administration, Hilary F. Mentoe; Assistant Minister for Ubran Affairs, Abubaka Bah; Assistant Minister for Research, Esiaka M. Sheriff; and Legal Consultant, Losene F. Bility.
Three Deputy Managing Directors at the Liberia Water and Sewer Cooperation are also listed as non-compliant officials. They include Josephine Dumhab; Archie Varmah; and Monseray Momoh.
The Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Agency, Archie N. Donmo; the Director General of the Liberia Institution of Public Administration, Alexander Younly; and two of his deputies, David Mahn Nhe; and Anthony Manneh Teah; and among several other exiting officials are on the LACC’s recently released non-compliance Exit Declarations list.
According to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, it would push for the imposition of sanctions on appointed public officials who fail to declare their assets.
Should the LACC seek for sanctions to be imposed on those in violation of Section 10.1 of the country’s 2014 Code of Conduct on the declaration of Assets and Personal Interest, intransigent exiting public officials risk sanctions ranging from withholding of compensation, including salaries and other bonuses; no further appointment to government posts; to refusal or denial of government services, such as business registration, tax clearance, passport renewal, national ID card renewal, and among other Liberian government-provided services.
A 2022 amended Act of the Legislature delegates the responsibility of executing Liberia’s Asset Declaration and Verification Regime to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, including the authority for the LACC to recommend to the Legislature for enactment into law sanction(s) for breach of Asset Declaration.
