MONROVIA – Sanctions loom over several officials serving the outgoing George Weah-led government, as the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) announces that in line with its statutory mandate, it will in collaboration with other relevant government entities seek the imposition of various forms of sanctions on appointed public officials exiting government, for failure to make exit asset declarations.
The intransigent outgoing 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.
Under Liberian law, the LACC Act of 2022 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.
The LACC, on Wednesday, made public a listing containing names of officials in the outgoing administration, who are either in compliance or are not in compliance with the asset declaration law, as contained in Section 10.1 of the 2014 Code of Conduct on the declaration of Assets and Personal Interest.
In the LACC’s first batch of Exit Declarations, the Commission named Transport Minister, Samuel Wlue; Police Inspector General, Patrick T. Sudue; two of his deputies, Melvin Sackor, and Prince B. Mulbah; and National Port Authority (NPA) Managing Director, Diana Nebo; among non-compliant exiting officials of the Weah-led government. Like the NPA boss, her deputy for operations, Sam Doe, Jr. is also included in the LACC’s non-compliant list.
Others on the non-compliant list include scores of officials at the Ministry of Information Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT): Princess Kurbo Turkolon, Assistant Minister for Tourism; David Bashiel Kolleh, Assistant Minister for Technical Service; Marget Cooper-Frank, Assistant Minister for Culture; Jurah A. Sanoe, Assistant Minister for Administration; Daniel Nuxe Thomas, Assistant Minister for Media Service; Grace O. Tarwo, Acting Assistant Minister for Media and National Branding; and Kweme Weeks, Director General of the Liberia News Agency (LNA).
Several senior agents of the National Security Agency (NSA) are also on the non-compliant list. They are Deputy Director/Inspector General, Koko Emmett Reeves; Deputy Director for Special Service, Sam S. Saryon; Assistant Director for Operation & VIP Service, Nigel Sieh Appelton; and Assistant Director for Administration, Todd Gbain Garlo. The list also includes the names of several non-compliant officials from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, where Deputy Minister for Administration Audrian Forbe Smith; Deputy Minister for Youth Development, Isaac Doe; Deputy Minister for Sports, Andy Quamie; Deputy Minister for TVET; Peter Bemah; Assistant Minister for Youth Development, Emmanuel Johnson; and Assistant Minister for Sports, James Toe; are all non-compliant.
The LACC bulky list of exit asset declaration non-compliant officials contains several other names covering government institutions including the Liberia National Fire Service, Liberia Water and Sewer Cooperation, Ministry of Transport, Liberia Institution of Public Administration, National Lotteries Authority, National Water Hygiene and Sanitation, General Services Agency, Bureau of State Own Enterprise, National Transit Authority, National Insurance Corporation, Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Agency, National Identification Registration, Center for National Documents and Records, National Disaster Management Agency, Liberia Immigration Service, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where scores of officials including Assistant Minister for Administration Hilary F. Mentoe, are among the intransigent exiting officials of government.
