President Joseph Nyumah Boakai has recognized and presented two certificates to the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority LACRA as the best performing government institution and for the institution’s dedication to public service and operational excellence.
The Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA) was established to replace the Liberian Produce Marketing Corporation (LPMC) as defined in Chapter 57 of the Executive Law of 1973 for the purposes of: promoting production, processing and marketing of high quality agricultural commodities particularly cocoa, coffee, palm and other agricultural produce and to work to ensure the provision of a well regulated market for cocoa, coffee, palm and other agricultural products for fair competition among all actors in the value chain.
The entity also facilitates standardization of quality of agricultural commodities including cocoa, coffee, palm and other agricultural produce in accordance with established regional and international standards.
The two certificates were presented to LACRA’s Director General Christopher D. Sankolo at a ceremony held at the Ministerial complex organized by the Cabinet Secretariat of the Ministry of State which is spearheading the implementation of the Performance Management and Compliance System.
The Performance Management and Compliance System isgovernment’s effort to strengthen transparency, service delivery, and institutional accountability across all sectors.
At the ceremony President Boakai described the PMCS as a national turning point where there should be no promises but performance, inputs to impact, and excuses to excellence.
The Liberian leader lauded high-performing institutions for meeting and exceeding their 2024–2025 targets, particularly in implementing the Service Delivery Charters and strengthening internal systems.
He emphasized that such institutions have set a new benchmark and will be recognized for their commitment to service excellence.
However, President Boakai also stressed the need for institutions that failed to meet their obligations, to double up their efforts in the second phase of the PMCS noting that while the first year was a learning curve, future non-compliance will have consequences.
Speaking to Reporters moment after the recognition, LACRA Director General Christopher D. Sankolo thanked the Ministry of State through the President for the recognition which he dedicated to the hard-working staff of the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority.
“We wouldn’t have been recognized if it wasn’t for the dedication and commitment of our staff in Monrovia and other counties who have been working assiduously since we took over in making sure our cocoa beans from Liberia are of quality before being exported to foreign markets”.
Major achievements of the Christopher D. Sankolo Administration of LACRA.
Christopher D. Sankolo took over a completely broken institution and has worked to rebrand it as mandated by His Excellency President Joseph Nyumah Boakai. He along with his deputies-initiated series of reform measures to ensure the institution function properly few days upon taking office.
His first and biggest achievement was the training and deployment of over fifty Quality Control officers to help monitor the commodity trade and enhance service delivery by providing education to farmers on how to ferment and store cocoa beans.
Under the previous administration, employees had no office space to work, no computers or other office accessories to perform their function. Few days into his administration, he worked to ensure offices are recondition and desk and chairs are placed there solving the problem of lack of office space for staff. He went further to ensure air condition are placed in those offices to provide comfort for staff. Bathrooms were also reconditioned easing the burden of lack of toilet facilities for staff, and an additional three-room toilet facility was constructed.
when he took over, there was a 2.5 KVA Generator left behind by the previous administration which could not provide electricity for the entire office facility of LACRA. The Generator only provided electricity for the former DG office.
Because of his love for humanity and his quest to ensure a conducive work environment, he ordered the generator staff not to put the generator on until a bigger one is procured to supply electricity for everyone. So, for several weeks, DG Sankolo worked in the dark while the procurement staff were working to purchase a bigger generator. Few months later, the procurement department purchased a 50KVA generator that is now providing stable electricity for the entire building.
In addition, he instructed the procurement department to also proceed with procurement processes for a 100KWatt transformer to serve as backup for the generator. The transformer is now installed as backup to the 50kva generator solving the electricity problems at LACRA among many others.
The first certificate in recognition of LACRA’s excellent performance under the Performance Management and Compliance System for the year 2024/2025 reads: In recognition of your outstanding leadership in public service, accountability and performance as the first top performing public institution under the 2024 performance Management and Compliance System
The second certificate also reads: in recognition of your outstanding commitment to service delivery, accountability, and achievements of performance target, under the 2024 performance Management and Compliance System contributing to public sector excellence in Liberia”
