Reports that some members of the 55th legislature received $15,000 each to unseat House Speaker, J. Fonati Koffa, have raised serious concerns about the body’s integrity and commitment to democratic principles.
Anderson Miamen, Executive Director, Center for Transparency and Accountability (CENTAL), said such allegations undermine public trust in government institutions.
“The current wave of allegations of bribery to unseat the current speaker does not help to place lawmakers in a moral position to play such very important roles,” he said.
According to him, the legislature must rise above negativities and adopt a more positive attitude and reputation if it must be taken seriously and regarded by citizens and partners as a key and reliable pillar of the country’s democracy and governance process.
CENTAL, an institution that advocates for integrity, transparency, and accountability in Liberia, is concerned about the recent wave of bribery allegations that members of the 55th legislature received money to remove the House Speaker.
Forty-seven members of the House signed a petition calling for the removal of speaker Koffa on allegations of conflict of interest, authorized budget adjustments, and the formation of new committees without the involvement of full plenary. The move was reportedly influenced by a whopping sum of US$15,000 each lawmaker received to unseat the speaker.
“In the face of all these, we call for a full-scale independent investigation into these allegations to establish their veracity,” CENTAL said.
The speaker has denied the allegations and accused his colleagues of budget manipulation and corruption by some representatives and relevant committees of the lower house. Also, the Speaker accused some of his colleagues of demanding monies from the executive branch of government to pass on key legislation and bills.
“For us at CENTAL, this revelation is highly troubling, especially so that they are emanating from the Speaker, who is a highly-placed source at the legislature, a former deputy speaker, and the current leader of the body.”
“Among other things, these claims and counterclaims further validate CENTAL’S 2021, 2022, and 2023 State of Corruption Research Reports and other publications that have highlighted budget manipulation and corruption by some members of the Legislature, which only benefits them and their collaborators.”
In a release, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) says it is investigating allegations of corruption involving some members of the legislature who were bribed to remove the speaker.
“The LACC is also made aware of sources of funding in the total amount of US$750,000.00 (Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand United States Dollars), which was allegedly made available to the lawmakers through the accounts of the Ministry of Transport and the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC), respectively.”
CENTAL, Executive Director, welcomes the LACC move to investigate the allegation. “We urge the Commission to be timely and holistic in investigating the matter and all other emerging issues and allegations, including accusations of wrongdoing by the Speaker.”
