MONROVIA – The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) has lauded Liberia’s recent progress in fisheries governance while simultaneously raising deep concerns about ongoing issues of public sector corruption, including payroll paddling and bribery within the national legislature.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at CENTAL headquarters in Sinkor, Monrovia, the organization’s Program Manager, Atty. Gerald D. Yeakula, praised the Government of Liberia’s enrollment into the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI), a global platform aimed at ensuring openness and participation in the sustainable management of marine resources.
“We applaud this effort by the Government of Liberia (GoL) through the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) to promote the culture of transparency, especially within the fisheries sector,” Atty. Yeakula said. “Liberia’s membership to the initiative is a step in the right direction in promoting an equitable, inclusive and transparent fisheries sector. Gone should be those days when policies, frameworks, agreements, processes, and reports with implications on the people and the state are shrouded in secrecy. Now is the time to nurture and value a culture of transparency across different government institutions and their services.”
He noted that while NaFAA has taken commendable steps, such as maintaining an active website and offering an online license application portal, more needs to be done. “We look forward to publication of more information regarding fisheries agreements, revenue and expenditure reports, and other key information on the sector,” he said.
Turning to corruption, Atty. Yeakula expressed alarm over a recent compliance audit conducted by the General Auditing Commission (GAC) on the supplementary payroll system at the Ministry of State for the period between July 1, 2018, and March 31, 2024. He detailed a series of troubling findings in the audit report, including unauthorized supplementary payroll spending of over US$3.5 million, unsupported payments totaling over US$7.9 million and L$964,766.21, and severance payments made to 647 laid-off employees without proper authorization.
“We note that the audit covers, to a large extent, the administration of former President George M. Weah and the previous Ministers such as Nathaniel F. McGill, now Senator of Margibi County, and Wesseh Blamoh. Nonetheless, in addition to the many systemic issues raised by the audit linked to the current administration regarding payroll administration, the report also indicates that the Ministry under the current administration hired supplementary staff within two months of taking office without proper recruitment processes and paid the hires over US$36,000 monthly from a consultancy budget line, without verification or documentation,” he stated.
Atty. Yeakula emphasized that the Ministry of State’s failure to provide records or facilitate verification of these hires raises serious concerns about transparency and accountability. “CENTAL sees this finding as disturbing, especially considering that the Ministry of State dismissed three senior officials in 2024 amid reports of payroll paddling,” he said. “We wonder whether the Ministry dismissed these officials for acts done prior to the Boakai administration or for those done during the Boakai administration, or both. We believe that the answer to this dilemma will shed light on whether the Ministry of State is truly committed to fighting corruption and not a face-saving gesture or simply a move to target those who served the previous administration. We cannot emphasize much that the fight against corruption must be impartial.”
He urged the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) to accelerate its investigation into the matter. “We have reviewed the recent quarterly report of the LACC which indicates that investigations in payroll paddling are ongoing since they began on October 14, 2024. As it is nearly eight months since the investigations began, we can only hope that it is completed in the soonest possible time,” Atty. Yeakula said. “We note also that the LACC has reported completion of investigation into the case involving officials of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA). CENTAL awaits the next course of action by the LACC.”
In addition, he addressed ongoing investigations into allegations of bribery at the House of Representatives, connected to the resignation of former Speaker J. Fonati Koffa. “We have also been informed that the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) has sent a letter requesting full cooperation from members of the House of Representatives as part of investigations into bribery allegations during proceedings that led to the resignation of Hon. J. Fonati Koffa,” he said. “The action on the part of the LACC comes on the back of two formal complaints filed by a civil society group and Representative Luther Collins of District Number 2, Gbarpolu County, on October 17 and 21, 2024 respectively.”
While welcoming the LACC’s action, Atty. Yeakula called for transparency and speed. “We encourage the commission to speed up its efforts in ascertaining the facts and bringing the matter to a close. We implore the commission to be as transparent as possible with findings from the investigation so as to allay public speculations and uncertainties especially due to the criticality of the allegations,” he said.
He concluded with a direct appeal to the country’s leadership. “We call on President Joseph N. Boakai to do the needful by acting swiftly on recommendations contained in the audit report if systemic issues must be addressed. We also reiterate our call for the LACC to speedily investigate those associated with findings contained in the audit report, as well as those connected to the House bribery allegations,” Atty. Yeakula stated.
