CENTAL Hails Liberia FiTI Membership, Calls on LACC to Swiftly Investigate Corruption Allegations
June 4, 2025
Monrovia: The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia has applauded Liberia for obtaining a membership with the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI).
Liberia joined the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) on May 21, 2025, a global multi-stakeholder partnership aimed at enhancing transparency and participation in the sustainable management of marine fisheries through the implementation of the FiTI Standard.
The FiTI Standard is a globally recognized framework that outlines specific transparency requirements for countries in the governance and management of marine fisheries. CENTAL in a press Conference Tuesday said, Liberia’s membership to the initiative is a step in the right direction in promoting an equitable, inclusive and transparent fisheries sector.
CENTAL said gone are the days when policies, frameworks, agreements, processes, and reports with implications on the people and the state are covered in secrecy, noting that now is the time to nurture and value a culture of transparency across different government institutions and their services.
“We applaud this effort by the Government of Liberia (GoL) through the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFA A) to promote the culture of transparency especially within the fisheries sector”. As for the Allegations of Payroll Paddling, CENTAL echoed calls to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate allegation of payroll paddling at the Ministry of State and Presidential Affairs.
“we are mindful of the report recently released by the General Auditing Commission (GAC) on the compliance audit of the supplementary payroll system at the Ministry of State (MOS) for the period covering July 1, 2018, to March 31, 2024.”
The report underscores systemic issues in public financial management at the MOS, to name a few: Unauthorized supplementary payrolls spending in the tone of over US$3.5 million; Payment of over US$7.9 million and L$964,766.21 without supporting documentation; and Unauthorized severance payments to 647 laid-off employees.
The audit covers, to a large extent, the administration of former President George M. Weah and the previous Ministers, Nathaniel F. McGill, now Senator of Margibi County, and Wesseh Blamoh. 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.
The report noted the failure of the current administration to provide records or facilitate verification of these hires, raising 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.
“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”. CENTAL believes that the answer to these dilemmas 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.
CENTAL said it cannot emphasize much that the fight against corruption must be impartial. We urge the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) to take swift actions to investigate these allegations of corruption.
According to CENTAL it has reviewed the recent quarterly report of the LACC which indicates that investigations in payroll paddling are ongoing since October 14, 2024. As it is nearly eight months since the investigations began, we can only hope that they are completed at the soonest possible time.
“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 CENTAL is an anti-corruption Agency operating in Liberia. The Institution is known for its strong stand against acts of corruption and Human Rights violations, CENTAL advocates good governance”.
