CENTAL Wants Defiant Officials Dismissed by President Boakai Over Asset Declaration Failure

-Calls for Greater Transparency in Asset Declaration Regime

Monrovia, Tuesday, August 5, 2025 - Distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the press, thank you for coming. Thank you for being a great partner in our shared commitment and quest to promote good governance and the culture of transparency and accountability in Liberia. 

Ladies and gentlemen of the press, as you may already be aware, a cardinal tool in preventing corruption, promoting good governance, transparency, and improving citizens’ trust in their leaders is the declaration of assets and liabilities, prior to and after leaving office, by those entrusted with public power and authority.  This singular act of disclosure is not only key in preventing corruption and illicit enrichment, but it is a requirement enshrined in the Code of Conduct for Public Officials passed into law in 2014.

However, full implementation of the law remains a challenge. Upon assuming office, President Joseph N. Boakai laudably appointed and commissioned a team, headed by Cllr. Findley D. Karngar to oversee the activities of the Office of Ombudsman, whose responsibilities include, but are not limited to enforcing the asset declaration requirement and ensuring that public officials fully comply with other relevant integrity, accountability and transparency standards.

We are pleased to highlight some notable progress recorded so far in asset declaration compliance, including full compliance by the President and Vice President, Speaker, President Pro Tempore and other officials and 100 percent compliance levels at the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA). However, data gathered from the Liberia Anti-corruption Commission (LACC) shows that a considerable number of officials of government, including appointees, Legislators and Justices of the Supreme Court of Liberia are still reneging on declaring their assets, incomes and liabilities.

Faced with this dilemma, the Chairperson of the Office of Ombudsman, Cllr. Findley D. Karngar recently recommended the suspension and withholding of one month of salaries and benefits of four of the five Justices of the Supreme Court of Liberia, including outgoing Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh, Justice Yussif D. Kaba, Justice Jamesetta H. Wolokolie, and Justice Ceaineh D. Clinton Johnson along with 29 lawmakers -17 representatives and 12 senators for their failure to comply with Sections 15.1(c) and (d) of the Code of Conduct.  

Ladies and gentlemen of the press, we are dismayed that officials at the highest levels of government who swore oath to uphold the laws of Liberia are in gross disregard of the very laws they swore to uphold. On the one hand, a significant number of Legislators, who are the makers of the law, are not complying with the laws they made. On the other, the interpreters of the law, Justices of the Supreme Court, who have impressed upon the Executive to implement the Code of Conduct, are turning a blind eye on its implementation. Nearly a decade ago, in the case Polson-Mappy V. Republic of Liberia, Supreme Court Opinion, March Term, A.D. 2017, the Supreme Court in emphasizing the importance of the Office of the Ombudsman in the implementation of the Code stated that “there is at present no forum of first instance to receive and address complaints of alleged violation of the Code of Conduct Act. This is of critical concern as the law solely vests the office of Ombudsman with original jurisdiction, not only to have oversight, monitor, and evaluate adherence to the Code of conduct Act, but also to receive and investigate all complaints in respect of adherence thereof.”

We are, therefore, concerned that just a year after the appointment of the Ombudsman, the Supreme Court finds itself as a violator of the law it once protected through legal opinion. We call on the Legislature to exercise its oversight responsibility in ensuring compliance by Supreme Court Justices, including through other sanctions provided by law. Additionally, we call on the majority lawmakers who have laudably declared their assets, incomes, and liabilities to push for sanctions against their colleagues who have deliberately refused to respect the Code of Conduct.

Ladies and gentlemen of the press, we are also concerned about the status of actions taken by President Joseph N. Boakai in February 2025 leading to the suspension and withholding of the salaries of 457 appointed officials.

We are yet to be informed whether these officials have resumed work, and if so, whether such resumption is a result of their compliance with the President’s directive to declare their assets, incomes, and liabilities.

Therefore, we call on the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) to publish a full status report on these affected individuals so as to allay concerns of disregard of the Code of Conduct and the presidential directive. We believe these actions will promote greater transparency within the asset declaration regime as well as increase compliance and accountability and transparency in government.

In conclusion, we call on President Joseph N. Boakai to go a step further from suspension to dismissing all officials within the executive found to have remained defiant by their refusal to declare their assets, incomes, and liabilities. Also, we urge the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission to ensure that assets declared are not just kept on the shelves but are timely verified to ensure that the true essence and objectives of the asset declaration process are fully realized.

Thank you.

Signed:

Management