Tubmanburg, Bomi County – The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission is seeking to forge a strong partnership with the Judiciary in the fight against corruption.
LACC Executive Chairperson, Cllr. Alexandra Zoe believes all of the Commission’s work will count for nothing if the Judiciary does not play its part in adjudicating corruption cases.
Cllr. Zoe wants the Judiciary render judgements base on the merit of cases and be intentional in clamping down on persistent and lingering issues of jury tempering and bribery.
The LACC Boss was speaking on Monday, November 4, 2024 at the start of a three-day anti-corruption training and awareness program in Tubmanburg, Bomi County.
CLLR ALEXANDRA ZOE ON JUDICIARY
Cllr. Alexandra Zoe / LACC Chair
Judicial and Integrity Sector Actors had gathered in the Provincial City, in a major anti-corruption training and awareness program, organized by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission with support from the UNDP, through the Peace Building Fund.
The three-day exercise was in continuation of an ongoing project aimed at fostering greater collaboration to enhance transparency and social accountability in the country’s governance system.
For Cllr. Zoe, forging a strategic partnership with integrity institutions will help narrow the space for corrupt public officials and unite to build a nation where transparency and accountability thrive.
To this effect, she rallied Integrity Institutions to be more proactive in the fight against corruption in Liberia. The participants, mainly Judges, Magistrates, Sheriffs, Bailiffs, Court Clerks and Staff of Integrity institutions, were charged by the LACC Boss to see the fight against corruption as the fight of the Liberian People, urging all citizens to hold public officials accountable for their stewardship.
Another key speaker at the Bomi training workshop was His Honor, Nelson Tokpah, Resident Judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Tubmanburg, Bomi County. Judge Tokpah wants an enhanced collaboration between the Judiciary and Integrity Institutions as the country strives to fight corruption. He called for support to help fast-track corruption cases and serve justice.
For her part, Atty. Marzu Stubblefield-Quaye, a Program Associate at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), emphasized the challenges that corruption poses to the livelihood of the world’s population, to which Liberia is no exception.
She reminded the gathering that Corruption is a menace that undermines democratic institutions and stalls the progress of the society, hence the need to empower local communities cannot be overly emphasized.
The anti-corruption training and awareness workshop was held under the Theme, ‘Enhancing Justice and Transparency and Building Integrity through Collaborative Governance’. It was meant to further deepen participants’ understanding of anti-corruption legislations and accountability mechanisms.
Participants were put through their paces on key highlights of anti-corruption legislations; the Whistleblower Act, the amended LACC Act, and witness Protection Law. In addition, there were other crucial presentations, including one done by CENTAL on the role of the Civil Society in the fight against corruption and holding public officials accountable for their stewardship.
The exercise brought together, judicial and integrity sector actors from Bomi, Cape Mount and Gbarpolu Counties.
