/ 5 December 2008

Corruption in Liberia govt is rife, says president

Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on Thursday denounced widespread corruption in the West African country’s government and called for a careful strategy to tackle it.

”Most of the institutions of the Liberian government [have] inherited corrupt criminalised value systems that are so entrenched that some seem irredeemable,” Sirleaf, who vowed to fight corruption when she took office in 2006, said in a radio speech.

”Undoubtedly, our nation has been plagued with long-standing plunder and systemic corruption throughout society, both in government and beyond. This is a reality we must face,” she said.

Liberia is trying to get back on its feet after being ravaged by back-to-back civil wars between 1989 and 2003, which left the economy and government institutions in tatters.

Despite her determination to crack down on corruption, she admitted it was still rampant.

”We have not failed to act when the evidence is clear,” she said, citing examples of ministry and central bank officials who have been either suspended or dismissed.

However, the president stressed that corruption should be approached with ”a well-thought-out strategy rather than an emotional and euphoric response that plays to the gallery of public sentiments”. — Sapa-AFP