FOSTERING GOOD GOVERNANCE THROUGH AN ANTI-CORRUPTION TOOLKIT

Transcription

1 FOSTERING GOOD GOVERNANCE THROUGH AN ANTI-CORRUPTION TOOLKIT Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL)

2 Table of Contents 1. Acknowledgements 3 2. Acronyms and Abbreviations 4 3. Executive Summary Project Background 6 5. Sub-national Civil Society, Public Information and Media Elections Sub-national Government Accountability Sub-national Administration and Civil Service Sub-national Oversight and Regulation Sub-national Anti-Corruption and Rule of Law Launch of the Liberia Local Governance Toolkit Advocacy and Outreach Program Constraints Conclusion and Recommendations Appendices 41 1

3 Acknowledgements The Liberia Local Governance Toolkit could not have been completed and disseminated to the many actors in Liberia and abroad without the contribution, dedication and commitment of the many persons in the national and sub-national spheres of government, civil society and communities cross Liberia. We are indebted to them for assisting us in the collection of data and critical interventions made in determining the relevance of the toolkit and its findings to the improvement of governance at the sub-national level. We are particularly indebted to the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) for understanding the significance of the project and providing much needed funding. Global Integrity (GI) stands out as an invaluable technical partner as CENTAL would not have consummated this project without the indispensable tools, methodologies and data scrutiny provided. We are also indebted to local government officials in the fifteen counties who cooperated with data requesters and gave valuable time during the advocacy to discuss findings in an atmosphere that was animated and frank. The following entities - Ministry of Internal Affairs, General Auditing Office, National Traditional Chiefs Council, Liberia Business Association, universities county students association and CENTAL Integrity Clubs in Gbarnga, Ganta, Buchanan and Sanniquellie were cooperative during the advocacy period and deserve our appreciation. Our gratitude falls on the dedicated and committed staff and volunteers of CENTAL that traversed the country in a bid to ensure the successful implementation of the project. We are especially grateful to Catherine Karmo, Breshnev Paasewe, Abel Johnson and other staff from CENTAL s other program departments, who provided their assistance when needed. We are indebted to G. Jasper Cummeh, former Executive Director; Lovetta Bailey and Emmanuel Roberts for laying the foundation of the project, but had to leave midway into the implementation of the project. Thomas Doe Nah, Executive Director 2

4 Acronyms and Abbreviations CBL CDA CDF CENTAL CIPE CNDRA CSA CSOs GAC GI iclubs LACC LBS LIBA MIA MoFA NAS PPCA PPCC TI UN UNMIL SOE GEMAP LPRC FDA RIA NPA IFC LBBF LEITI YMCA Central Bank of Liberia County Development Agenda County Development Fund Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia Center for International Private Enterprise Center for National Document Records and Archives Civil Service Agency Civil Society Organizations General Auditing Commission Global Integrity Integrity Clubs Liberia Anti-corruption Commission Liberia Broadcasting System Liberia Business Association Ministry of Internal Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs National Anti-corruption Strategy Public Procurement and Concession Act Public Procurement and Concession Commission Transparency International United Nations United Nations Mission in Liberia State owned enterprises Governance Economic Management Assistance Program Liberia Petroleum Refining Corporation, Forestry Development Authority Roberts International Airport National Port Authority International Finance Corporation Liberia Better Business Forum Liberia Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative Young Man Christian Association of Liberia 3

5 Executive summary Good governance at the national and sub-national levels of a country is critical to effective service delivery and consolidation of democratic values. The lack of systems often lead to skewed wealth distribution and stunted national growth and development. It also breeds an atmosphere of injustice, socio-economic and political imbalance, with poor and minority groups being hardest hit. In the worse case, it can bring about widespread looting of public revenue, collective disillusionment and conflict. International best practice have called for the adoption of several indicators that ensure the existence and application of good governance mechanisms. Examples of these vital good governance indicators include access to information law, whistleblower protection law, asset disclosure regime, code of conduct for public servants, decentralization of fiscal and administrative prerogatives, open budget system and protection of property rights. Liberia s history is sated with governance inefficacies occasioned by gross inequity, inequality and acts of corruption particularly rampant in the public service. The snowball effect of this governance failure has led to intermittent unrests, devastating conflicts and a distorted image of the country abroad. To resuscitate the economy and reorganize the socio-political affairs of the country, reforms are required and the current government has begun to institute significant reforms. However, the impact of these reforms on communities at the sub-national level needs to be tailored to meet the realities on the ground. The collaboration between Global Integrity and CENTAL adds a critical component to the reform agenda as we endeavored to assess the impact and existence of governance mechanisms at the sub-national level. Set against this background, in 2007, the Fostering Good Governance through an Anti-corruption Toolkit project was commenced to conduct an in-country assessment of good governance mechanisms at the sub-national level. The goal was to determine whether there existed either in practice or in law, key governance indicators that needed to be improved and changed. The project was implemented basically in three phases including assessment to collect data from the field, analysis and entry of findings into a specially formulated database system, and advocacy to avail the findings of the toolkit to the public. During the advocacy phase several consultative meetings were held with key stakeholders like the General Auditing Commission (GAC), county university students associations, traditional leaders and community based women and youths. Meetings were also held with key stakeholders in six of the targeted counties including Montserrado, Grand Bassa, Margibi, Bomi, Bong and Nimba. 4

6 Project Background The State of Local Government in Liberia Liberia is a unitary state with fifteen political subdivisions or counties administered by superintendents who are appointed by the President. The Ministry of Internal Affairs oversees county administration. Representatives and Senators are elected by counties to represent them in a bicameral legislature. Despite election of legislators, political and administrative powers are not decentralized. Governance at the local government level is controlled by national officials at ministries and agencies stationed in the capital, Monrovia. Local government is funded through the budget of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and allocations from the budget of various ministries tied to specific areas such as education and Health. The government has toyed with a level of fiscal decentralization through the establishment of a county development fund (CDF) program that allows funds to be directly allocated to counties. Unfortunately, because of weak administrative control and monitoring mechanisms to ensure adequate usage of funds, the CDF is mired in accusations and counter accusations related to misapplication of funds between superintendents and representatives on the one hand and local community dwellers on the other hand. Corruption and Governance at the Local Government Local governance is generally weak and corruption is pervasive - an integral part of a national problem linked to weak and centrally controlled governance. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf noted the challenges of corruption when she said her government, Inherited systemic corruption embedded in the society for decades is under attack through exposure, audits and investigations Fighting corruption as pervasive and deep rooted in depravation will require strength much more than that. It will require well paid and well placed qualified civil servants, widely installed financial management systems, a political audit system and a judicial system with the integrity and will to pursue offenders as required by law. 1 Lack of accountability and transparency at the sub-national level is fostered by weak administrative and fiscal regimes that allow community members little or no access to public information. Moreover, Local officials are disinclined to account to local communities because they are not elected; they feel more responsible to national-level officials to whom they provide administrative reports. Many scoping studies and articles have been written about corruption at the national level, but focus on corruption at the local government level has been under reported and studied. The undesirable state of transparency and accountability at the local government level is fostered by administrative weaknesses and fiscal regimes that allow community members little or no access to public information. County officials use opaque methods in procurement of products/services and the provision of social services. There are many critical factors that accentuate weak local governance in Liberia. Firstly, the lack of public access to information and institutional mechanisms for citizens to access public 1 President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in speech delivered at the University of Minnesota 5

7 records is vague. Secondly, the lack of budgetary transparency at the local government level is a challenge; there is still the lack of adequate disclosure of budgetary appropriations and expenditures which undermine participation and appreciation of developmental initiatives. And thirdly, a weak judiciary at the local government level is a significant corruption risk. Court officials at the local government level are corrupt and responsive only to the highest financial bidder. The lack of clearly articulated rules and regulations that enhance effective implementation of administrative and fiscal controls incubate corruption. Misuse of discretion and collusion among local and national patrons is rife. Bribery is prevalent and service delivery linked to business licensing, customs and provision of policing/security inspection are laced with bureaucratic bottlenecks that cultivate significant levels of bribery. Employment into the local civil service and procurement of goods and services are characterized by significant conflict of interest. Nationally, a national anti-corruption strategy (NAS) proffers mechanisms for preventing and combating corruption, but this strategy is disconnected from the local government as setbacks that impinge on national level implementation filter to the sub-national level. Role of CENTAL and Global Integrity The Liberia Local Governance Toolkit is the fruit of collaboration between CENTAL and Global Integrity based in Washington D.C., USA. The Liberia Local Governance Toolkit is a collaborative effort for change. It represents a fusion of expertise utilizing CENTAL s familiarity of sometimes complex local issues and dynamics, and Global Integrity technical competency as the leading information provider that tracks governance and corruption trends around the world. Considerable funding from the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) allowed CENTAL and Global Integrity to finalize the toolkit. The local governance toolkit is a body of findings that assist the government and various stakeholders understand and validate some of the governance defects at the sub-national level. The toolkit allows Liberians to flinch from the debilitating aura of insouciance that allows us to repeatedly lose sight of useful research and revert to self-seeking methods that are beneficial to a select group of people. The Local Government Toolkit Understanding the effectiveness of governance at the sub-national level of Liberia is critical if the many reforms and programs to address poverty in Liberia should succeed. Local communities are increasingly vocal in their advocacy for benefits accrued from natural resources to trickle down. The sensitivity for wealth distribution and poverty reduction comes with increased responsibility from local government to respond effectively to new fiscal and administrative responsibilities. The local government toolkit analyses governance using key indicators that cut cross issues that affect most national and sub-national governance. 6

8 The Integrity Indicators break down a country s integrity system into six broad dimensions of governance made up of individual indicators, ranging from inquiries into privatization policies and electoral practices to budget transparency and conflict of interest regulations. Below are the six governing dimensions. I II III IV V IV Civil Society, Public Information and Media Elections Government Accountability Administration and Civil Service Oversight and Regulation Anti-Corruption and Rule of Law The Methodology Global Integrity is a leading provider of information tools used to track governance and corruption around the world and as a technical partner on the local governance toolkit project brought to bear its expertise on sub-national assessment and local integrity initiatives. GI articulates it methodologies used for these initiative on Liberia Local Governance Toolkit website. 2 The local governance toolkit which is a Sub-National Integrity Indicator creates a scorecard for Liberia that assesses the existence, effectiveness, and citizen access to key governance and anti-corruption mechanisms in each of Liberia s 15 counties. Each county scorecard comprises more than 200 individual Integrity Indicators questions that are guided by consistent scoring criteria across all counties and supported by original document research and interviews with experts. The indicators explore specific issues such as the transparency of the local budget process, media freedom, asset disclosure requirements for political leaders, and conflicts of interest regulations at the county level. It also deals with Whistleblower s rights, Public-Private Campaigns, the Civil Service, Property Rights and Law Enforcement. CENTAL s methodology adopted to collect data throughout Liberia varied based on the proximity of counties to Monrovia, technology and the cooperation and accessibility of local officials and community members. Data were collected through various means but predominantly through direct interviews and sometimes via phone or Internet determined local coverage. Direct interviews were conducted by researchers and data collectors that visited the fifteen counties across Liberia. Our team interacted with county officials from different ministries aligned with different segment of the local government. Follow up questions were ask to local officials and other stakeholders by phone. Field teams visited the following counties Nimba, Bong, Margibi, Lofa, Maryland, Grand Gedeh, Rivercess, Gbarpolu, Grand Cape Mount, Bomi, Grand Bassa, Monteserrado and Margibi. Due to the difficulty in reaching meaningful people in some counties, and because of the poor quality data collected from these places relative to the nature of the research, the project team 2 7

9 cross referenced in practice and in law indicators for many data from the field that did not have available information. In view of this, heads of institutions based in the capital, their staffs, their reports or prominent individuals from counties were used as sources of information. Since some local people seemed to be completely at lost with some of the issues covered under the toolkit, the data gathering also relied on information in reports compiled by organizations working in the counties. Information was also collected from other centralized agencies that have local government functions and representatives. Data collected through the review of reports, newspaper clips, interviews, as well as monitoring of news broadcast on the radio on issues covered in the governance indicators were also important. Information was collected from the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UN- MIL) Radio Program called Nationwide, and stations including Radio Veritas, Star Radio, Truth FM and the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS). These stations have programs that allow field reporters to provided information about current events in the counties. Data entry and Analysis Data was collected utilizing methods designed by GI and CENTAL. CENTAL field team collected the data and GI provided a web-based interface for data entry. The data set was broken down into several categories that mirrored key indicators and had several sub-indicators making the indicators bulky. The entry of the data too was not without glitches. First, we underestimated the enormous nature of the task by assigning same to one clerk. Second, we did not take into account the slow nature of the internet, since our internet service provider may have been over subscribed above their capacity, thus leaving customers often with slow connection or no connectivity at all. On many occasions, we had to rely on the services of internet cafes or find other means rather than our own, thus rendering the entry process slow and cumbersome. Because of the bulkiness of the data entry questions and the slowness of the internet, instead of one data entry personnel all members of the project team had to allot time to entry and answering of inquiries requested by GI. Despite these challenges, we were highly determined to ensure that the task was completed. Key Findings Data collection and entry culminated into findings that have provided substantial insight into the workings of government at the sub-national level in Liberia. Findings produced from the Liberia Local Governance toolkit generally showed that governance at the sub-national level in Liberia is very weak on a scale of The fifteen counties scored an average of 58 on an analysis of five key indicators: Civil Society, Pub 8

10 Global Integrity Graphical Analysis of the Findings Sub-national Civil Society, Public Information and Media Access to information, the existence of free media and functional Civil Society organizations are critical elements in a functional governance system at the sub-national level. The fifteen counties scored generally well compared to all other indicators on the integrity score card. The score of the fifteen counties are as follow: Bomi -75; Bong 77; Gbarpolu 67; Grand Bassa 72; Grand Cape Mount 71; Grand Gedeh 72; Grand Kru 71; Lofa 82; Margibi 73; Maryland 81; Montserrado 81; Nimba 72; River Cess 71; River Gee 57; Sinoe The average for the counties is 73. Burgeoning but effective civil society organizations (CSOs) at the sub-national and national levels are catalyst for change, healthy for enhancing good governance and critical for a postconflict country like Liberia. Civil society organizations are present throughout Liberia and this is an area that scores better across all the counties. Civil society organizations though mostly concentrated in Monrovia, have an influencing presence across the country as they implement projects and programs that deal with diverse socio-economic and political issues. With serious discourse being conducted on the decentralization of governance, CSOs are prompted to begin to decentralize their activities so that they impact critical policies for reform being undertaken by the government. However, most CSOs lack the adequacy and depth of experience for effective contribution to policy issues in Liberia. There is a serious lack of intellectual capacity to deal with the complex socio-economic and political issues that constitute the national agenda. Many CS practitioners lack the experience and there are 9

11 limited financial resources to attract and retain experienced professionals. CSOs have to compete with government and international organizations for staff that have the adequacy to navigate the diverse issue-based policy implementation terrain. CSOs in Liberia find it difficult to sustain their programs and projects at the sub-national Civil Society, Public Information and Media PATI Public Access to Information; M Media; CSOs - Civil Society Organizations level because of funding constraints and inadequate planning. Diversification of national CSOs to have local presence that engages with local officials on policy matters is critical. CSOs are beginning to understand the importance of local government presence and are getting local people capacitated and deeply involved in their activities. CSOs are using their mobilization and advocacy skills to spearhead the formation of watchdog committees and citizen advisory groups in local communities. CENTAL has begun the establishment of Integrity Clubs (iclubs) in counties in a bid to diversify, decentralize and place advocates on the ground in local jurisdictions. The media is generally free and there are numerous radio stations, television stations and community-based radio stations that offer programs to listeners in English and local vernaculars. The proliferation of media institutions is helpful for the government and civil society, but yet public access to information remains a challenge. The multiplicity of media entities is not a validation that people have access to public information. Access to public information according to the findings is weak across the counties. Local government officials are disinclined to provide access to public information to communities and then to provide information more to their national appointers than the people they serve. Lack or hesitant 10

12 release of public information is a major obstacle to the services that local government delivers. Whether it is in security, education, land issues, judicial affairs and local administration there are a myriad of problems and justifications given by local officials for their failure to deliver basic information to the people. The failure to share information is in most cases linked to petty corruption wherein officials extort illegal payments from citizens for licenses and violations they have little or no information about. Elections Local Elections Local government elections are expensive considering the large numbers of chieftaincies, municipalities and districts that are covered. The multiplicity of cities have raised concern and citizens from these so-called cities in the different counties have felt the need for reforming this issue and have had consultative meetings to bring sanity to this situation. The headquarters of the National Elections Commission, which handles elections both at the local and national level, is based in Monrovia. The NEC has offices in the15 counties, which are headed by county magistrates. In addition to the permanent staff of the Commission based at the headquarters and in the counties, NEC hires temporary staff to assist in the conduct of local electoral operations. Municipal and Chieftaincy elections have not been held in recent times, due to financial constraints faced by the government. The government and political parties have been at loggerhead over the President s desire to appoint municipal officials in the absence of an election. The Presidency got its wish when the Supreme Court of Liberia ruled that there is no provision for the holding of municipal elections in any Liberian law. The existence of legal cities across Liberia, which does not meet the minimal condition of fully functioning cities, increases the cost of elections. Chieftaincy elections are yet to take place after three years. The NEC has succeeded in holding by-elections for representatives and senators for the various counties on schedule. This has tested the competence of the NEC to deal with post general election scenarios. Local elections in the counties have their own shortcomings, especially where there is not enough oversight over electoral activities. There is usually low media penetration in the countryside and so the focus and style of campaigns are mostly traditional rallies and events, which are influenced by traditional chiefs and elders. Political Financing Article 82 of the Liberian Constitution focuses on financial issues related to the electoral process. The provision of the constitution makes it clear on who contributes to political parties and what financial reports are require by the NEC. Civil Society Organizations have 11

13 taken a keen interest and concerted their efforts in the drive to monitor political parties and candidates funding as they participate in elections. Those campaigning during elections do not follow laws on campaign finance and the NEC has no effective mechanism to monitor violations. Political aspirants are known to receive money from sources that constrain them to shift national commitment to individuals or groups they represent. Malpractices such as vote buying and misuse of state resources is done at the local level as much as the national level. People vying for county offices during elections and by-elections often manipulate the process through town chiefs, elders and other influential people in these areas by giving money for distribution among social groups and individuals on behalf of the party whose ticket they are running on. Sometimes government vehicles are used for campaign purposes, emblazoned with stickers and flyers or used to carry supporters around during political rallies. It has not gone unnoticed that the National Elections Commission does not enforce the declaration of assets by county officials and yet this requirement is stressed at the national level. This negligence opens a corridor for elected county officials to indulge in corrupt acts during their tenure. Declaration of assets serves to expose unusual growth in wealth by public officials. The code of conduct for public officials which is currently being debated at the Legislature embeds a declaration of assets provision. Public scrutiny of local officials financial standing is important. It is difficult to follow the trail of campaign expenditures because they are made in cash with little paper trail. Sub-national Government Accountability Local government accountability is very weak as local officials are insouciant in the exhibition of transparency and accountability in their dealings. This trend has built a wall between local communities and officials, and sparked suspicion and distrust. The integrity indicator scores for the fifteen counties are as follow. Bomi -51; Bong 48; Gbarpolu 56; Grand Bassa 68; Grand Cape Mount 46; Grand Gedeh 65; Grand Kru 61; Lofa 67; Margibi 68; Maryland 60; Montserrado 60; Nimba 51; River Cess 52; River Gee 50; Sinoe The average for the counties is 57. Executive Accountability Local governance constitutes a major frontline to local citizens, as it exercises political, economic and administrative authority to manage local affairs. In order for citizens to gain faith and respect for any form of governance in place, the government must be accountable and integritous. Accountability is a key component of good governance both at the local and national level and thus cannot be divorced from transparency and the rule of law. The basic hierarchy of Liberia s local governance constitutes local executives i.e. county superinten- 12

14 dent, county commissioner, mayor and representatives of various national agencies. In order for government to become more accountable to its citizens locally, it must decentralize its activities. With decentralization, much of the responsibilities for service delivery are transferred to local governments. While several local governments (especially those of developed countries) are able to maintain the quality of services devolved to them, most underdeveloped countries including Liberia are unable to efficaciously provide basic services in a manner that is accountable and have scored limited success in getting communities involved in addressing local problems. Liberia local government has many shortcomings, but it is important that the integrity and capacity of local executives and other functionaries are built. Local capacity in planning, investment programming, fiscal prudence, monitoring and evaluation, and other areas is needed to ensure the effective running of local government. Emphasis should be placed on installing good governance practices and regulations in the affairs of local government. These mechanisms should promote accountability and lead to the building of capacities that give citizens the minimum intellectual advantage to understand and analyze problems and then contribute to solutions. Legislative Accountability Liberia has a National Legislature model on the US legislative branch. There are two Houses, the House of Senate and House of Representatives. The House of Senate has thirty (30) members. Each county has two senators with the senator who records the highest vote designated senior senator and the other a junior. The senior senator serves nine (9) years while the junior serves six (6). The House of Representatives currently has 64 members that represent electoral districts within counties. The representative system protects citizens interest and articulates their views by drafting and making laws that seek to address development and socio-economic problems confronting constituencies. It follows that representatives would act in consultation with the people they represent. Unfortunately, it has been observed that some representatives and senators fail to find the time to visit their constituencies to engage with the people for their feedback and opinion on national issues. Because of the lack of constructive engagement with constituencies, representatives are ill equipped to articulate the views and aspirations of their people in laws that they pass. Once elections are over, most do not feel accountable to the people anymore; they conceal information related to legislative deliberations in a bid to reap personal pecuniary gains. As the process of reform takes root at other levels of government, legislative reforms is slow and legislators show little political will to reverse this trend. Legislative transparency and accountability especially to sub-national stakeholders who are electors of many legislators is crucial to effective functioning of this important branch of government. 13

15 Under Liberian law, legislators cannot be arrested, detained, prosecuted or tried as a result of opinion expressed or votes cast in the exercise of functions of their office; they shall be immune from the above actions while attending, going to or returning from sessions of the Legislature, except for treason, felony or breach of peace. However, this immunity is often misused and abused by some legislators who fail to delineate their official duties and meddle in other affairs that are not within their jurisdiction. They use the law as a canopy to shield themselves from punitive actions a weak judiciary does not help in this situation. Judicial Accountability The resident circuit court judge manages the judicial branch of government at the county level. There are also judges for special issues such as taxes and child rights. Counties have three magistrates: a stipendiary magistrate and two associate magistrates. Magistrates at the sub-national level work closely with various courts. The Judges are presidential appointees that can only be removed from office for cause and serves for life. They report to the Justices of the Supreme Court in a bid to maintain the independence of the judiciary. Judicial accountability and transparency needs overhaul. The public perception of the judiciary says all about an institution that is weak, riddled with corruption and bankrupt in integrity. Several government officials and international partners have alluded to problems in the judiciary and how it affects the socio-economic and political growth of the country. A weak judiciary allows unwarranted use of discretion by judges at the sub-national level the poor are often denied justice in favor of the rich. People at the sub-national level are starved of legal representation by the concentration of lawyers in Monrovia. Lawyers indicate that they are in the business for money and people at the sub-national level are unable to pay legal fees. There have been interventions by the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) that has paid for county defense attorneys. Other organizations like the American Bar Association have also being helpful with scholarships for law students and collaborates with the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia. The probity of lawyers and their interactions with the courts and clients have come under scrutiny as lawyers are cited as one of the culprits in the prevalence of corruption in the judiciary. The failure of the Liberia Bar Association to ensure that lawyers abide by a strong code of ethics is a cause for concern. The lawyers association is seen as an association of friends that is unable to penalize members for transgressions. The lack of commitment of the Supreme Court of Liberia, which has oversight of the judiciary to seek improvement in the judicial processes, raises serious questions about Liberia s recovery after years of conflict. The Chief Justice who should direct the course of the judiciary maintains a posture that makes him almost unapproachable. The judiciary in Liberia requires substantial assistance to rebuild infrastructure, train lawyers and judicial workers. Improved and enforceable ethical standard for judges and judicial workers is required and much needed at the sub-national level. 14

16 Budget Processes Liberia currently operates a cash based National Budget that runs from July 1st of the current year to June 30th of the following year. The national budget is one of the country s principal fiscal documents and as a blueprint for the management of the country s financial resources, the participation of beneficiaries in its formulation is important to attaining development goals. A good budget is relevant, focused and realistic; its formulation incorporates inputs from agencies at the national and sub-national levels. It provides a clear guide and control mechanism for purposive action. The budget formulation process by the Executive and passage by the National Legislature since the inception of the present government have been more open to public discussion. While much needs to be done to get the voice of sub-national communities articulated in the budgeting process, year after year the people awareness of their right to participate grows. The measure of fiscal decentralization that comes with the allocation of counties money under the much heralded County Development Fund (CDF) has raised communities sensitivity to the importance of the budget and its numerous debates. Everyone wants to know what is in the budget for their county and community. Members of the legislature are also becoming active as they request a role in determining how CDF allocations are spent in Government Accountability BP Budget Process; JA Judicial Accountability; EA - Executive Accountability their constituencies. The agreed practice in the expenditure of the CDF follows a County Development Agenda (CDA) that apparently articulates the wishes of the local community. 15

17 The government has in recent time installed county development officers who are supposed to work with the counties to ensure the fulfillment of the CDA. The CDA according to the government was determined in consultation with communities across the country. Limited information at the sub-national level remains a problem despite increased participation in the budgetary process and formulation of programs such as the CDA. Transparent debates need to transcend the floor of the legislature or stage managed community meetings that may not be a true representation of those directly affected by poverty. Budgeting at the local government level needs to be an exercise which affords local officials, community leaders and civil society organizations the legroom to engage each other. Monitoring of projects at the sub-national level is weak and there is no functioning mechanism for evaluating the level and quality of services provided through budgetary allocations. Local officials often do not feel obligated to the community when it comes to budgetary expenditures and progress reports as these reports are shrouded in secrecy and channeled to national functionaries. There is a glimmer of hope for openness as the General Auditing Commission (GAC) has aggressively audited budgetary expenditures and projects and made findings public. Sub-national Administration and Civil Service Administrative incompetence in the local government is one of major reasons for systemic weaknesses of governance at the sub-national level. The integrity indicator shows that Administrative and civil service is very weak. The fifteen counties fared as follows: Bomi -37; Bong 42; Gbarpolu 43; Grand Bassa 38; Grand Cape Mount 41; Grand Gedeh 40; Grand Kru 39; Lofa 41; Margibi 37; Maryland 40; Montserrado 36; Nimba 37; River Cess 38; River Gee 44; Sinoe The average for the counties is 37. Administrative and Civil Service regulation One of the major challenges the government faces after years of conflict is a dysfunctional and bloated civil service. Low capacity and morale within the Civil Service makes the task of government achieving ambitious targets difficult. The public administration system was built on a foundation that tolerated a culture of patronage over a system that espoused merit. No wonder the government the task of accentuating policies, systems and institutional reforms at all levels of the government is so Herculean untenable. A comprehensive civil service reform program is underway. The Civil Service Agency (CSA) has launched a three-year reform program to be implemented from 2008 to 2011 with the primary focus of stabilizing the civil service system and laying the foundation for its modernization. The program will focus on six priority areas including restructuring and rightsizing, pay and pension reform and improving service delivery. Other priority areas are human 16

18 resource management, development leadership and gender equity. How the civil service reform is going to play out at the sub-national level is unclear as there is much focus on national institutions. An effective civil service structure at the subnational is critical as government moves to allow a level of fiscal decentralization and there are bellows from a cross section of society for the devolution of political power away from the president and other key national actors. An Act prescribing the A Code of Conduct for all public officials and employees of the three branches of Government and parastatal bodies is before the national legislature. The Act sets an important milestone that should ensure that public employees adhere to rules and regulations or face penalties for defiant behavior. The code of conduct when passed would require public servants to declare their assets. The abuse of official position needs to be checked and crosschecked at the sub-national level because unscrupulous local officials are in the habit of abusing the rights of people who find it difficult to seek redress at the national level especially in Monrovia. Whistleblowers measures There exists no Whistleblower s protection law in Liberia. Individuals who blow the whistle on their bosses and colleagues are subjected to intimidation, dismissal and demotion from their positions. The passage of a whistleblowers protection law is critical to the fight against corruption. The National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NAS) which is driven by the Governance Commission highlights the relevance of such legislation, but is yet to assemble a draft. The preceding anti-corruption legislations that have led to the establishment of the Liberia Anti-corruption Commission (LACC) and the Code of Conduct that is currently before the legislature need to be accompanied by an effective whistleblower s protection law. A Whistleblower law, which would be an instrument of early warning to prevent grand corruption, and yet an effective catalyst for people to speak out and expose acts of corruption needs to be expanded both at the national and local levels. The inclusion of people at the national and sub-national level will provide an incentive for disclosure of wrongdoings at all levels of the society. A good whistle-blower protection framework complements and reinforces the work of officers responsible for enforcing ethics in government and in the private sector. Without whistle-blowing protection, most wrong-doing must await eventual discovery by regulators, given the fact that regulators are chronically under-funded, and under-resourced, most wrong-doing will almost certainly go undetected unless it is particularly egregious. 17

19 Property rights Securing adequate rights to property is one of most contentious issues facing Liberia. Liberia as in the case of other African countries has been subjected to huge land grab by a settler s class that looked down on the indigenous people. Under the guise of laws in many instance formulated to justify land seizure, the settlers who controlled political power share the arable land amongst themselves leaving the real landowners as laborers on their own land. The Liberia land question is exacerbated by the failure of successful governments to employ an effective record system to ensure that property rights are protected. In Liberia, citizens hold deeds to property; however, in most instances the security of the deeds is contestable because systemic corruption has stricken the land record system. Land records at the local level are in shambles; the local land commissioners lack the capacity and resources to maintain records. Land at the sub-national level are acquired through many ways, some families own vast plots of land given to their ancestors by past chiefs for achievements in wars. Other families acquire land because they were the first to settle on the land. Yet others bought the land using agreeable traditional medium of exchange. Many land in subnational areas are passed down through families verbally or by traditional means and there are no records to protect property ownership rights. Intra-tribal fighting are common and the tussle over land is most pronounced in urban areas as dishonest landowners repeatedly sell the same land to several persons. Young people in quest of a new home are in many cases the victims of this failure of governance. The resuscitation of the economy and the renegotiation of concession agreements that require compensation to communities have raised the consciousness of landowners at the sub-national level about the value of their land. The President has declared her commitment to reform the Liberia land system and the Governance Commission has drafted a bill that the Executive has forwarded to the legislature requesting the establishment of a National Land Commission. The draft bill objective in policy and law reform promotes equitable and productive access to the nation s land, security of tenure in land and rule of law with respect to landholdings and dealings. The effective land administration and management and investment in the development of the nation s land resources is emphasized. However, pundits have indicated that the Land Commission bill makes the commission powerless opting for it to only make recommendations to the President. The failure of current structures to address the numerous land disputes leaves many desiring a commission that is independent and has the power to address the many issues that undermine property rights. Also the issue of taking the control of public land from the clutches of the presidency need to be considered as this situation has led to the politicization of public land. The Center for National Document Records and Archives (CNDRA) or the National Archives Center was established by an act of the National Legislature in The CNDRA is based in Monrovia and has no presence at the sub-national level. The Center s mandate is to preserve all documents and materials created during business conducted by the Liberian government relevant documents include land deeds and titles. The CNDRA s involvement 18

20 in the recording and archiving of land deeds have come under question as they have been accused of tampering with land deeds for pecuniary gains. The CNDRA has control over land records from the point of its establishment in 1956; the records that predate the CNDRA are held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). While not recording documents, MoFA continues to issue certified copies of land deeds that are in their possession. The harmonization of records at the CNDRA and MoFA is required for effective reform of the land system. The Amended Property Law of 1974 outlines a title certificate system to address title problems, and a pilot project for this title certificate law was initiated in Central Monrovia, in 1976, but due to civil conflict, the project was never completed. The current land tenure system and suggested solutions already in the codified law, as well as the current deed and archival record systems, are dysfunctional. Documents are not recorded with reference to other propertyspecific data for a particular lot. Title search is difficult, if at all possible. Surveyors, though permitted by the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy, are not conducting thorough record or field research, leaving potential buyers at great risk of losing property lots. Contesting land ownership has itself become a flourishing industry. The Title Certificate system, passed into law in 1974, and piloted in the 1970s, has been re-proposed by the Ministry to provide a mechanism for securing title. Poor title records increase the risk to investors and property owners, land tenure influences peace and stability for the nation. Maryland County Senator Gloria Musu Scott and River Gee County Senator Frederick D. Cherue have submitted a bill before the Senate to amend the penal Law chapter 15, Offence against property, Sub-chapter B criminal intrusion to be made a felonious offence. Other sections that were also brought forward for scrutiny includes Criminal trespass, perjury and other falsification in official matters, and section 12:34 tampering with public records. According to the bill, a person(s) with or without professional license and technical knowledge commit(s) criminal trespass if he/she knowingly and intentionally (i) enters real property surveys, demarcates and/or plants cornerstones on the said real property without the permission and authorization of the legal,, valid and true property owner.(ii) Prepares technical drawings and a title document(s) for the sale and/or conveyance of real property without the permission and authorization of the legal and true property owner. An offence under these paragraphs shall constitute a felony of the second degree as the bill seeks to amend. The bill which is in committee room has had its first reading in Plenary. The implementation of current laws and legal refinement will take time and would require the cooperation of all government agencies and stakeholders working in concert to address land tenure concerns. The Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy is seeking to implement a land cadastre system that would demarcate and show ownership of all land in Liberia. The cooperation of the probate and other courts linked to land cases would be helpful in the reform process. Effective reform will require sound organizational design of system for archives, training of personnel and commitment of resource. 19

21 Public Procurement A sound public procurement system is critical to combating corruption. The most effective system gives all qualified suppliers equal opportunities to participate in a competitive procurement process, thereby ensuring value for money and better service delivery for the public sector. Such a system enhances the confidence of citizens in the Government, stimulates the economy by increased private sector investment, and encourages greater donor support in national development. Consistent with the policy of government to create the enabling and competitive environment that promotes sound procurement practices, the government committed itself to implement the Public Procurement and Concessions Act (PPCA). The PPCA established the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) which has oversight responsibility to ensure that public agencies follow regulations that ensure that government procurement is competitive. The PPCC provides technical support to procuring entities and serves as a referee between the private and public sectors. The enactment of the PPCA decentralized the procurement of government goods and services allowing each entity the leverage to procure its goods and services. Before the PPCA, the General Services Agency (GSA) was responsible for all government procurement. The decentralization of the procurement processes allow entities the chance to procure goods and services at the sub-national level, but this has not been the case as national ministries are in the business of procuring for sub-national divisions. This trend undermines the participation of businesses at the sub-national level in government procurement. Government Administration and Civil Service PR Property Rights; Proc Procurement; WbP Whistleblowers Protection; CSR Civil Service Regulations 20

22 It requires time for a sound procurement process to take root. As a sound procurement system throttles corruption, intensive training and engagement of communities is required so that people speak out when a procurement process does not provide value for money. Sub-national Oversight and Regulation Regulatory oversight at the sub-national level is moderate, but ineffective as many of the oversight agencies are not operational in all counties. The average score is 70 and the individual scores for the fifteen counties are as follow: Bomi -70; Bong 79; Gbarpolu 72; Grand Bassa 70; Grand Cape Mount 68; Grand Gedeh 71; Grand Kru 69; Lofa 72; Margibi 70; Maryland 72; Montserrado 60; Nimba 73; River Cess 72; River Gee 70; Sinoe The average for the counties is 70. Audit Institutions The General Auditing Commission (GAC) was established through an amendment to the Executive Law of Liberia, chapter 53, sections 1-11, which gives the GAC the independence to conduct pre-audit of requisitions, vouchers and payroll connected with disbursement of public monies. The GAC was created to monitor Government s use of public funds and program performance, ensure accountability and transparency and fight fraud, waste and abuse within the government financial system. From its inception to 2005, the GAC only reported to the Executive branch, it had no autonomy. The GAC was also under funded, understaffed and politicized. Because of these reasons, GAC became a passive bystander and existed only for political expediency. Most of the appointees were political cronies of the regime in office. Since the inception of the current government that trend has changed. An Auditor General has been appointed through an internationally supervised recruitment process and the independence of the commission enhanced as the GAC no longer reports to the Executive, but the legislature. The GAC has become more proactive recruiting staff at competitive salaries and attracting young professionals. The effect of public sector audit at the sub-national level is now gaining traction as the GAC has begun auditing counties and doing special audits of county-based projects. The lack of resources may impede the GAC work at the sub-national, but the few incursions they have made into the counties have confirmed the waste and lack of fiscal prudence that plagues the government at all levels. Because of the centralization of government, the GAC captures some of the activities of the local government through the audit of national ministries and agencies. Auditing of public accounts at the local level is important as government provide funds for expenditure by local communities through the County Development Fund. 21

23 Taxes At the Local level, taxes are channeled through the county tax collection units run by the Ministry of Finance and local branches of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL). It is required that all taxes are paid to the Central Bank of Liberia or to a commercial bank designated by the CBL. Commercial banks have in recent time expanded to cities across the country and provide a viable alternative for payment of taxes where there is no CBL branch. There is a vacuum when it comes to people at the sub-national level understanding the various taxes they are supposed to pay. In most cases, tax officers appear at businesses and homes and demand various taxes that the people have no understanding of. Because people lack an understanding of taxes to be paid, they have a fear of prosecution and wanting to pay less than is required, tax officers often extort money under the guise that the tax payer would be protected if they pay less. The government understands some of these concerns, and has begun a campaign to inform people about the importance of paying their taxes and exposing corrupt tax collector. Unfortunately, these campaigns are focused at the national level and need to be channeled to local communities that are still unaware of tax policies and regulations, and are victims of extortion from unscrupulous tax collectors. The lack of inputs from sub-national communities in the formulation of tax policies is a cause for concern. People at the sub-national level are subjected to tax levies in which they have little input. Historically, tax revenue has benefited a privilege few while the masses at the sub-national level received little or no benefit. State-owned Enterprises Liberia s state owned enterprises (SOEs) are autonomous in nature, but many have weak resource capacity and are being subsidized by government. Since the cessation of the Liberian civil war, many SOEs have been unable to contribute to the national budget. However, through the Governance Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP), some SOEs deemed strategic including the Liberia Petroleum Refining Corporation (LPRC), Forestry Development Authority (FDA), National Port Authority (NPA) and Roberts International Airport (RIA) have benefited from internationally recruited financial experts who have helped make these entities more viable and functional. Besides the RIA, the other SOEs have significant links to the sub-national level. The FDA engages substantially with local communities which have custody or are inhabitants of areas in which forestry concessions operate. Reformed forestry laws require that communities are direct beneficiaries of some of the revenue generated by the FDA from forest concessions. The Bureau of State Owned Enterprises which has statutory oversight of SOEs has not being active since the inception of the current government as much of its function has been given to the Minister of State for Economic and Legal Affairs in the President s office. Reforms that improve transparency and accountability at SOEs, while emphasizing decen- 22

24 tralization of operations would benefit sub-national levels. Local Business Regulation and Licensing The Ministry of Commerce and Industry handles business registration and oversees import and export of goods and services. Registration of businesses has been a difficult process characterized by bureaucratic red tape that created the opportunity for business registrars and other officials associated with the process to take bribes. With businesses based in Monrovia facing difficulties to register and operate with constant intimidation and intervention by government registration and tax operatives, businesses at the sub-national found themselves in the wilderness. Structures for registration and business assistance at the sub-national level are inadequate. Many local businesses have to travel to Monrovia to transact with officials at various ministries to get their businesses operating effectively. Beyond the registration of businesses at the Ministry of Commerce, businesses have to interact with other agencies to get licenses for operating in certain sectors. Construction companies have to interact with the Ministry of Public Works and others depending on the sector. After the release of the 2008 World Bank Doing Business Report of 2008 which ranked Liberia 167 out of 178 countries, the government set up a taskforce with the assistance of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which started a Liberia Better Business Forum (LBBF). The LBBF mandate is to review the processes involved with business registration and licensing so as to eradicate bureaucratic red tape and strengthen the ease of doing business and accessing government services. After extensive consultations, measures were taken to synchronize the work of the Ministry of Commerce and other ministries especially the Ministry of Finance. The outcome of this process has led to Liberia moving up the Ease of Doing Business ranking thirteen (13) places from 167 to 157 in a group of 181 countries. While these improvements are useful, sustaining the gains remains an issue, and allowing these gains to manifest themselves throughout the length and breadth of Liberia so that businesses at the sub-national level benefits should be an objective. The effective consolidation of regulatory mechanisms should allow businesses at all levels the legroom to operate. Also, minimizing discretion in the implementation of regulations is required and required at all levels of society. Sub-national Anti-Corruption and Rule of Law The President of Liberia has publicly indicated that corruption is an impediment and undermines the growth and development of Liberia at all levels and is public enemy number one. The President could not have said it any better because corruption is endemic and needs to be tackled. But mustering the political will to deal decisively with corruption has eluded the government. At the sub-national level the average score is 49 and there is much to be done to build a system of integrity. The score of the fifteen counties are as follow: Bomi -55; Bong 49; Gbarpolu 48; Grand Bassa 43; Grand Cape Mount 46; Grand Gedeh 43; Grand 23

25 Kru 45; Lofa 44; Margibi 44; Maryland 49; Montserrado 63; Nimba 53; River Cess 52; River Gee 49; Sinoe The average for the counties is 49. National Oversight and Regulations BLR Business Licensing and Regulation; AI Audit Institutions Anti-corruption Law Corruption poses a major challenge to the socio-economic and political growth and stability of Liberia. Individuals involved in corrupt acts are getting sophisticated and are in many cases members of the national power structure. Dealing with the detection of sophisticated crimes linked to corruption requires well trained and professional investigators. Dealing with individuals that are close to the power structure requires strong political will to be able to prosecute close comrades and confidante. The current government has indicated a desire to fight corruption, but unfortunately, like many other African governments, pronouncements that are scintillating to the ears are easier to make then implementing the laws that penalizes the proponents of corruption. The government has embarked upon the implementation of a National Anti-corruption Strategy (NAS), which maps the government s plan to tackle corruption. The NAS action plan should lead to the enactment of a Code of Conduct for public servants; a whistleblower statute, establishment of an Anti-corruption Commission; enactment and enforcement of a Freedom of Information Act among many other reforms. The Liberian legislature has passed into law the Act to create the Liberia Anti-corruption Commission (LACC), and commissioners have been confirmed by the Senate and commissioned by the President. The draft Code of Con- 24

26 duct and Freedom of Information acts are still in the legislature; the Whistleblowers Statute is still with the Governance Commission. Liberia does not presently have a comprehensive anti-corruption statute, although there are provisions in law that criminalizes certain acts of corruption, illicit enrichment and other acts of corruption are yet to be criminalized. Acts of corruption that are presently crimes are not defined broadly enough along with penalties for it to become a deterrent. However, under the NAS, acts of corruption should be defined and penalties determined. NAS emphasizes rigorous enforcement of anti-corruption laws. Enforcement would include preprosecution and post-prosecution sanctions such as dismissal/suspension of public officials and the black-listing of individuals and business institutions shown to be involved in acts of corruption. While the NAS provides a logical framework to fight corruption, its acceptance as an action plan that encapsulate the concerns of people in local communities is yet to be determined. The centralization of the fight against corruption at the national level leaves local communities without reprieve from the excesses of corrupt local official. Continued formulation of laws without specific measures and roles for local communities needs to be reflected upon by government and various stakeholders. An important achievement for any anti-corruption program is to empower the public with the opportunity to oversee the state, to raise public awareness about the negative effects of corruption and to help ensure the public right to service by a clean and professional government. The purpose of this measure is to increase the checks and balances by guaranteeing independence of the judiciary, legislative and executive and by empowering the civil society and other stakeholders to function as partners to the system. Rule of Law An effective system of the rule of law is important for effective economic and political oversight by government affairs. Rule of law requires the supremacy of law as opposed to the supremacy of government or any political party interest. In order to achieve adherence to rule of law, especially in local government, mechanisms must be put in place to strengthen local judicial integrity and accountability and to prevent and contain corrupt practices. The rule of law should be enforced so that there is coherence, predictability and stability of the legal system by ensuring judicial integrity, independence, and accountability without interfering with the independence of the judiciary. The overall aim of establishing the rule of law can only be accomplished if measures similar to those mentioned above are also applied to the other branches of the criminal justice system, in particular to prosecutors, lawyers, court staff, police and prison staff. If issues of corruption within these groups are not also addressed, rule of law will not prevail. 25

27 There are many hindrances to the effective dispensation of justice at the sub-national level. The local justice system suffers from sparse distribution of courts and other apparatuses that ensure effective rule of law. Delay in trials because of geographic and logistical concerns hampers rule of law at the sub-national level. Inadequate correctional and rehabilitation centers and lawyers at the sub-national level are of major concerns. Local authorities and communities are advocating for increase correctional centers especially in remote areas so as to serve as a deterrent to criminal activities. Strengthening the integrity and capacity of the local judicial system should be one of the main objectives of the government. There is a need for the government to ensure that a strong judicial system is in place at the national and sub-national levels so that citizens do not regard the legal system as nonexistent, and resort to vigilante justice and lynch law. Law enforcement Law enforcement is weak as the police and other security agencies complain about the lack logistics and training to allow them effectively carry out their duties. Law enforcement agencies presence at the sub-national level is weak as crime rates in Monrovia overwhelm the police and other agencies. People are worried about the overall security sector reform in the country, as despite the presence of more than ten thousand strong UN soldiers and millions spent on the recruitment and training of a new police, army and other security personnel crime rate continue to spiral. If people in Monrovia are insecure, then people at the sub-na- Anti-Corruption and Rule of Law LE Enforcement; RoL Rule of Law; ACL - Anti-Corruption Law 26

28 tional level are living at the mercy of God. Corruption by security personnel helps to weaken their ability to adequately enforce the law. Much need to be done to increase and strengthen the capacity of security personnel at the sub-national level. Adequate administrative oversight of the security sector is important as appointment to key positions based on patronage undermines efficiency. Launch of the Liberia Local Governance Toolkit The Liberia Local Governance Toolkit was launched simultaneously in Monrovia and Washington D. C. on November 17, The launch in Washington was spearheaded by CIPE and GI. The Liberian Ambassador to the United States, Nathaniel Barnes and officials from the World Bank and other think tanks were present. The launching ceremony in Monrovia took place at the Corina Hotel in Sinkor. It was attended by dignitaries from government, diplomatic corps, International NGO s, local civil society and the media. Dr. Amos C. Sawyer making the launching remarks The keynote speaker and chief launcher, was Dr. Amos Claudius former Interim President of Liberia and current Chairman of the Governance Commission. In his keynote address, Dr. Sawyer indicated that many of the initiatives undertaken by CEN- TAL was laudable, and noted that good initiatives lead to increased expectations, thus the onus is on CENTAL to raise the bar in the fight against corruption and promotion of good governance in Liberia. He lauded CENTAL, Global Integrity and CIPE s efforts in coming up with such an innovative idea and pointed out that CSOs were doing well in the tracking of government institutions and policies. However, he cautioned CSOs that they needed to exemplify good governance themselves; exhibiting integrity, transparency and accountability. According to Dr. Sawyer one is always judged by the measure of judgment by which one judges others. Also making remarks at the event were Senator Jewel Howard Taylor, Chairman on Governance at the Liberian Senate; Cllr. T. Negbalee Warner; Head of Secretariat of Liberia Extractive Industry Initiative (LEITI); and Madam Estelle Liberty, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Other speakers included Ms. Lucy Abbott, Economic Officer at the US Embassy; Ernest Gaie, Country Director of Action Aid- Liberia. Sidi Diawara, Country Representative of Trust Africa; and Mr. Othello Weh, Deputy Director General of the Civil Service Agency. 27

29 Their individual messages struck the same chord that while the effort was commendable, much needed to be done to bring pressure to bear on all stakeholders, such that Liberia s socio-economic and political recovery process and reform would move in the right direction. Advocacy and Outreach Program Collating the data, analyzing and peer reviewing the data was significant, but even more important was letting local officials and local communities interact with CENTAL staff and discuss findings of the Liberia Local Governance Toolkit. CENTAL handled the advocacy and outreach program effectively ensuring that all its interactions with local communities and officials, national officials and other stakeholders was conducted in an atmosphere of cordiality and frankness. The meetings allowed local officials to confront many of the debilitating practices that undermined progress at the sub-national level. Many committed themselves to change in the way they conducted business, but also recounted the numerous challenges they face. Some of the issues highlighted included lack of autonomy to make local decisions; meager operational resources; low quality of staff, low salaries and centralization of key processes in Monrovia amongst others. The advocacy and outreach plan incorporated interactions with key government officials at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and General Auditing Commission, the Liberia Business Association, universities county students associations from the various counties, local communities impact visits to seven cities in five counties. Meeting with Key Government officials: CENTAL s Executive Director Thomas Doe Nah and acting Project Manager met with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Ambulai Johnson. The discussion centered on the local governance toolkit, its findings and advocacy. The meeting created the opportunity for us to acquaint the Minister on issues emanating from findings of the toolkit and our willingness to forge a partnership with the ministry to address these issues by setting up meetings with policy makers and those with direct oversight over the local government within the Ministry. Our remarks were received favorably by the Minister, who showed keen interest in the work done so far with the toolkit. Nevertheless, he indicated that the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not have sole monopoly over every sector of the sub-national level. He pointed to other line Ministries like the ministries of Health, Education, Agriculture, Pubic works, and Lands, Minies and Energy. He noted that all of these ministries worked together to ensure sustainability of the sub-national government. Pertaining to budgetary matters arising from the toolkit findings, the Minister stated that currently the Ministry was going through the process of reproducing county specific budgets that will address strategic programs within the counties like city planning, research planning and development, urban affairs. According to the Minister, there was a strategy being developed that would condition counties to localize from the Ministry of Finance, through collection 28

30 of real estate tax and other monies. These funds managed prudently will afford counties the possibility to generate their own funds. The Minister also stressed the need to build the capacity of county procurement officers. He said that it has been observed that most of the procurement officers in the counties lacked the capacity to follow procedures when it comes to procurement matters, like advertising bids, vetting potential candidates and analyzing bids to determine value for money. He said that this trend also extended to County executives, most of whom lacked the creativity and impetus to adequately capture the needs of their individual counties in the national budget. Another issue the Minister touched on was the present proliferation of cities in the counties. He said that there was a need to revisit the proclamations establishing these cities. Some counties have as much as ten cities. These so-called cities do not possess the status of a city and creates problems when it comes to local elections. The National Elections Commission has forwarded a petition to the National Legislature to halt the proliferation of cities and subsequently districts. This petition has not received momentum as this strategy would mean the loss of seats for some Representatives. Finally, the Minister touched on corruption and said that dishonesty in government was high and troubling, but noted that the President s commitment to fight corruption would allow some of the excesses to be checked. The Minister agreed to allow our outreach team to meet with senior and junior level staff in the ministry to discuss the toolkit. The CENTAL officials also met with Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs for Administration Mrs. Estelle Liberty. This meeting was brief as it was a follow up since Mrs. Liberty attended the launching program of the local governance toolkit on behalf of the Ministry. The Deputy Minister assured CENTAL of the ministry s continued support and partnership concerning the advocacy of the local government toolkit. She accepted to make us part of their agenda at an inter-ministerial workshop for Directors and Officers of Procurement from different government entities and the counties. Unfortunately, we did not participate due to other engagements.. The General Auditing Commission and its Auditor General Mr. John Sembe Morlu have hit the headlines in Liberia for all the right reasons. Their audit reports on ministries and local government released to the public through their website ( is the talk of the country as people are confounded by the extent of corruption and abuse of public resources exposed in these reports. CENTAL Executive Director and Program Manager paid a visit to the GAC to meet with Mr. Morlu. The meeting was cordial and frank. The Auditor General indicated that he saw CENTAL as an ally and that the GAC was prepared to partner with CENTAL in its efforts to arrest the serious abuse of fiscal power by national and subnational officials. The CENTAL officials thanked the Auditor General for the audience and acquainted him with the toolkit and its findings. He promised to review the toolkit online and agreed to allow members of his staff interact with CENTAL in a consultative meeting to discuss the toolkit s findings and existing governance challenges at the sub-national level. 29

31 Meeting with Staff of Internal Affairs and GAC: In fulfillment of promises made to avail their staff for discussion on the findings of the toolkit, The Minister of Internal Affairs and Auditor General made their staff available to CENTAL s outreach team. CENTAL advocacy outreach team had a meeting with fourteen key staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The staff included two assistant ministers, five directors and seven other mid-level staff of the ministry. The meeting was relevant because many of the officials have direct oversight of superintendents and are actively involved with sub-national issues. The Executive Director of CEN- TAL guided the discussion. The MIA employees noted that they were appreciative that CENTAL got them involved. They said as originators of policies it was useful for them to understand many of the governance challenges facing local government. Citing key indicators, the MIA staff agreed that access to information was inadequate and realized that there was need to address the many Meeting with Ministry of Internal Affairs Staff concerns that local officials are not transparent and accountable. They noted that they were working on various issues that would allow service delivery at the local government to be made efficient. They indicated that problems linked to property rights was grave and needed to be dealt with. They noted that though the MIA had some say in land related matters especially tribal land, the Liberian conflict has confused the situation as people have lost documents. They noted that enforcement was weak and vested interest prevalent in property matters and noted the lack of coordination between ministries concerning property issues. The staff called CENTAL attention to the lack of coordination at the local government level. They indicated that superintendents were the executives of the counties, but did not have oversight of other ministries operating in the county. They noted that the lack of coordination was a formidable challenge as the superintendent was held responsible for the failings of the county when he did not have full operational authority of services in the county. They averred that a good decentralization mechanism would help to mitigate these concerns. The General Auditing Commission which is Liberia s supreme audit institution has become a critical component in the government s bid to institutionalize good governance practices and ensure fiscal prudence. GAC has started to audit local government operations, and CEN- 30

32 TAL saw this as an important process that would allow the auditors utilize the findings from the toolkit to sharpen their perspective of governance at the local government level. On March 10, CENTAL met with ten (10) selected staff from various departments of the GAC. Sarnyenneh Dickson of CENTAL presided over the discussion.the auditors were interested in procurement-related issues because, as they noted, little has been done to ensure that local government functionaries understand the Public Procurement and Concession Act. The auditors also highlighted the many challenges associated with property rights. One auditor expressed his frustration about the manner in which property right issues are being handled, noting that he was a victim. He purchased a parcel of land and his title was disputed, but he has been unable to get legal redress and the land dealer who sold to two parties was at large. He said if getting redress was a problem in Monrovia, then he understood the problem citizens at the sub-national level were facing. The auditors noted that many of the issues highlighted in the toolkit were the result of the Auditors at the GAC meeting failure of leadership and lack of transparency and accountability. They indicated that they would go online and access the whole toolkit and use it as a tool for informing their work when dealing with the sub-national level issues. Meeting with universities county students associations: Students hailing from various counties at universities in the country have become an important voice for change and advocate for development at the local government level. In the presence of CIPE s Program officer for Africa and Consultant Muthoni Kamuyu CENTAL outreach team met with representatives from university-based county students associations. The participating universities included the University of Liberia, United Methodist University and Stella Maris Polytechnic. Counties represented included Sinoe, Lofa, Cape Mount, Grand Kru, Margibi, Maryland and Gbarpolu. 31

33 Plenary discussed the findings of the toolkit and the students concurred with the many of the findings and noted that governance at the sub-national level needed to be improved. Citizen Access to information was one area that they emphasized needed serious attention. They also noted that strong government control and weak civil society undermined the effectiveness of governance at the sub-national level. They said despite the encouraging wave of civil society presence, impact is not encouraging mainly due to fear. They indicated that because civil servant employment at the sub-national level is mainly based on favoritism and patronage, the urge to speak out on corrupt and other mal-practices is often nonexistent. The students recommended workshops to encourage collaboration among CSOs and attractive incentives for those risking blowing the whistle against corruption in the public sector. Participants further recommended youth motivation, CSOs independence, education on CSOs civil rights, and CSOs decentralization at the county level. Meeting with Liberia s National Traditional Council of Liberia (NTCL): CENTAL outreach and advocacy team met with the Liberia National Traditional Council on Wednesday, March 25 at the national headquarters of the NTCL. The head chief of the National Traditional Council of Chiefs in Liberia, Honorable Chief Zanzan Karwor and Chairman of the National Governor Association of Liberia, Honorable Blama Gaye were present to meet us and participate in the discussion. Following various presentations explaining the rationale of the toolkit and detailed clarification of the good governance indicators, the traditional leaders comprising chiefs and zoes advanced several positions critical to transforming the country s dire development problem. The traditional leaders, who were all uptight about the country s unfortunate situation, blamed years of un-patriotism and selfish exploitation of the country s resources by a few for the prevailing hardship. They disclosed that leaders had time immemorial been insensitive to development and have taken the country for their farm. They were vocal in declaring that corruption has damaged chances of development because people who have squandered state resources have done so with impunity. They placed bulk of the reasons on increased rise in human rights advocacy, which neglects traditional modes of punishment and settling disputes and prioritizing modern legal processes which are often weak and ineffective. They noted that this is obvious at the local government level where there is no justice and the poor are suffering at the hands of corrupt officials. The traditional leaders were unanimous in averring that the law should apply to everyone equally and that there should be no distinction among acts of corruption. They declared that the long-held behavior of referring to white-collar corruption as embezzlement and bluecollar corruption as stealing should end and all be punished equally before the law. Expressing their position further, the traditional leaders asserted that because they are illiterate they are often denied access to information and their acceptance at meetings of national significance is only meant to acknowledge their attendance and not their participation. They 32

34 do not provide us adequate knowledge and information to enable us participate and make informed interventions noted a chief. They also stressed the issue of their independence as they described their incorporation under the Ministry of Internal Affairs as a hindrance to their effectiveness and impact on local governance. The venerable chiefs and zoes recommended financial autonomy and adequacy as one way to solve the problem of centralization, dependency and inefficiency. Traditional leaders are important stakeholders in the country s decision-making process and command respect from a great proportion of the population, especially from rural inhabitants. Meeting with the Liberia Business Association: On February 4, 2009, CENTAL had a roundtable discussion with members of the Liberian Business Association (LIBA). The meeting brought together local businesspeople to discuss findings from the local governance toolkit. CENTAL s Executive Director, Thomas Doe Nah moderated the meeting. The President of LIBA, Samuel Mitchell was in attendance and he spoke favorably of the initiative and noted that local businesspeople face a lot of challenges in dealing with local government officials. Participating businesses enumerated several challenges they face. They noted that business registration at the sub-national level is time consuming; that it is a challenge for local businesses to deal with local custom officers and numerous security agencies that extort bribes. They indicated that reforms at the national level are not translated to the sub-national businesses and that the lack of electricity and pipe borne water and security at the county level was a hindrance. The members of LIBA recommended the following: that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry ensured the delegation of authority to local representatives so that they can expedite business registration and inspection at the sub-national level; that the government increase civil servants salary at the sub-national level to help stymie the excessive bribery; that small businesses be protected and educated on procedures that impact their operations. They concluded that an environment for private public dialogue at the sub-national level was needed to allow feedback and contribution for business growth and development. Radio talk show with officials of the Ministry of Commerce: in furtherance of its engagement with the business sector and government institutions, CENTAL s Executive Director Mr. Nah and Media Manager George Ebba appeared on a popular radio talk show on Star Radio called I beg to differ after the meeting with the LIBA. The CENTAL team engaged the Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industry for Commerce, Dr. Frederick Norkeh and James Flanjay of the Ministry of Commerce on some of the issues raised by the members of LIBA while the talk-show host Moses Wheyou highlighted key findings of the local government toolkit. The Deputy Minister was receptive to the concerns expressed by the businesses and indicated that much of the findings from the local governance toolkit were constructive and that government was willing to engage all stakeholders to find solutions. Several calls were received by the talk-show favorable to findings in the toolkit. Callers noted 33

35 that harassment of business people in the counties was high. One of the callers said just before he called the program one of his trucks bringing timbers to Monrovia had to give several pieces of timber under the directive of the Superintendent of Garpolu County. Minister Norkeh said that the action was wrong and indicated that the Ministry of Commerce had opened a hotline for businesses and citizens to call to seek redress. Meetings with County officials and communities in five counties: CENTAL advocacy outreach team visited seven cities in five counties -Bomi, Margibi, Grand Bassa, Nimba and Bong. The meeting in the city of Buchanan on January 19, attracted thirty-seven participants. Participants expressed appreciation about the initiative to analyze local governance and praised CENTAL for the inclusion of local communities in discussing the findings. They said access to information was a challenge, and there was a consensus that service delivery in the county was weak. People often use bad information system as the basis to seek bribery. Law enforcement was also stressed as a shortcoming as people lived in fear from armed attackers due to rise in armed robbery and ineffective and scanty presence of law enforcement officers. Kakata, Margibi County: On February 12, 2009, CENTAL in collaboration with members of Margibi County iclub convened an advocacy and outreach meeting with local government officials and community members. The Superintendent Levi Z. Piah; Mayor of Kakata, Mihillary W. Snoh; County Tax Collector, Mitchell M. Wombah; UN Mission County Civil Affairs Officer, Abimbola Aina; Assistant Magistrate Joseph Freeman and other key county officials linked to line ministries were in attendance. The meeting was animated and people were outspoken in their perspective of what the toolkit finding elaborated. Catherine the Program Manager welcomed the participants and provided a synopsis of the local governance toolkit. The interactive gathering lasted over 2 hours and the meeting allowed participants to advance positions that contributed immensely to shaping the findings of the toolkit and efforts to minimize corruption in the county. Among the many concerns raised, was the need to improve the civil service so as to make it effective in the delivery of basic services. They asserted the need to make the local public service more professional so it is not used as an instrument of corruption, as a proponent of development that impacts the lives of local people. The participants averred that civil servants are not protected; they work at the will and pleasure of their bosses, and are fearful of reporting corrupt acts for fear of arbitrary dismissal. The participants highlighted the need for education to alert civil servants to their rights while discouraging them from engaging in unethical behaviors. They stressed the need for compensation of people at the sub-national to commensurate with qualification and competence. The insouciance to implement laws and regulations was raised so was the ineffectiveness of the property rights system and the systemic weaknesses in law enforcement that allows for security personnel to exhort bribes from citizens and arbitrary arrest of citizens. Tubmanburg, Bomi County: Superintendent Rebecca Benson and other county officials were 34

36 present when the outreach and advocacy team visited Tubmansburg, Bomi County on February 5, at the Tubmanburg Administrative Building. Twenty-five persons attended. The deliberation was informal interactive allowing the local officials to trade perspectives with community members and the CENTAL team on the findings of the toolkit. Participants agreed on findings in the toolkit and said that CSOs are speaking out on issues affecting citizens in the county and that there has been no harassment of CSOs since the inauguration of the current administration government. Public information in the county is disseminated through community radio stations, but the media lacks the ability to investigate information vital to key issues of governance in the county. They noted that there was the need for the finalization of a whistleblowers protection mechanism because people were afraid to speak out. There were suggestions that local accountability would be enhanced by the establishment of an independent investigative panel that would validate reports made by county officials on County Development Funds. The issue of county procurement was noted as there were complaints that the local procurement officer only had the title but exercise little or no power when it came to county procurement. Dealing with property rights remains a challenge, the participants were unified in asserted that government needed to be more exertive in implementing land reform policy. The decentralization of business registration was also stressed as the participants noted that it was a serious challenge to have to travel to Monrovia to obtain license. Finally, the superintendent said she was happy that the people spoke out. She emphasized that the toolkit is an endeavor worthy of praise and that she believed in openness and was prepared to have local officials work with CSOs for effective governance in the county. Gbarnga, Bong County: the Gbarnga iclub conducted advocacy outreach on the local governance toolkit in Bong County from February 6 11, The advocacy implementation was spearheaded by the Gbarnga iclub supervisor Alvin Zawolo. The outreach included two separate meetings with students and community members as well as two radio talk shows. The first meeting was held on February 6 and facilitated by Randall Makor. It brought together twenty-six senior and ten junior students into an interactive forum to discuss the indicators contained in the toolkit on Bong County. The facilitator introduced the Local Governance Toolkit and indicated the key pillars: Law Enforcement, Budget Transparency, Access to Information, Property Rights, Joint-Private and Public Campaign, Whistleblowers Protection, and Civil Service. The students were made to ask questions around the indicators. During the session student Paul Wolah of the Dolokelen Gbofeh twelveth grade said Corruption is like plantain trees which always germinate whenever they are cut down. Therefore, we must always raise our voices against corrupt acts in our society he said. The students asked several questions and the iclub team interacted with them sharpening their understanding of how the lack of good governance locally affects their lives. On February 8, the iclub held an exclusive radio interview on a talk show with Radio Gbarn- 35

37 ga on the Local Governance Toolkit. The interview was played for several days on Info Box, an informative radio program which runs Monday to Friday of each week and the local news cast. The radio program featured Alvin Zawolo and Randall Makor who explained the nature of the toolkit and its findings. In furtherance of the awareness, on the 13th of February, a meeting was convened at the Gbarnga YMCA building. The meeting brought together residents from several communities into interactive discussions about the Local Governance Toolkit and anti-corruption messages. The meeting was quite interesting and engaging. Participants expressed their dislike about how local government officials have been misusing public funds intended for development of the county. They agreed with the findings of the toolkit saying they reflect the true picture of the county, as there are many governance lapses at the county level. The participants noted that if nothing is done to address the lapses outlined in the indicators linked to Bong County then development would be hampered. They noted among other things that the people had a right to know at all levels of society, but lack of access to information is a continuing problem. Also on February 13, the team held a twenty minutes interview with Radio Bongese based in Suakoko, Bong County with emphasis on the local governance toolkit. The interview was played on the station for two days. Radio Bongese has a wide range of coverage covering a large portion of the county including the Capital, Gbarnga. Highlighted recommendations advanced by the participants at both meetings and callers to the talk show included: That the Code of conduct for officials both locally and nationally should be fast-tracked and emphasis placed on transparency in procurement. Access to information should be a priority area, so should a whistleblower s protection law be quickly legislated and law enforcement and property measures be clearly articulated. Saniquellie and Ganta Cities, Nimba County: On March 31, 2009, a team from CENTAL visited Ganta and Saniquellie to hold meetings on the findings of the local governance toolkit. The iclubs in the two cities collaborated with the outreach and advocacy team. The meeting in Sanniquellie was attended by the county s Development Superintendent while the Ganta meeting was graced by the Mayor of the City and other county officials and community members. Both meetings were vivacious and people were outspoken in their perspectives of what the toolkit indicated. Citizens in both Sanniquellie and Ganta Cities were requesting for participation in the county budget preparation stage. They revealed that the county lacks good procurement practices. It was reported that the county media system is immature and journalists at the county level lacked adequate journalism training. The county lacks free public flow of information. Equal right/share in the distribution of county cities money is wrong and biased. Liberia Corruption Watch Newsletter: CENTAL published its maiden newsletter on December 9, 2009 and included stories on the launch of the Local Governance Toolkit. The 36

38 lead story on the back page of the newsletter was associated with the launch of the toolkit. Also on page two of the newsletter, key findings from the local governance toolkit were published. Since the publication of the newsletter we have shared electronic copies with government officials, private sector individuals, civil society organizations and international partners. We printed 1500 hard copies which we have distributed to government offices, university campuses, high schools and sent some to members of integrity Clubs in Nimba, Grand Bassa and Bong counties. Feedback we have gotten from the maiden edition of the newsletter has been good. Constraints With support from both CIPE and GI, the Fostering Good Governance through an Anticorruption Toolkit began 2007 and successfully concluded April of The project assessed sub-national good governance mechanisms and targeted the 15 political sub-divisions of Liberia. During implementation exercise, as many avenues as possible were explored to meet project terms and cover the entire country for maximum achievement of project goals. However, the project was not implemented without challenges and lessons. The following factors are some of the constraints faced during the implementation of the project: 1. Funding constraint the total budget for the project was cast around US$80,000. Of this amount, CIPE provided 75% and CENTAL committed itself to the other 25%. Unfortunately, CENTAL was unable to source the additional funding in fulfillment of its side of the agreement and had to implement the project under the circumstance. The organization is thankful to its staff who understanding the significance of the toolkit agreed to work in many instances without compensation to ensure the finalization and quality of work was retained. 2. Staffs exit during the live of the project three key staff were lost as some sought better employment opportunities elsewhere. The data entry clerk, Ms. Lovetta Bailey and the Asistant Project Manager and Research Analyst Mr. Emmanuel Roberts left at the early stage, while the Director and the Project Administrator Mr. Jasper Cummeh, III left in the middle of the project. Grappling with the losses and other issues that attended the departure of the project manager was challenging; the project was nearly floored, but the organizational commitment allowed us to pick up where the others stopped, and we successfully launched the toolkit and did advocacy on findings. 3. Inaccessibility Many of the counties in Liberia are inaccessible during the rainy season. The roads are very bad and sometimes impassible. This situation served as a challenge to the implementation of the project as the project team found it difficult and expensive to traverse the country. Movement of equipment proved difficult if not impossible and the exorbitant prices of commodities under these conditions, strained the project overall budget. 4. Internet a large part of the project required the use of the internet. After data 37

39 collection and processing, the data needed to be uploaded into a specialized internet-based database provided by Global Integrity. Internet connectivity in Liberia is a major challenge, not only is it slow, but connectivity can be upsetting and this situation impeded the effective uploading of data. Staff had to stay at night when the system is faster to upload data. Internet is concentrated in Monrovia and whatever data was collected from the field had to be transferred to Monrovia before being entered into the database system. 5. Information accessibility Public officials in Liberia jealously protect public information and low level officers are often afraid to disclose information without the approval of their bosses. On top of this, the lack of a well organized archival system or information desks where information can be accessed also posed a challenge to the project implementation. 6. Local Governance toolkit being web-based: during the advocacy and outreach campaign, the main challenge was the lack of a hard copy of the governance toolkit. The project the of hesitant information provision by those in possession of needed information. Conclusion and Recommendations The depth of Liberia s chronic governance problem, particularly at the local government level, has finally been measured through the successful implementation of the Liberia Good Governance Toolkit Project. Findings from the entire exercise show the stark reality of the enormity of the country s dysfunctional governance situation and illustrate a clear picture of how seriously corruption is undermining development efforts as a direct result, particularly at the local government level. Weaknesses in the various good governance indicators, particularly access to information and whistleblower s protection, which undermine a successful fight against endemic corruption and the building of integrity regime in the public service, were determined and noted. At various consultative meetings with key stakeholders during advocacy on the toolkit, these indicators and findings were made available and discussed with the view of further informing and validating the findings of the toolkit. The current political dispensation promises remarkable show of political will and interest for the fight against corruption and strengthening of both administrative and institutional integrity regimes to ensure a cleaner and more professional civil service. For instance, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission has been established and there are complementing anti-corruption instruments pending passage in the National Legislature. These are all propitious signs for a successful anti-corruption fight. However, recommendations emerging out of various stakeholders meetings indicate that more need to be done, providing concrete reasons for increased political will for successful remediation of the chronic governance defect. Some recommendations captured from the different stakeholder meetings include but not limited to the followings: 1. Government Support for small business: Small business being the bedrock to a coun- 38

40 try s economy needs Government s full support and protection to enable it become more functional and productive. Small business eventually become bigger, sustainable and economically viable to the country, therefore Government needs to pay more attention to it by ensuring that bureaucratic bottlenecks are unclogged. 2. Decentralization of business licensing: businesses at the sub-national level need to have in place licensing regimes in counties so as to mitigate the inconvenience of interacting with offices in Monrovia to register and gain other licenses. 3. Fast-track anti-corruption laws passage: The legislative process for passage of the various anti-corruption bills needs to be fast-tracked so that laws on access to information, whistleblower s protection and code of conduct for civil servants can become effective. 4. Security and law enforcement: security and law enforcement has dire implications for political and socio-economic stability, therefore Government needs to channel more resources to this sector in order to improve and make it more professional. Rising criminality at the sub-national level is cause for concern. 5. Prioritize civil service: the civil service is Government s vehicle for policy implementation and therefore needs to be professional, competent and effective. Liberia s civil service has been undermined after years of war and has lost its professional gloss as human capacity is weak and corruption rife. Conflict of interest of all ilks has paralyzed the civil service and recruitment by merit has been kicked out the window. Stakeholders were vocal in calling for an overhaul of the civil service sector for better performance. 6. Establishment of Land Commission: property rights are a critical issue that needs to be dealt with to avert conflicts across the country. There is the need to overhaul the land system so that there is harmonization between the MoLME and other government institutions like the CNDRA. The CNDRA archive system is in shambles and requires updating and refurbishing. Squatters have usurped public lands and removing them has become a sour matter and a potential source of conflict. One way people believe the land matter can be addressed is to establish a Land Commission with specific task to deal with the multiplicity of issues that attend land and property issues. 39

41 Appendices Appendix A - Pictures Tubmanburg, Bomi meeting: CENTAL Outreach team and some participants Participants at the meeting with the National Chiefs Council 40

42 Outreach team with chiefs of the National Chiefs Council Outreach team with auditors of the General Auditing Commission GAC auditors participate in toolkit advocacy meeting 41

43 Meeting with staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Launching of the Liberia Local Governance Toolkit Outreach team discusses the toolkit with participants in Tubmanburg, Bomi County 42

44 Senator Jewel Howard Taylor makes remarks during the toolkit launching Meeting with the Liberia Business Association (LIBA) 43