The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) has commended the Liberian government for passing this year's Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) scorecard, which was released for fiscal year 2024. However, CENTAL also emphasizes the importance of taking further actions to address corruption and improve the living standards of the people.

Anderson Miamen, Executive Director of CENTAL, expressed appreciation for the progress made by the Liberian government and praised the improvements. Nonetheless, he appealed for more significant efforts to ensure that the passage of the MCC scorecard results in tangible improvements in the quality of life for the people.

“We call for continuous efforts to improve upon indicators with passing scores, such as Controlling Corruption, where impunity for corruption remains high, despite the country having very good anti-corruption laws and policies,” Miamen said at a news conference in Monrovia recently.

He highlighted the need for continuous efforts to improve areas where the country has fallen short, particularly in controlling corruption. Despite having good anti-corruption laws and policies, he emphasized that impunity for corruption remains high in Liberia.

This calls for greater attention and action from the national government. Moreover, Miamen encouraged the government to address other areas where it did not meet the MCC indicators, such as regulatory quality, government effectiveness, girls' primary education completion rate, education expenditure, natural resource protection, and child health.

CENTAL recognizes the achievement of Liberia in passing 14 out of the 20 indicators covered by the MCC scorecard for FY 2024, as  Liberia outperformed neighboring countries and counterparts in the Mano River Union.

Accordingly, 80 country scorecards created by MCC for Fiscal Year 2024, 25 countries passed (Liberia included), while 55 countries failed. The CENTAL lauds the Liberian Government for passing 14 (70%) of the 20 indicators covered by the scorecard.

“We are glad about the progress made in different areas, including but not limited to controlling corruption, fiscal policy, and employment opportunity. It is particularly pleasing to note that, overall, Liberia outperformed her immediate neighbors and Mano River Union counterparts. The Country passed 14 out of the 20 indicators (70%), compared to 11 out of 20 (55%) for Ivory Coast; 10 out of 20 (50%) for Sierra Leone; and 6 out of 20 (30%) for Guinea, respectively,” Miamen said.

However, he stressed the need for more efforts, particularly in controlling corruption, which is directly linked to the fight against corruption in the country. Miamen noted that although there has been some improvement in the controlling corruption indicator, there is still a need to address the culture of impunity.

He emphasized that enforcing anti-corruption laws and policies vigorously and ending impunity for corruption, especially in cases involving high-profile public officials and individuals, remain significant challenge.

“The improvement in the controlling corruption indicator, from 54% in 2023 to 59% in 2024, is well-noted. However, we would like to stress the need for more efforts in addressing the culture of impunity. Just as the need to address impunity existed in 2012, when Liberia got her second highest controlling corruption score of 78% and the biggest score of 41/100 on the corruption perception index of Transparency International, the issue persists today,” he said.

Miamen further drew attention to the fact that several individuals implicated in past and current audit reports released by the General Auditing Commission (GAC) have not faced appropriate investigation and prosecution by the Liberian government, despite the evidence presented. In summary, CENTAL applauds the Liberian government for passing the MCC scorecard, but calls for greater actions to address corruption and improve the living conditions of the people.

They emphasize the need for continuous efforts, particularly in controlling corruption and ending impunity, as well as addressing other areas where the country fell short of the MCC indicators.