Liberia: Ellen On Corruption in Society
Feb. 1, 2008 Garmonyou Wilson

"The Nation has had a tradition of corruption, as history books would tell of many cases of money mismanagement," President Johnson told the participants of a National Church Leaders' Conference yesterday at the Providence Baptist Church in Monrovia.

The Liberian Head of State said that as a nation we must fight corruption for the sake of the future generation.

President Sirleaf pointed out that corruption harbors in every sector of life, making no excuses for the government.

She further said, " to describe how student's pay for grades and teachers accept them are all levels of corruption."

She said the fight for the change of the Liberian's mind set is paramount especially in the case of the values of people, noting that in order to do this we must start at the root of the problem.

The Head of State said that hundreds of Liberians are in prisons in foreign countries because they take this devalued mindset with them and end up in trouble because those other countries don't accept corruption to the level Liberians have it.

The President then called on the Church, communities and government to do something to break the impunity of corruption that is embedded in the marrow of a people who have to change this behavior in order to grow and develop.

The President expressed her gladness that the church had taken upon itself to lead in the fight against Liberia's long time enemy, "corruption".

As to whether the church itself is a quay for corruption, the President left that to the Liberian people to decipher.

The Bishop of the United Methodist Church and President of the Liberian Council of Churches, Rev. Dr. John G. Innis who served as the Keynote Speaker said the purpose of the two-day conference is to find out in what ways Christians can contribute to the reconciliation and reintegration process in post war Liberia.

Bishop Innis said a corrupt politician or a Christian leader is considered a dishonest and immoral person. He further stressed that there are many faces of corruption, such as to ruin or undermine the integrity of others or to alter the original form of an established practice, such as good governance.

He narrated that corruption and impunity are pathological deviation from the Christian norms and that is why reconciliation in the form of overcoming of these impediments is so crucial.

The Executive Director for the Foundation for Human Rights, Aloysius Toe who made a presentation at the conference on the topic "Corruption" said that the passage of the anti-Corruption Bill is required in the country to curtail some of the towering levels of corruption.

The Human Rights activist disected some forms of corruption that were evident in the past and are even prevalent in the country now.

The Program Manager from World Vision Liberia, Mapanza Mkwilimba who is in partnership with church organizations with support from World Vision in USA commended President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for giving high priority to anti-corruption efforts.

The theme of the two-day conference is 'prayer and action against corruption and impunity and the need for reconciliation in Liberia.' It ends on Saturday, February 2 with a fast and prayer for the nation beginning at 3 p.m.