NIF collaborates with LACC to observe Int’l Anti Corruption Day

Dozens of anti corruption crusaders under the auspices of the National Integrity Forum (NIF), on December 9, 2011, collaborated with the lead anti corruption campaigner, Liberia Anti Corruption Commission (LACC) to observe the International Anti Corruption Day in the port city of Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.

The National Integrity Forum (NIF) is a consortium of civil society organizations and integrity institutions working together to fight all forms of corruption in Liberia and to institute a culture of fiscal discipline in the governance of Liberia’s resources. Its membership includes Public Procurement and Concessions Commission(PPCC), General Auditing Commission(GAC), Press Union of Liberia(PUL), Federation of Liberian Youths(FLY), Governance Commission(GC), Center of Transparency and Accountability in Liberia(CENTAL), Catholic Justice and Peace Commission(JPC), Civil Service Agency(CSA), Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative(LEITI), and Corporate Responsibility Forum(CRF).

December 9 every year is observed globally as International Anti Corruption Day to create awareness about the cost of corruption and to promote anti corruption activities as designated by the General Assembly of the United Nations when it adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption on October 31, 2003. 
The day was observed in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County to present a clear picture and to create the necessary understanding that prevention of corruption is the responsibility of all stakeholders including citizens’ monitoring activities, support to the work of anti corruption groups, and the media.

Series of activities including radio talk-shows, a debate between two top secondary schools in Grand Bassa County (St. Joseph High School and Bassa High School), a soccer match between Grand Bassa and River Cess Counties, and a parade through the principal streets of Buchanan were held to commemorate the day.

The Mission Director of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Madam Patricia Rader delivered the keynote address at the program. Madam Rader challenged the LACC and all anti corruption campaigners to sustain the fight against corruption through the provision of basic education to the Liberian populace about the danger of corruption. She thanked the LACC and NIF for the program but called on them to coordinate their efforts and plan more outreach programs to educate communities about corruption.

Delivering a special message on behalf of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Finance Minister Augustine Ngafuan called for increased budgetary support and donor funding to anti corruption and integrity institutions geared towards strengthening the fight against corruption. Minister Ngafuan accentuated that with increased budgetary support to the lead anti corruption campaigners and integrity institutions like the PPCC, GAC, LACC, and CENTAL, enormous success can be attained in the fight against corruption. He called for the involvement of civil society organizations, student groups, and the general public in the fight against corruption.

Other dignitaries from the French Embassy, United Nations Mission in Liberia, and the Acting Chairman of the Law Reform Commission, Cllr. Jallah Barbu, made separate remarks at the occasion.