Liberia’s President Boakai appears to be living up to his promise to tackle corruption with the establishment of the Task Force.
Liberia’s President Joseph Nyumah Boakai has issued an Executive Order No. 126, establishing the Office of Assets Recovery to immediately “retrieve, recover, restore and reinstate our fixed and liquid assets” that were illegally obtained and converted to private use by current and past government officials.
After his win, Boakai called for unity to rebuild Liberia and promised that fighting corruption would be a priority as well as improving livelihoods in the country where over half of its 4.5 million people face economic challenges.
In February, Boakai commissioned an audit of three government institutions, including the country’s central bank. The investigation is focused on the period between 2018 and 2023. It will report its findings within three months.
In January, anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) noted positive reforms introduced by Weah’s administration in 2022-2023 but said impunity for corruption remained high as the measures had yet to be fully realised.
President Boakai said the assets that were “illegally and wrongfully acquired at the expense of the government and people of Liberia have served to enrich certain current and past government officials who have acted with impunity will be returned.”
He said his government is employing “diplomatic and Interpol means to extradite individuals identified as suspects that are outside the bailiwick of Liberia in order to bring them under the jurisdiction of the investigative team.”
Boakai promised to enforce “travel and other restrictions on all individuals identified as suspects while undergoing investigation for stolen and suspicious assets.”
