Liberia’s ‘Iron Lady’ moves to dismiss Finance officials

MONROVIA – Liberia’s newly installed President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, living up to her reputation as an ‘Iron Lady’, has dismissed a number of Finance Ministry officials in a bid to curb the rampant corruption crippling her country.

Facing a Herculean task of rebuilding a nation shattered by 14-years of civil war, Africa’s first elected female head of state said her victory in November’s presidential run-off gave her a mandate to clean up Liberia’s finances. “Those who are part of financial malpractices and scandals must give way for those who are prepared to do the will of the Liberian people,” Johnson Sirleaf told employees during a surprise visit to the ministry late on Wednesday.She had earlier said the entire staff of the finance ministry were to be sacked but her office later issued a statement clarifying only those employees appointed by the outgoing caretaker government were relieved of their posts.Endemic corruption was a key cause of Liberia’s civil war, which killed 250 000 people and devastated Africa’s oldest republic, founded by freed American slaves in 1847.Johnson Sirleaf, a 67-year-old Harvard-trained economist, pledged at her inauguration last month before assembled African and other world leaders to make the war on corruption a top priority.Newspapers across the continent hailed the move.She named former World Bank official Antoinette Sayeh as Finance Minster, with a brief to root out graft and build bridges with international donors, who have made further aid reliant on weeding out corruption.With a debt of over US$3 billion, the West African nation is reliant on aid from the United Nations, the World Bank, the United States and Europe.Some analysts feared a heavy-handed purge of the ministry might paralyse the country’s finances.A similar “root and branch” approach in the army – where all soldiers were dismissed but could then re-apply – sparked protests.”This is quite a bold step to take,” said Mike McGovern, West African project director with International Crisis Group.”It is a sign of the seriousness with which (Johnson Sirleaf) regards the problem.”Liberia was ransacked during the brutal rule of Charles Taylor.Taylor used government revenues to pay for militias whose child soldiers raped and killed.Officials went unpaid for months on end, fuelling corruption.The stakes are high for Johnson Sirleaf’s two-week-old government.Many people fear that desperate young Liberians could return to arms if the situation fails to improve quickly.The new government took its first major step towards tackling corruption on Tuesday when it banned members of the previous transitional administration from leaving Liberia until they had undergone a financial audit.Widespread theft during a two-year interim regime scuppered Liberia’s efforts to rebuild after a peace deal was signed in 2003.The capital Monrovia is still without state-supplied electricity or piped water and many buildings remain derelict.Johnson Sirleaf said all political appointees and members of the transitional government would be removed from their posts.”No one should consider themselves as civil servants,” she said.Johnson Sirleaf pledged to honour a donor-backed programme under which foreign experts will oversee state spending: the Governance and Economic Management Programme.- Nampa-Reuters”Those who are part of financial malpractices and scandals must give way for those who are prepared to do the will of the Liberian people,” Johnson Sirleaf told employees during a surprise visit to the ministry late on Wednesday.She had earlier said the entire staff of the finance ministry were to be sacked but her office later issued a statement clarifying only those employees appointed by the outgoing caretaker government were relieved of their posts.Endemic corruption was a key cause of Liberia’s civil war, which killed 250 000 people and devastated Africa’s oldest republic, founded by freed American slaves in 1847.Johnson Sirleaf, a 67-year-old Harvard-trained economist, pledged at her inauguration last month before assembled African and other world leaders to make the war on corruption a top priority.Newspapers across the continent hailed the move.She named former World Bank official Antoinette Sayeh as Finance Minster, with a brief to root out graft and build bridges with international donors, who have made further aid reliant on weeding out corruption.With a debt of over US$3 billion, the West African nation is reliant on aid from the United Nations, the World Bank, the United States and Europe.Some analysts feared a heavy-handed purge of the ministry might paralyse the country’s finances.A similar “root and branch” approach in the army – where all soldiers were dismissed but could then re-apply – sparked protests.”This is quite a bold step to take,” said Mike McGovern, West African project director with International Crisis Group.”It is a sign of the seriousness with which (Johnson Sirleaf) regards the problem.”Liberia was ransacked during the brutal rule of Charles Taylor.Taylor used government revenues to pay for militias whose child soldiers raped and killed.Officials went unpaid for months on end, fuelling corruption.The stakes are high for Johnson Sirleaf’s two-week-old government.Many people fear that desperate young Liberians could return to arms if the situation fails to improve quickly.The new government took its first major step towards tackling corruption on Tuesday when it banned members of the previous transitional administration from leaving Liberia until they had undergone a financial audit.Widespread theft during a two-year interim regime scuppered Liberia’s efforts to rebuild after a peace deal was signed in 2003.The capital Monrovia is still without state-supplied electricity or piped water and many buildings remain derelict.Johnson Sirleaf said all political appointees and members of the transitional government would be removed from their posts.”No one should consider themselves as civil servants,” she said.Johnson Sirleaf pledged to honour a donor-backed programme under which foreign experts will oversee state spending: the Governance and Economic Management Programme.- Nampa-Reuters