Africa-Press – Liberia. The Liberia Anti-corruption Commission (LACC) has commenced a three-day anti-corruption training to empower citizens and communities to foster social accountability and transparency in governance and public service delivery with support from the United Nations Development Programme.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the training on July 31, 2024, in Gbarnga, Bong County, the LACC Executive Chairperson, Cllr. Alexandra K. Zoe, said empowering citizens and communities to foster social accountability and transparency in governance and public service delivery, otherwise called the social accountability and transparency project, is intended to strengthen citizens’ understanding when it comes to the fight against corruption.
She said the project is supported by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, implemented by UNDP, UN Women, and Integrity Watch Liberia (IWL) in the 15 counties of Liberia.
The Liberia Anti-corruption Commission Executive Chairperson said the project seeks to strengthen the capacities of citizens and the communities to work with national and local authorities to hold them accountable for delivering inclusive and equitable services to the public.
It seeks to improve accountability and transparency in governance, leading to an improved service delivery that meets the needs of citizens and communities.
Cllr. Zoe revealed that there is a huge misplaced emphasis in the fight against corruption. Oftentimes, she said, “we think corruption is only about misappropriation or misapplication of public monies by public officials and other duty bearers.”
Unfortunately, while safeguarding public funds constitutes a plethora of governance priorities, this project dares to undo this wrong belief.
According to Cllr. Zoe, the social accountability project adopts an inclusive approach, taking into account the unique roles and responsibilities of Anti-corruption and integrity institutions, civil society organizations, women organizations, youth, and local leaders.
“It is time CSOs become accountable for donors’ funding. I challenge you people to be responsible and ensure value for money in the way you use donors’ support. If your interventions cannot improve the lives of the ordinary people and communities across Liberia, you lack the moral integrity to criticize the government. Your advocacy must align with your public image in order to earn the respect and admiration and trust of development partners and the donor community,” Cllr. Zoe added.
She further noted that the objective of three days of training is to build the capacity of women and youth organizations to understand the correlation between governance and development, as well as the negative effects of corruption on service delivery, such as education, Healthcare, and access to justice.
“Women are passionate about their own well-being and a prosperous future for their children,” she added.
Hence, this project will endeavor to build the capacities of women and youth groups to engage in evidence-based advocacy to actively participate and contribute to public policy to give attention to the specific needs of vulnerable groups, including women and children, disabled and visually impaired persons, among others.
“You need to demand your place at the table of decision-making. Refuse to be relegated to mere demographic statistics, and ensure that you are well represented on County Councils by qualified, experienced, and competent women, who know how to articulate women’s issues and concerns for inclusion in the county development planning,” she said. “Push for transparency and efficiency in public service delivery; demand accountability in education, organize advocacy campaigns against artificial scarcity of essential goods and services and the resultant inflation that exposes ordinary Liberians to economic hardship.”
The three-day workshop, which seeks to equip youth and women with the knowledge and skill to participate in youth and women-oriented service delivery at the county and District levels, is being held under the theme: “Improving public knowledge through enabling anti-corruption legislation”, with funding from the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund.
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