By Joseph Saah Fallah

Liberia’s political opposition parties are forging a marriage of convenience against the one person they love to detest the most -- President Sirleaf. Understandably, she stands in the way of their political ambition -- a seat in the Executive Mansion. This narrow political focus (the presidency), combined with growing public discontent with public corruption, has certainly influenced the opposition’s anticorruption platform.

It is undeniable that corruption is entrenched in our Liberian society. Public corruption has always been a problem in Liberia -- it is a problem in Liberia today -- and it may continue to be a problem in the future, if not consciously addressed. Nonetheless, this current UP-led Executive Mansion continues to demonstrate that it has the political will to pursue necessary institutional reforms aimed at addressing systemic corruption in government.

To ignore the visible efforts demonstrated by this UP administration and willfully continue to accuse it of lacking the political will to address public corruption, as the opposition is determined to do, is disingenuous and unconstructive politics. This UP Executive Mansion is certainly ahead of the opposition-majority Legislature in advancing policy changes to tackle corruption.

Emerging perception that public corruption is at the highest level ever is debatable. The fact that this misconception is formed on the basis of pure subjective references, void of any established empirical comparison, is unfortunate. And perhaps the genesis of this tenuous generalization may be attributed to the ill-timed "three times more corrupt" declaration by Auditor General (AG) John Morlu. I find it questionable that Morlu could have reached an objective (quantifiable) conclusion from a plain subjective financial risk analysis, as he has claimed.

It remains true, however, that Liberians are becoming increasingly conscious of the negative social and economic consequences of corruption and are therefore speaking out more than ever before. This UP administration must be accorded recognition for promoting this enabling environment that is encouraging public dissent. The fact that ordinary Liberians can today openly demand accountability from their government is a remarkable departure from our past political paradigms and must be encouraged. This new political consciousness must not, however, be seized upon as a political opportunity for the opposition to simply gain political relevance.

Anticorruption criticisms have emerged as the political theme for the opposition. Without a doubt, Liberia has a corruption problem; but Liberia faces enduring social and economic challenges that equally deserve the attention of the opposition -- and of course the attention of the opposition-majority Legislature in particular. Unfortunately, the opposition continues to waste valuable political capital on criticisms while failing to fulfill its own responsibility to the Liberian people. Opposition candidates were overwhelmingly elected to the Legislature and given mandates to solve problems, not a mandate to criticize or pursue their individual political goals.

It is apparent that the opposition has adopted a hands-off approach when it comes to corruption -- it thinks corruption is a UP problem. The opposition, somehow, seems unaware that it is a part of the Liberian government and, in fact, has a legislative majority. And by virtue of its numerical strength, the opposition has earned the political capital to pursue alternative policies and enact laws to curtail public corruption. Instead, the opposition continues to blame its political ineffectiveness on the deception that it does not control the Executive Mansion. And certainly, the Legislature’s opposition to be audited by the General Auditing Commission or hesitation to comply with the Anticorruption Commission’s asset declaration policy indicates a lack of commitment on the part of the body to combat public corruption.

Opposition politicians have also revealed that they are profoundly hypocritical -- they have remained generally silent on corruption occurring in the opposition-majority Legislature. On the contrary, opposition politicians have demonstrated their eagerness to challenge the UP Executive Mansion and have been swift to call for summary dismissal and prosecution of executive appointees even on sheer allegations of corruption. This selective criticism is a double standard and demonstrates the political demagoguery of the opposition that should be denounced. The opposition must now validate its sincerity by denouncing corruption everywhere in government, not only within the Executive branch.

Liberia’s media is also (either deliberately or implicitly) providing the opposition a platform to strengthen its political relevance. By demonstrating that it is more interested in reporting corruption in the Executive than in the Judiciary or Legislature, the media is projecting an investigative and reporting bias against the Executive. Is corruption in the Legislature or Judiciary less news worthy? The media undeniably has a responsibility to investigate and report corrupt behavior everywhere in society. However, it must investigate and report corruption within the Judiciary or Legislature with the same level of rigor and vigor as it does with the Executive.

AG Morlu’s recent assertion (speaking during the recent anniversary celebration of the Press Union of Liberia in Gbarnga) that political appointees are responsible for public corruption in Liberia is an oversimplification of a more complex condition. Public corruption in Liberian occurs at all levels of our government -- presidential and nonpresidential appointees are involved in corruption -- elected officials are involved in corruption -- senior and junior level civil servants are involved in corruption -- janitors, secretaries, drivers, security guards, and office messengers are all involved in corruption. Again, as with his "three times more corrupt" statement, this proposition is charged with subjective truth and it is obviously prejudicial. Regrettably, AG Morlu’s assertions continue to provide artificial confirmation of the opposition’s corruption criticisms against the UP Executive Mansion.

It is without a doubt that corruption charges against officials within the Executive branch have dominated the news headlines. However, is AG Morlu’s indictment of the Executive branch a vindication of the Legislature and Judiciary? Have members of the Legislature not been indicted on corruption charges? Is it not corruption, when members of the Legislature misuse the County Development Funds? Is it not corruption when elected officials cash in to rectify investment contracts? Are the courts not corrupt? Indeed, AG Morlu should be given due credit for promoting financial accountability -- that is precisely his job. Even so, he must recognize the inclination of the public to misconstrue his comments as facts, even when they may just be speculative.

The recent "married to corruption" characterization of the UP administration by Darious Dillon (speaking when he endorsed Senator elect Geraldine Sheriff) further exposes the political hypocrisy of the opposition -- in hurry to criticize the UP for political gains, they forget to introspect. In the particular case of Dillon, his current and past affiliations contradict his current anticorruption persona. If one follows his analogy, and indicts the UP administration for corruption taking place in government (guilty by association), then an argument can be made that Dillon himself is currently (and was) married to corruption. This assertion is justified by two simple facts: 1) Dillon’s current boss, Senator Jewel Taylor, has herself been accused of corruption and was the First Lady of a corrupt regime, and 2) his former boss, Representative Edwin Snowe, was indicted and prosecuted on corruption charges.

It is very unfortunate that Liberians have adopted a "jump-to-conclusion" mindset without an appreciation of the facts regarding corruption -- we accept every corruption allegation to be true. I recognize that every Liberian has a right to speak freely against public corruption; yet, free speech also comes with much responsibility -- irresponsible free speech that threatens the security of the country must not be encouraged. In my opinion, the current sentimental criticisms against corruption have the propensity to incite citizens against government and could negatively impact investment inflows to the country. These outcomes are undesirable -- and while they may lead to the political failure of the UP, they may not necessarily translate into a victory for the opposition.

The opposition must certainly be encouraged to challenge the policies of the ruling UP and of course to speak out against corruption when it occurs. Nevertheless, we must not blindly support opposition politicians and give them undue relevance simply for criticizing the ruling party. Instead, opposition politicians must be judged on the merit of their own political record. The fact that some of these politicians were leaders in past governments and actively participated in plundering our natural resources, mortgaging our economy to foreign cronies, and institutionalizing public corruption must not be ignored.

Indeed, all is not well in Liberia today -- governance and economic challenges still do exist. However, this UP Executive Mansion must be credited for initiating necessary institutional reforms to address the endemic level of corruption plaguing our country. The appointment of an independent auditor general, the establishment of an independent anticorruption commission, and the dismissal and prosecution of corrupt public officials are all steps in the right direction. We should also recognize this UP administration for initiating a public discussion on the national budget. The recent issuance of Executive Order 22, to protect whistle blowers, further demonstrates a strong political will of President Sirleaf to encourage public participation in the fight against corruption. This is one policy position that I believe should have emanated from the Legislature -- but again, it has failed to lead.

It is now time that the opposition recognizes that criticism for the sake of political relevance is not sufficient in the fight against corruption -- criticisms cannot and will not win the fight against corruption. Corruption is not necessarily a problem of this UP Executive Mansion alone -- it did not invent it -- it is not sanctioning it -- it is Liberia’s problem. Failure to constructively engage the UP administration in enacting necessary legislation to combat this entrenched virus will continue to pose challenges to our national development efforts. The opposition must be reminded of a simple political maxim: the opposition today may be in power tomorrow -- and so a failure to fight corruption today may be a problem for the opposition when it assumes power in the future.

Our compatriots must also begin to recognize that our country is at a cross roads. We can now choose a path of reconciliation and pursue national development or we can continue on a path of collective hatred, undermining tendencies, and self-inflicted underdevelopment. We must be reminded that our country faces governance and economic challenges, occasioned by years of pointless destruction. The reconstruction process ahead of us is tough and painful. Nevertheless, we can succeed if we chart a new course of national loyalty -- let us put Liberia first this time.

I recognize the inherent political rights of all Liberians to public dissent; but I also believe that we all have the human capacity to respectfully disagree -- we can and we must agree to disagree. In spite of our political differences, I am certain that all Liberians seek a prosperous and developed Liberia. So, why our political and policy choices might seem conflicting, our fundamental goal of a more developed Liberia must now unite us. To those who seem to have a subconscious antipathy for the President, this is my appeal: you surely have the right to detest President Sirleaf and her policies, but you must respect the presidency and love Liberia -- this is not a choice!

Lest we forget, corruption remains a problem in Liberia today, not because this UP administration is not fighting corruption or that it is sanctioning corruption -- we are facing this corruption challenge because successive Liberian Governments, from Joseph Jenkins Roberts to Gyude Bryant, failed to confront it.

WE MUST DARE NOT FAIL NOW!

About the author: Joseph Saah Fallah is a Liberian residing in the USA. He is a public utility (electricity, telecom, and gas infrastructure) regulatory policy and community development economist and works for a public utility commission. He can be reached at the following email addresses: kissiman@hotmail.com , josephfallah@aol.com.