The President of the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) Rev. Dr. Kortu Brown has called for a holistic approach to the fight against corruption in Liberia saying that the recent steps by the Ministry of Justice to hold officials of government accountable for their stewardship going 10 years back is welcoming though but must be “comprehensive.” The apostolic Pentecostal bishop also called on the government to also address the lingering issues regarding the L$16B & US$25M.
Speaking on the Sunday, July 14, 2019 edition the weekly “Gospel Hour” Radio program aired on the ELBC, the LCC President, Bishop Brown said “The fight against corruption should not only be extended 10 years back, but it must also cover the two years rule of the current government if the Liberian people must have confidence in the process.”
Bishop Brown who also leads the Apostolic Pentecostal Church insisted that “the fight must be freed of prejudice and based on facts. “No witch hunting. No getting at or targeting perceived enemies,” he said.
“There are many lingering and unanswered questions about the investigations into the Central Bank handling of LD$16B saga and US$25M Mop-up exercise fund, which also involves the Technical Economic Management Team (TEMT) chaired by the Minister of Finance and Co-chair by the Bank Governor,” indicated.
Bishop Brown reasoned that the Government must come clean on these high profile financial investigations if the public must have confidence in the Weah administration’s fight against corruption, and advised that it is no secret that many of the documented beneficiaries of the mop-up exercise were reported not to have existed or gotten the amount of monies reported to have been given them.
He defined Corruption in the terms of the General Auditing Commission (GAC) as “waste, fraud and abuse”, which he said has eroded development in Liberia and left the poor people degraded and destitute for 172 years since Independence in 1847. “This is why,” he added, “that the fight against corruption should not be a joke because corruption is a dream killer, the poor man’s peril and the third world’s greatest challenge to progress.”
The “Gospel Hour” is the weekly radio ministry of the New Water in the Desert Assembly”, an Apostolic Pentecostal Church located in Brewerville, Monsterrado County. The program has been aired on the national broadcaster, ELBC for the past 15 years and has been discussing issues covering evangelism, missions, education, advocacy, politics, economics and the social challenges facing the church and the nation, amongst others.