Presidential aspirant Counselor Tiawan Saye Gongloe has vowed to audit past regimes if elected president of Liberia following the conduct of next year’s general elections.
He believes when that is done it would give the new administration a fresh start to tackle corruption as it continues to undermine the growth and development of Liberia.
Gongloe gave these assurances when he spoke to a cross-section of Liberian residents in the states of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Minnesota in the United States when he appeared on the Focus on Liberia talk show recently during his ongoing tour.
He stated positive things cannot be achieved without the fight against stealing or corruption in Liberia where the prosecution of those responsible for keeping the country’s development down cannot be compromised as prosecution must serve as a deterrent to others.
Gongloe advanced further that corruption is based on greed therefore to fight it one must start from the top where decisions are made before reaching the lower level thereby sending strong signals.
“The fight must first start with the Presidency. And I have long been prepared for that before thinking of contesting for public office. Therefore, if I am elected President of Liberia past regimes shall be audited. We shall go after the loot and bring the same back for the development of the country,” the former chief prosecutor noted.
He is of the conviction that increment in the salary of public employees, mainly top officials, does not necessarily mean a deterrent to corruption; rather it is self-reliance that helps to save the country huge revenues for services deliverable and developmental programmes.
Gongloe added that anti-graft bodies during his tenure shall be stronger instead of weaker in the fight against corruption because the three branches of government will be corruption free.
About being a lone fighter in this drive, he stated that changes globally are mostly brought by an individual and not so much of collective, because someone among the million must be brave and take the lead and the rest will follow.
Gongloe then cited the late Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso, Jerry John Rawlings of Ghana, John Makefoli of Tanzania, Martin Luther King of the United States, and Marcus Garvey of Jamaica as the examples of the change those countries are enjoying today.
“Those former leaders whether dead or alive are clearly inspirational of change in today’s world which any leader or head of state can learn from or need to follow,” he suggested.
Gongloe noted that Liberia has good laws on the book but execution has been the problem, noting that for his part, he has been tried and tested to the extent that his name has never been mentioned in any audit or shady deals in his private or public service life.
Because of this, he continued to feel proud using his Liberian People’s Party (LPP’s) broom which is the symbol of sweeping or fighting corruption within every sector when he becomes Liberia’s President.
On tribal and nepotism, the former President of Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA) says he is far above those negative attributes because had it not being so he could not be where he is today as his relationship is beyond borders, adding, “Being an activist, I go across the political divide not only limited to Liberia.”
Gongloe addressed a wide range of national issues that are affecting the country, including security, health, agriculture, infrastructure development, unemployment, economy, foreign policy, among others, noting that these are already part of the party’s platform.
The former Minister of Labor is among three other strong contenders seeking the LPP nomination for the standard bearer position during the convention scheduled for later this year.
The others are Henry Boima Fahnbulleh, Jr., and George Gonpu, Diaspora-based residents of the United States and United Kingdom.