Politics

Liberia’s President Boakai orders audit of central bank, other agencies

Published

3 months ago

February 10, 2024

As part of his attempts to combat corruption, President Joseph Boakai of Liberia has ordered an audit of three important government agencies, including the central bank.

Boakai who recently won the election to lead the West African country on a platform of fighting corruption and enhancing living conditions, defeated his predecessor George Weah in the elections held in November.

The president issued a statement stating that Boakai has requested that the national security agency, executive protection service, and central bank be audited by Liberia’s General Auditing Commission.

The investigation will focus on the years 2018–2023, and it will submit its results in a three-month period.

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2023 in Africa reveals a range of outcomes, with notable improvements in a few nations. Nonetheless, the majority of African nations saw a state of stagnation, which preserved the region’s continuously subpar performance and preserved the average regional score of 33 out of 100.

According to Transparency International’s 2023 CPI, out of 180 countries, Liberia is ranked 145th least corrupt. From 2005 to 2023, Liberia’s corruption rank averaged 114.67; it peaked at 150.00 in 2007 and fell to a record low of 75.00 in 2012.

According to the statement, it is “the beginning of a holistic audit of government ministries and agencies” in keeping with Boakai’s pledge to combat corruption and guarantee openness.

The central bank did not respond to questions about confirmation.

Weah suspended three government officials in August 2022 after the US imposed sanctions on them due to what the US claimed was their continued involvement in public corruption.

Related Topics:Featured Joseph Boakai Liberia

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Politics

Burkina Faso investigating reports of northern killings

Published

10 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A government spokesman has revealed that Burkina Faso is looking into reports that 223 people were killed by the Burkinabe army in two villages in the north in February.

The killing was first reported by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), causing a rift between the junta-led West African state and some foreign media that published the report. The HRW report released on Thursday said that the military had executed residents of Nodin and Soro, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians suspected of working with jihadist terrorists. The report was based on interviews with witnesses, members of civil society, and other groups.

Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, a spokesman for the government, said that HRW’s claims were “peremptory” and that the junta was not unwilling to look into the claimed crimes.

“An investigation has been launched into the killings in Nodin and Soro,” Ouedraogo said in a late-evening statement, quoting a statement from a regional prosecutor on March 1.

Since Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s militaries took over in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023, violence in the area has gotten worse. This is because of the ten-year fight with Islamist groups related to Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Attacks on Burkina Faso got much worse in 2023, with more than 8,000 people killed, according to the U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED.

Politics

S’Africa lengthens troop deployment in Mozambique, Congo DR

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a speech that South Africa’s military would keep sending troops to Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which are both in the middle of wars.

The extension will leave 1,198 members of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) in eastern Congo for an unknown amount of time. They are there as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force helping Congo fight rebel groups.

The statement also said that 1,495 members of the SANDF would keep working in Mozambique, where they have been since 2021 helping the government fight dangerous extremism in the north.

After two SANDF troops were killed and three were hurt by a mortar bomb in Congo in February, South Africa’s military operations abroad have been looked at more closely at home this year.

Meanwhile, the major opposition party in South Africa, the Democratic Alliance, said that Ramaphosa sent troops into a war zone without being ready.
Under the supervision of the UN, the SANDF has taken on many dangerous and difficult peacekeeping tasks over the years to help war-torn African countries stay stable and peaceful.

In 2003, South Africa was one of the first countries to send troops to Burundi to help the peace process. During the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) peacekeeping mission in 2000, the SANDF led attempts to stabilize the country’s politics, rebuild and improve infrastructure, and train DRC troops.