MONROVIA, Montserrado – President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has delivered her final State of the Nation Address to the Legislature, admitting to losing the battle against corruption and failing to achieve total reconciliation.

Sirleaf, in her inaugural speech in 2006, said corruption under her leadership would be “public enemy number-one.”

In the later part of her administration, Sirleaf described corruption as a systemic pandemic.

In her message to the nation on Monday, Sirleaf said despite the gains made during her administration, corruption and reconciliation have continued to pose serious challenges to the government.

“We have not fully met the anti-corruption pledge that we made in 2006,” she said. “It is not because of the lack of political will to do so, but because of the intractability of dependency and dishonesty cultivated from years of deprivation and poor governance. We could not reap – you cannot reap – in government what has not been instilled in families, schools, churches, mosques and society in general.”

She said, nevertheless, the administration’s efforts to fight corruption were recognized as the country met eligibility requirements for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, by consistently passing the rigid corruption index. All countries receiving United States foreign aid through this agency are required to meet a group of requirements.

“Indeed, our administration has placed the nation on a path that will make it easier for successive governments to meet established anti-corruption targets,” she added.

According to Sirleaf, the government created more integrity institutions and formulated more laws and policies in the fight against corruption than any government in Liberia’s history.

She also named the introduction of an assets declaration regime, a National Code of Conduct, a Financial Intelligence Unit, and the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission as some of the efforts made against political corruption.

Interestingly enough, the president has often been criticized because many of her political appointees remain active in politics, violating the Code of Conduct. Two of her ministers, Eugene Nagbe and Neto Z. Lighe, won high ranking positions within the ruling Unity Party in July 2016.

Sirleaf said her administration also strengthened the prosecutorial arm of the Ministry of Justice, and established a Presidential Task Force to assist in reviewing and implementing recommendations resulting from internal and external audits.

“Today, our vibrant press and concerned citizens unearth hidden deals which are being investigated,” she added. “More importantly, we have increased compensation of public servants at every level, and have introduced systems that limit discretionary compliance of Public Financial Management Laws and Policies.”

She boasted further of the proposition for the establishment of a Special Corruption Court, and the passage of seven anti-corruption bills that could be fast-tracked before this administration ends as continuing efforts in the fight against corruption. “All of these measures point to our will to curb this national cancer,” she said.

“We must never forget, however, that in our small, interrelated society, where virtually everybody knows everyone, and papa has made too many stops before getting home, it will take the collective will to subject ourselves, our family, our friends and our colleagues to the rule of law,” Sirleaf said.

Sirleaf said the country’s long struggle for national reconciliation has its genesis in history.

“A coup d’état and years of civil conflict exacerbated longstanding divides that have left deep wounds,” she recalled, adding that, the methods and motivations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission have not helped in finding a way forward to achieve the desired results for reconciliation,” she said.

Sirleaf said the country must, however, continue to implement the 207 recommendations in the TRC report, the majority of which she noted has already been implemented. The president faced criticism when she sidestepped one of the recommendations of the TRC report, which stipulated that she – and several individuals who played key roles in the civil conflict – be banned from politics for 30 years. Sirleaf admitted to initially funding Charles Taylor in his effort to overtake the government.

In her address, the president noted that Liberia is a small country with relationships that cross the divide, which has enabled its citizens to remain united.

“Never must we forget that in union we are strong, and our success is assured. Therefore, we must all do more – I must do more – to heal these wounds, and do so this year, by implementing the Strategic Roadmap which has been formulated for this purpose,” Sirleaf said.

“I believe that it will serve our nation well to take lessons from the experience of other countries by emphasizing restorative rather than retributive justice.”

Article 58 of the Constitution requires the president, on the fourth working Monday of January, to present the administration’s legislative program for the ensuing session, and report once a year to the legislature the state of the Republic, presenting the condition of the economy condition of the Republic and report all cover expenditures as well as income.

Featured photo by Chatham House