The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) has released its 2024 State of Corruption Report (SCORE), painting a mixed picture of Liberia’s ongoing battle against public sector corruption under President Joseph N. Boakai’s administration. While there are signs of progress, the report concludes that corruption remains a significant barrier to governance, development, and public trust.
Liberia’s score of 25 out of 100 on Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index places the country well below the Sub-Saharan Africa regional average of 33 ~ an indication of entrenched systemic corruption despite official commitments to reform.
The report acknowledges President Boakai’s anti-corruption stance, emphasized during his inauguration when he declared an end to “business as usual” and pledged to rescue the country from “hard times, dysfunction, the culture of impunity, and corruption in high and low places.” His administration’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development prioritizes anti-corruption, rule of law, and institutional integrity.
Signs of Progress
The SCORE report highlights a number of institutional advances, including:
The operationalization of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court (OWECC).
Establishment of the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force (AREPT).
Implementation of electronic government procurement (eGP) in six ministries.
Launch of the Performance and Compliance Management System (PCMS).
Expanded audits by the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) and the General Auditing Commission (GAC).
Tax and customs automation by the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA).
Moreover, public engagement tools such as CENTAL’s Corruption Case Tracker and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission’s TALKAY app have increased citizen participation in reporting graft.
Persistent Challenges
Despite these initiatives, the report underscores persistent challenges, including weak law enforcement, political interference, judicial delays, and limited enforcement of anti-corruption measures. In 2024, only 472 of 1,900 public officials filed required asset declarations ~ a key accountability tool.
Integrity institutions remain chronically underfunded and understaffed, with rural communities largely excluded from digital anti-corruption platforms and outreach efforts. These constraints hinder the sustainability and impact of reforms.
Public Perception
Public opinion on government commitment to fighting corruption has improved but remains cautious. While 48% of citizens now rate the government’s anti-corruption efforts as low, this is a notable improvement from 67% in 2023. Confidence in media and religious institutions remains significantly higher than in state institutions like the executive, judiciary, and legislature.
Bribery, though still widespread, has declined ~ from 34% in 2023 to 26% in 2024. Police and healthcare services continue to be seen as the most corruption-prone sectors.
A significant 90% of respondents viewed corruption levels as high during the tenure of former President George Weah between 2021 and 2023. In 2024, this figure declined by 7 percentage points, marking the first recorded dip in public perception of corruption severity in several years.
Recommendations for Action
The report calls for urgent, non-selective enforcement of anti-corruption laws, the establishment of specialized anti-corruption courts or the expansion of judicial capacity, and full funding for integrity institutions. It also stresses the need for the operationalization of the Witness Protection Agency to safeguard whistleblowers and witnesses.
CENTAL’s Executive Director, Anderson Miamen, emphasized the need for “bold, collective, and multi-dimensional reforms” if Liberia is to turn the tide against corruption.
The 2024 SCORE report serves as both a diagnostic and a call to action for the Boakai administration. As Liberia embarks on its development journey under the ARREST Agenda, the true test lies in translating policy promises into credible, sustained action.
