On 27 and 28 November 2024, the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) came together with the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), the Liberia Maritime Authority (LMA), the Liberia Chamber of Commerce (LCC), the National Customs Brokers Association of Liberia (NCBAL) and the Liberia Business Association (LIBA) for a Collective Action Event, facilitated by the WCO Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme. The event was a significant platform that aimed to launch conversations on how the partners can strengthen joint action to fight corruption and promote integrity in Liberia. This follows WCO Members’ recognition of the importance of collective action.
In his opening remarks, the LRA Commissioner General underscored , “We must foster integrity and work together and as a collective put checks-balances in place. Let us be bold and let us see where integrity currently is. Let us be frank about integrity and let us see how we can mitigate these challenges in our operations.” He added, “Integrity is key because it also allows us to grow.” The Commissioner of Customs highlighted that the partners should have a common interest in a collective fight against corruption and promoting integrity. As a pioneer in the A-CIP Programme, he was thankful for the support of the donor, Norway, and the WCO to the LRA.
The Chief Operations Officer for the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) joined online to share insightful views and perspectives from the MACN’s experience. For the MACN, the solution should consider five critical steps: Good practices and Standards, Enhancing Transparency and Accountability, Training and Capacity Building, Implementing Reporting and Grievance Mechanisms, and Public-Private Partnership through Collective Action. His key messages aligned with the WCO’s on the importance of transparency, consistency, predictability, collective action, and local empowerment.
The WCO A-CIP Programme firmly holds that collective action offers great potential to improve integrity for Customs and all actors striving for a healthy business environment. This event, facilitated by WCO experts from the Iceland Revenue and Customs Authority and the WCO A-CIP Programme, served as a trigger for strengthened and ongoing collaboration in anti-corruption and promoting integrity in Liberia. Partners committed not only to participate actively in the event but also to sustain collective action moving forward.
The WCO A-CIP Programme, funded by Norway, is a comprehensive initiative that provides technical assistance and capacity-building support to WCO Member administrations implementing integrity-related initiatives in line with the WCO Revised Arusha Declaration. The Programme aims to enhance the integrity and transparency of Customs operations and promote anti-corruption efforts. For more information, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.