Personnel Risk:
High
Score:
41/100
34
25/100
Do the Defence Ministry, Defence Minister, Chiefs of Defence, and Single Service Chiefs publicly commit, through, for example, speeches, media interviews, or political mandates, to anti-corruption and integrity measures?
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On the one hand, the Defence Minister and deputies occasionally issue public warnings against corruption and larceny within the MoD and AFL. However, these…
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Commitment to issues of anti-graft is often expressed through the press and the public affairs section of the Ministry of National Defense through speeches…
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In the Liberian defence sector, it is rare for senior officials such as the Defence Minister or the Chief of Staff of the AFL…
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35
63/100
Are there effective measures in place for personnel found to have taken part in forms of bribery and corruption, and is there evidence that these measures are being carried out?
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Bribery is defined in two ways as follows: 1) In the Act establishing the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, it is defined as unlawful rewarding of…
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Enforcement of disciplinary measures for bribery and corruption within the Liberian defence sector has often been perceived as selective. While there are formal policies…
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36
33/100
Is whistleblowing encouraged by the government, and are whistle-blowers in military and defence ministries afforded adequate protection from reprisal for reporting evidence of corruption, in both law and practice?
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Liberia has a formal legal framework for whistleblowing that applies across all public institutions, including the defence and security sectors. The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission…
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Though whistleblowing is written into and protected by the LACC legal regime, and expressed in the National Code of Conduct of 2015, all of…
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There is a prevailing perception within the Liberian military that it operates according to an internal code distinct from civilian norms. This informal code…
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37
0/100
Is special attention paid to the selection, time in post, and oversight of personnel in sensitive positions, including officials and personnel in defence procurement, contracting, financial management, and commercial management?
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Liberia’s legal framework does not contain provisions that explicitly mandate enhanced oversight of sensitive defence posts such as procurement officers, financial managers, or contracting…
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Liberia applies general conflict-of-interest and merit-based hiring rules,[1] but there is no documented, defence-specific regime that imposes revolving-door limits, enhanced vetting, or standardised technical-competency…
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The only oversight that can be referenced in this regard is the General Auditing Commission (GAC) Reports of the defence sector.[1] Even though there…
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38
50/100
Is the number of civilian and military personnel accurately known and publicly available?
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The Ministry of National Defense collects data on personnel. While the data collected are reported to be accurate, it is often used internally and…
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The strength of the military as well as civilian staff is not publicly disclosed by the MoD.[1][2] Armed forces personnel, total in Liberia, were…
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The issue of ghost employees was present in Liberia public sector for years including the security and defence.[1] The AFL in 2005 was dissolved…
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39
13/100
Are pay rates and allowances for civilian and military personnel openly published?
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Pay rates and allowances are not openly published for two pertinent reasons. One, there is still a huge disparity in salary within the defence…
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Allowances to civilian and military personnel are determined based on assignment and rank. However, information on allownaces is not published.[1] A more standardised allowance…
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40
25/100
Do personnel receive the correct pay on time, and is the system of payment well-established, routine, and published?
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Personnel payments are irregular. The system of payment is not organised around a specific date.[1] The general understanding is that payment would be made…
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Payment to personnel are subjected to adjustments.[1] The main factor influencing the accuracy of personnel payment is due largely to the inflation of the…
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While Liberia has introduced biometric payroll verification and integrated AFL salaries into the national PFM system overseen by the MFDP and GAC (IMF, 2021;…
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41
42/100
Is there an established, independent, transparent, and objective appointment system for the selection of military personnel at middle and top management level?
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The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) operates under a formal framework for promotions and appointments, as delineated in the National Defense Act of 2008,…
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Article 54(e) of the Liberian Constitution requires that senior military appointments, including the Chief of Staff, be made by the President with the consent…
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The process involving the appointment is not publicly available. Also, there is no specific information on the way appointments and promotion are carried out.…
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42
25/100
Are personnel promoted through an objective, meritocratic process? Such a process would include promotion boards outside of the command chain, strong formal appraisal processes, and independent oversight.
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There is a whole system laid out for merit-based promotion.[1] The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) operates under a structured framework for merit-based promotion.…
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The Act establishing the Ministry of National Defense clearly outlines the procedures for promotions.[1] It states that the process of identifying candidates for commissioned…
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For senior officers (e.g. Chief of Staff appointments or key command changes), announcements are sometimes made publicly through presidential ceremonies, Armed Forces Day programmes,…
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Information about promotions and awards is not public beyond the defence sector. It is mostly internal, not external.[1][2] Even if some information is released…
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43
NA/100
Where compulsory conscription occurs, is there a policy of not accepting bribes for avoiding conscription? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?
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There is no compulsory conscription. It is against the National Defense Act of 2008, likewise, the National Security Strategy of 2008.[1] Recruitment into the…
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This is not applicable to Liberia for there are no compulsory conscription in Liberia.[1][2]
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This is not applicable to Liberia for there are no compulsory conscription in Liberia.[1][2]
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44
75/100
is there a policy of refusing bribes to gain preferred postings? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?
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Liberian law clearly prohibits bribery under the LACC Act (2008L), which defines it as a corrupt act across all public service—including the armed forces.…
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Liberia’s legal framework does provide sanctions for bribery in relation to promotions and postings. Section 12.53 of the Liberian Penal Law (Title 26) explicitly…
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There is not enough information to score this indicator. In March 2020, the MoD warned the public against paying bribes to secure AFL recruitment,…
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The chain of command is separate from the chain of payment. Chain of command refers to the official corp and rank and file, while…
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46
83/100
Is there a Code of Conduct for all military personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?
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The National Defense Act 2008 outlines the code of conduct for personnel of the Armed Forces of Liberia.[1] Some of the basic code that…
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The code of conduct reflected in the National Defense Act, as well as that of the UCMJ, is disseminated among the personnel.[1] This is…
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There is little evidence that the code of conduct is regularly investigated in practice. There is also little public knowledge available about the full…
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During training exercise or deployment missions, the code of conduct is a critical part of the orientation process. Personnel are expected to behave according…
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47
56/100
Is there a Code of Conduct for all civilian personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?
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The 6 January 2014 Administrative Code of Conduct for Public Officials promulgated applies to civilian personnel. Part IX (“Gifts, Bribes and Conflict of Interest”)…
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The Code of Conduct was promulgated in 2014. Then, the Governance Commission (GC) made deliberate efforts to publicise it and draw attention to its…
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While the Code of Conduct was passed in 2014 [1], the Ombudsman established for enforcement was never made operational until under the administration of…
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The code of conduct and its essential parts are regularly disseminated among the personnel of the armed forces of Liberia.[1] Elements of the code…
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48
33/100
Does regular anti-corruption training take place for military and civilian personnel?
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Military personnel receives regular training on the code of conduct, values, and standards.[1] The civilian personnel on the other hand, does not receive as…
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Although anti-corruption training is not delivered as regularly as expected, the military personnel undergo this training at least once a year. Some of these…
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The training is observed to occur across the military. These trainings are carried out across military barracks in the country. Anti-corruption training is embedded…
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49
17/100
Is there a policy to make public outcomes of the prosecution of defence services personnel for corrupt activities, and is there evidence of effective prosecutions in recent years?
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Liberia maintains an internal military justice system (JAG, Military Police, court-martial framework) under the National Defense Act, with repeated official references to an AFL…
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There is little information in making prosecution of personnel publicly available. Information released are mostly posted on the Ministry of National Defense website and…
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There is some evidence to suggest that cases brought up in the military have been investigated and prosecuted. For instance, in June 2024, the…
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50
67/100
Are there effective measures in place to discourage facilitation payments (which are illegal in almost all countries)?
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The law is unambiguous about gifts or facilitation payment. The code of conduct for public official prohibits gifts to public official or any other…
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While some cases related to facilitation payments and corruption have been investigated, including high-profile ones like that of former Defence Minister Brownie Samukai, the…
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Prevalence is high across Liberia’s public service. For instance, Afrobarometer and the 2024 Investment Climate Statements: Liberia show widespread exposure to bribe-like, facilitation-type payments…
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0
NA/100
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Leadership Behaviour
Q34
NA/100
Do the Defence Ministry, Defence Minister, Chiefs of Defence, and Single Service Chiefs publicly commit, through, for example, speeches, media interviews, or political mandates, to anti-corruption and integrity measures?
View Question
Q35
NA/100
Are there effective measures in place for personnel found to have taken part in forms of bribery and corruption, and is there evidence that these measures are being carried out?
View Question
Q36
NA/100
Is whistleblowing encouraged by the government, and are whistle-blowers in military and defence ministries afforded adequate protection from reprisal for reporting evidence of corruption, in both law and practice?
View Question
Q37
NA/100
Is special attention paid to the selection, time in post, and oversight of personnel in sensitive positions, including officials and personnel in defence procurement, contracting, financial management, and commercial management?
View QuestionPayroll, Promotions, Appointments, Rewards
Q38
NA/100
Is the number of civilian and military personnel accurately known and publicly available?
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Q39
NA/100
Are pay rates and allowances for civilian and military personnel openly published?
View Question
Q40
NA/100
Do personnel receive the correct pay on time, and is the system of payment well-established, routine, and published?
View Question
Q41
NA/100
Is there an established, independent, transparent, and objective appointment system for the selection of military personnel at middle and top management level?
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Q42
NA/100
Are personnel promoted through an objective, meritocratic process? Such a process would include promotion boards outside of the command chain, strong formal appraisal processes, and independent oversight.
View QuestionConscription and Recruitment
Q43
NA/100
Where compulsory conscription occurs, is there a policy of not accepting bribes for avoiding conscription? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?
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Q44
NA/100
is there a policy of refusing bribes to gain preferred postings? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?
View QuestionSalary Chain
Values and Standards
Q46
NA/100
Is there a Code of Conduct for all military personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?
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Q47
NA/100
Is there a Code of Conduct for all civilian personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?
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Q48
NA/100
Does regular anti-corruption training take place for military and civilian personnel?
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Q49
NA/100
Is there a policy to make public outcomes of the prosecution of defence services personnel for corrupt activities, and is there evidence of effective prosecutions in recent years?
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Q50
NA/100