Passage of Whistleblower Protection Act (LR0019)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Liberia, Second National Action Plan, 2015-2017
Action Plan Cycle: 2015
Status: Inactive
Institutions
Lead Institution: National Legislature, LRC, MICAT, GC, LACC, NIF
Support Institution(s): CENTAL, CUPPADL, CEMESP
Policy Areas
IRM Review
IRM Report: Liberia End-of-Term Report 2015-2017, Liberia Progress Report 2015-2017
Starred: No
Early Results: Did Not Change
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Public Accountability
Implementation i
Description
Lobby and engaged policy makers for the passage of the Whistleblower Protection act and undertake awareness raising on citizens’ understanding of the act Performance indicators: Passage of act Number or proportion of citizens reached through awareness raising;
IRM Midterm Status Summary
For Commitment details, see Liberia Progress Report 2015-2017.
IRM End of Term Status Summary
3.1 Passage of Whistleblower Protection Act
(National Legislature, LRC, MICAT, GC, LACC, NIF, with support from CENTAL, CUPPADL, CEMESP; 15 July 2015 - 30 May 2016).
Milestones:
· 3.1.1 Lobby and engaged policy makers for the passage of the Whistleblower Protection act and undertake awareness raising on citizens’ understanding of the act.
Commitment Aim:
The former President of the Republic of Liberia signed Executive Order No. 22[Note43: Liberian Executive Orders, Protection of Whistleblowers (No. 22), http://www.vertic.org/media/National%20Legislation/Liberia/LR_Protection%20of%20Whistleblower%20(No.22).pdf on 18 December 2009. This order aimed to protect anyone who discloses information about actions of impropriety against the public interest in any public or private institution. This commitment aims to move a step forward and foment the political will necessary to pass and enact a Whistleblower Act, currently drafted but stalled in the legislature. Passage of a Whistleblower Protection Act could positively alter government practice by reducing corruption and setting the framework to allow citizens the opportunity to hold public officials accountable without fear of retaliation.
Status
Midterm: Limited
The bill has been submitted to the National Legislature but has yet to be acted upon. The draft is not publicly available and the contents are unknown. According to Andrew Tehmeh, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), there is no political will in the legislature to move forward with the Act. For more information, please see the 2015–2016 IRM midterm report.
End-of-Term: Limited
On 21 June 2017, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission held a one-day colloquium on the passage of the draft Whistleblower and Witness Protection Bill into law.[Note44: Interview with Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) focal person, December 2017. The event was intended to solicit the support of the National Legislature for the passage of the draft Bill into Law and to raise awareness among CSOs and other state actors on the importance of the Whistleblower and Witness Protection Law in Liberia. However, the passage of the Whistleblower Protection Act has stalled and, according to the government’s self-assessment report, the challenge in implementing the commitment was the lack of political will on the part of the legislature.
Did it Open Government?
Public Accountability: Did Not Change
The bill has not yet been passed by the National Legislature, therefore the status quo of government practice has not changed.
Carried forward?
This commitment was not carried forward.
Commitments
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Legislative Monitoring Database
LR0027, 2017, E-Government
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Publication of Budget Documents
LR0028, 2017, Anti-Corruption
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Freedom of Information (FOI) Act
LR0029, 2017, Access to Information
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Citizen Monitoring for the Justice System
LR0030, 2017, Access to Justice
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Feedback Mechanism to Build Accountability of the LNP
LR0031, 2017, Access to Information
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Capacity Building for Integrity in Government
LR0032, 2017, Anti-Corruption
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Transparency in the Land Authority
LR0033, 2017, E-Government
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Accountability and Value for Money Through Open Contracting
LR0034, 2017, Access to Information
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Beneficial Ownership Registry
LR0035, 2017, Access to Information
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Open Data/Citizen Navigation Portal
LR0036, 2017, Access to Information
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Commercial Land Use Rights Information
LR0011, 2015, Capacity Building
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Open Aid Portal and Publication of Aid Data
LR0012, 2015, Access to Information
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Link Financial Management System to Aid Management Platform
LR0013, 2015, Aid
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Facilitate Tracking of EVD Funds
LR0014, 2015, Access to Information
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Implementation of the New Jury Law
LR0015, 2015,
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Citzen Monitoring of Justice System
LR0016, 2015,
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Civic Education and Citizen Engagement Around Offline Tools
LR0017, 2015,
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Know Your Rights' Initiative
LR0018, 2015, Justice
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Passage of Whistleblower Protection Act
LR0019, 2015,
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Transparency Hubs
LR0020, 2015, Public Participation
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Public Service Integrity
LR0021, 2015, Anti-Corruption
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Citizen Feedback Platform.
LR0022, 2015, E-Government
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e-Government
LR0023, 2015, Capacity Building
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Public Expenditure Management Systems
LR0024, 2015, Capacity Building
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Public Safety/ Law Enforecement Reform
LR0025, 2015, E-Government
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Open Data Portal
LR0026, 2015, Access to Information
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Appoint Public Information Officers (PIOs)
LR0007, 2015, Capacity Building
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Popularize Freedom of Information (Foi) Law
LR0008, 2015, Access to Information
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Expand Open Budget Initiative
LR0009, 2015, Access to Information
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Public Information on Land and Natural Resource Reform
LR0010, 2015, Anti-Corruption
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Increase Access to Public Information
LR0001, 2013, Access to Information
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Open Budget Initiative
LR0002, 2013, E-Government
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Extractive Industries Transparency
LR0003, 2013, Anti-Corruption
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Citizens’ Participation and Dialogue
LR0004, 2013, Public Participation
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Accountability and Integrity
LR0005, 2013, Anti-Corruption
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Technology and Innovation
LR0006, 2013, Access to Information
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