By Pewu Y. Sumo
MONROVIA — The Governance Commission (GC) has announced that it will release its maiden institutional scorecards at the end of the month, evaluating and ranking 10 pilot public entities across key transparency, governance, and accountability benchmarks.
Speaking on Tuesday, September 22, at the Ministry of Information’s (MOI) regular press briefing in Monrovia, GC Oversight Commissioner Matthew B. Kollie disclosed that the scorecards will mark the official completion of the initial assessment under the newly introduced National Integrity Index (NII).
The NII, which was officially launched on April 9 this year, is Liberia’s homegrown, data-driven initiative designed to measure and illuminate the operational performance of government ministries, agencies, and commissions. The framework was developed by the GC in collaboration with key integrity and oversight bodies, including the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), the General Auditing Commission (GAC), the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), and the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI).
Five Pillars of Governance
Commissioner Kollie outlined that the forthcoming ratings will evaluate participating public entities across five core pillars of good governance: accountability, transparency, ethical leadership, institutional capacity, and citizens’ engagement.
He noted that the index is rooted in the Code of Conduct prescribed for public officials, as well as the enabling statutory legislation of the nation’s integrity institutions.
Governance as Bedrock for National Development
Addressing public debates on state priorities, Commissioner Kollie recognized the urgent need to tackle Liberia’s infrastructure deficit, acknowledging that the government is actively working to expand roads, power, and basic social services. However, he cautioned against focusing solely on physical development at the expense of administrative integrity.
“There’s always the temptation to focus on what I call the brick and mortar at the expense of the intangible—the governance, which is the bedrock that ensures long-term sustainability,” Commissioner Kollie stated.
He emphasized that the NII enables the state to demonstrate how procurement contracts are executed, ensure value for public money, and verify whether entities actively resolve audit queries and implement audit recommendations.
Three-Tier Ranking and CSO Peer Review
Upon completion of the evaluation during this “Month of Good Governance,” institutions will be classified into three performance categories: Tier One, reserved for high-performing public entities; Tier Two, for institutions meeting basic standards but requiring further improvement; and Tier Three, for institutions meeting minimal markers that still have a long way to go.
To avoid suspicion of government self-praise and ensure credibility, Commissioner Kollie disclosed that the GC is subjecting both its evaluation methodology and empirical findings to an independent peer review by civil society organizations (CSOs) prior to official publication.
