In order to ensure financial probity in government, the opposition Liberty Party (LP) has warned against merging the Bureau of Budget with the Ministry of Finance, but welcomed the appointment of opposition members in the new government.

The party also hailed President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s determination to fight corruption, warning, “The legacy of a good president should not be marred by defeat at the hands of a racketeering system of corruption.”

Addressing journalists Thursday at LP headquarters in Sinkor, party chair J. Fonati Koffa insisted: “The Liberty Party believes that the Bureau of the Budget and the Internal Revenues section of the new super Ministry of Finance should be separated so that the budget continues to remain a fiscal tool for presidential policy and programs and not the same agency which collects our revenues.”

Flanked by other LP officials, Mr. Fonati Koffa said checks and balances in the financial sector of the country concern Liberty Party. “The Ministry of Finance should be an independent body as (it) has been in the past.”

He hailed the recent Executive Order on the Code of Conduct as “a good start”, saying “This means well only when the Ministry of Justice is strengthened so that it will build capacity to deal with corruption cases”.

“We will work with our legislative caucus to quickly pass the Whistleblowers protection act. While naming and shaming is one way to deal with corruption, it must be complemented by system fortification,” Mr. Fonati Koffa suggested.

On youth empowerment, the LP said it was not a mistake for the president to identify that empowerment program for youths is paramount in her next year.

“We agree. However, we must be careful not to paint a broad bush of the character and makeup of our youth population. That is why we have endeavored to go one step further and separate into two categories,” he noted.

Liberty Party, he added, looks forward to working with the government to fashion the right policy and program to address the needs of youths in the country.