PHOTO: W. Lawrence Yealue, II. Country Director, Accountability Lab Liberia
Monrovia- Today, Accountability Lab Liberia launched the 9th edition of one of its flagship campaigns, “Integrity Icon,” in search of honest public servants in Liberia.
Like the years before, this year’s campaign seeks to identify the ‘gems’ and exemplary public service workers that uphold the codes and values of service with integrity, selflessness, a sense of duty, and love for the country above all else. We intend to celebrate these individuals, whoever and where ever they are, as our country’s shiny knights. We want to encourage the public and all well-meaning Liberians to look within the public sector and their communities to nominate persons
with integrity seeking a better Liberia through their demonstrated work. This year and in line with our new strategy, we particularly want to encourage the public to nominate those fighting for climate justice and working tirelessly to ensure that the environment is safe and that citizens live a secure life.
Accountability Lab’s Integrity Icon campaign is an annual project that ‘names and fames‘ Liberia’s most honest public service employees. The campaign has proven extremely essential over the past eight years, and it is even more vital now that we are in an election year, when citizens should be thinking critically about integrity and nation-building, as we elect our next set of leaders in October.
Over the past eight years, we have discovered and celebrated 40 public servants with integrity from different sectors within the government; Health, Security, Finance and Revenue Collection, Education, Public Procurement, Human Resources, and the Media, and some of whom were support staffs within the Ministries, Agencies, and Commissions. These Integrity Icons have come from across Liberia; Montserrado, Bomi, Bong, Margibi, Nimba, Lofa, Maryland, Grand Bassa, Grand Kru, Grand Cape Mount, and Gbarpolu counties. These are incredible Liberians working tirelessly for a better Liberia.
Procedurally, this campaign’s process begins with the nomination of public servants nationwide, followed by a rigorous vetting process. These vetting processes include our staff reviewing the forms for completeness in alignment with the nomination criteria. After this, a panel of three independent judges further scrutinizes the nomination forms to select the best five winners. Through these processes, we will certify that the winners embody the values of integrity, transparency, and accountability in line with the discharge of their duties.
We at Accountability Lab Liberia are thrilled to promote integrity and honesty in government through this Integrity Icon campaign, as it is prudent as a citizen-centric organization to create positive conversations around issues that will enable our overall development as a country. Repeatedly, we Liberians have long focused on the problems. This campaign is about identifying role models for those in the public sector and future generations in a positive and collective way, and through that, we provide solutions to the challenges we face as a nation.
As already mentioned, Accountability Lab Liberia and its partners, including volunteers and well-meaning Liberians, have used this campaign to recognize, celebrate and support 40 icons over the years since 2015. We will need public support to continue this meaningful nation-building exercise. If you want to help support the program in any way or form, you can reach out to us through email at alliberia@accountabilitylab.org, our Facebook page, Integrity Icon Liberia, or on the contact numbers; +231776462162 or +231886540775.
The nomination forms for this year’s campaign can be picked up from our iCampus office, upper Carey Street, Snapper Hill, Sky FM radio station on Broad Street, and Okay FM, Lynch Street in Monrovia. The forms will be available in the counties at the Administrative Buildings/County Service Centers.
God bless Liberia!