Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf ordered all officials of the previous administration to remain in the country until the completion of a financial audit, said reports from Cote d'Ivoire on Wednesday.

Taking the first major step to fight corruption, the new government will shortly "commission a comprehensive financial audit of all the government agencies and public corporations," a government statement said on Tuesday.

Rampant corruption was a key cause of Liberia's 14-year-old civil war, which ended in 2003 when a transitional government was established after the ex-President Charles Taylor went into exile.

The government also called on all officials of the transitional administration to remain in the country until the financial audit is concluded.

Johnson-Sirleaf was elected as Africa's first female president in November 2005. She has pledged to break the country's history of endemic corruption when she took office in January.

Source: Xinhua