…Bryant Admits Authorization of Funds; Defends LPRC
On his second day in the dock at the Criminal Court “C” hearing the “Economic Sabotage” charges the State brought against him, defunct National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) Chairman Charles Gyude Bryant, has put up defense for the Edwin Melvin Snowe regime of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC), saying that the close to US$1m expended by the LPRC during the transitional regime was spent based upon his directive.
Mr. Bryant, the fourth witness in the marathon case, rather toke responsibility for the use of the funds for which he and the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) managers are being prosecuted for the reported commission of “Economic Sabotage”. The transitional chairman told court that the money was used on security matters to safe guard the fragile peace of Liberia in 2003.
The NTGL Chairman is being prosecuted along with four of his LPRC officials including Montserrado County Representative Edwin Snowe and his deputies while served as LPRC managing Director under the transitional regime of Chairman Bryant.
Mr. Bryant and four other former officials of the Liberian Petroleum Refining Company including Edwin M. Snowe, Jr., Richard Devine, Siaka A. Sheriff and G. Andy Quamie are on trial for allegedly conspiring to take away close US$1 million from the coffers of the LPRC during the interim administration. However the accused have pleaded “NOT GUILTY” to charges brought against them.
Mr. Bryant told the court that the monies were spent at different times upon his instruction to quell trouble by ex-fighters in various parts of the country so as to prevent the country from slipping back to chaos after the signing of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA).
The CPA brought Bryant, a businessman, to state power at the Executive mansion. The document which was crafted by stakeholders and signed in Accra, the Republic of Ghana introduced calm to Liberia and paved the way for the elections of 2005, which brought to power the first female president of Africa, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The national Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) which was installed to steer the affairs of state for two years was headed by Chairman Bryant.
Bryant was however audit by ECOWAS investigators and other international institutions such as the EU, and findings of the investigative bodies making Bryant and his team of economic managers culpable were perused by the Johnson-Sirleaf administration leading to “Economic Sabotage” Charges against them
During his testimonies in court, the defunct NTGL Chairman Charles Gyude Byant said the monies were mainly given to ex-rebel leaders to help talk with their men who were at some point disgruntled over disbarment benefits and in some places refused to disarm, explaining that none of the payments were made to him or people from the Executive Mansion, his office.
He explained, “Instructions and directives from me to LPRC were to pay monies out to people. None of them work in my office,” and added that how LPRC Management or Board wrote the internal instructions to the Account Staff to make payments was totally out of his control and knowledge.
“All I knew was for example there was a particular threat because a senior official or cabinet minister or example has been taken hostage by their supporters who they were unable to give jobs to, they wanted jobs. Other times there were incidents in the Guthrie Rubber Plantation for example where combatants had been disarmed but have not gone through the PR portion of the NCDDRR because the UN that were funding this program has run out of funds”, Bryant told the court.
He said many of the payments were made to individuals who could help to talk with ex-combatants that were harassing civilians mainly in the South eastern region of the country where the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) did not deploy immediately after their coming to Liberia on peace keeping mission.
Mr. Bryant revealed that at one point while preparing to tour the country, UNMIL informed him that the south east was not safe for him to travel as there were reports of gun fires and harassments.
“When the disarmament ended, I told UNMIL I am ready to the South east and that was in October 2004. They say sorry Chairman we can’t go there and I said but you have disarmed,” he claimed, noting: They said that is true but in the interior of the counties we are still getting reports of gun fires and harassments of innocent civilians.”
So he indicated that he called the commanders and their leaders because “sometimes when you deal with the leaders the commanders will come and say we didn’t get anything so how can we deal with the men.”
According to him, these commanders went to LPRC for a hundred thousand dollars to use to quiet tension, for instance, since “I am about to go to the southeast and before I go there I want to hear that all the troubles and harassments have ended. They went, they dealt with their people, UNMIL was then able to deploy into those areas and then I was able to go there and that was not money I had in my pocket”.
The former NTGL Chairman said he gave LPRC the instruction to pay the monies out and charge it to what the company saw was partial dividend or donations and contributions to government, while at his end, he only wanted the money to keep Liberia peaceful.
Responding to question from prosecution lawyers on whether receipts were issued during the payments to these individuals by the LPRC to whom the numerous payments including an amount of US$100,000 and US$300,000 were made, the former NTGL chairman told the court he was not concerned with the issuing of receipts but the availability of the money to serve the purpose at the time.
“I do not know because I did not work ever for LPRC. What I know is that those to whom I directed that funds be given to, received the funds; they carried out the missions and the intended objectives were satisfied”, Bryant declared.
On a bank account that was opened by the Management of LPRC at the time with US$25,000 at Eco Bank, a sub-regional bank and the money used to sponsor a trip by some officials of the LPRC to attend a seminar in Ghana, Mr. Bryant denied having knowledge on the opening of such account.
He however admitted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) organized a program for financial institutions from Liberia and it was held in Ghana due to the prevailing security situation in Liberia at the time.
“I knew nothing about this account. I did not authorize it and defendant Snowe has told this court and jury that his Board had authorized this transaction. However, I can confirm to you that it is true that the IMF did require that bi-lateral discussions be held in Accra, Ghana for security reasons. That decision did not only affect LPRC, it also affected Finance Ministry staffers. Budget Bureau staffers, Planning Ministry staffers, Central Bank staffers and members of my Council of economic advisors”, Bryant continued.
The former transitional head of state’s admittance that he sanctioned the numerous payments made by the LPRC to several individuals summing up to about US$ 1million without caring for receipts or vouchers has created what legal pundits described as a shift in the ongoing trial involving him and four other former officials of the Liberian Petroleum Refining Company including Edwin M. Snowe, Jr., Richard Devine, Siaka A. Sheriff and G. Andy Quamie.
With the admittance, the trial will now be focusing on finding out how the monies were expended and to whom all the payments were made as the former Liberian leader has taken full responsibility of the overall spending of the close to US$1 million.
But with Mr. Bryant’s testimony that he only ordered the payments and was not responsible to instruct LPRC to issue receipts, opinions solicited from lawyers observing the trial indicates that the former officials of the LPRC will now be made to state whether they issued receipts and if not why such huge monies ere spent without records.
Meanwhile Bryant continues in the witness stand today on the cross. He started his testimonies on Monday during which time he admitted instructing LPRC to disburse funds for security reasons.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Travel-ban Victims Cry for Justice
…Says “We Can’t Destabilize This Country”
Victims of the UN Travel ban against officials and associates of detained former President Charles Ghankay Taylor have been crying foul for what they considered miscarriage of international justice against them, calling for intervention of the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf administration.
Those on the travel ban include Randolph Cooper, Cyril Allen, John Richardson, Representatives Edwin Snowe, Kai Farley and Senator Jewel Howard-Taylor amongst others. The affected Liberians want their government to ask the French Ambassador about the truthfulness of his statement. They observed the UN keeps giving different reasons for the travel ban imposed on them and the allegation from the French Ambassador is no exception.
It is totally unfair for one to be denied the right travel which is curtailing one’s right to free movement, even if he was to go to seek health attention abroad, especially when such person has not been tried and convicted of any crime to warrant the punitive action, says Lewis Brown, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Charles Taylor-led administration.
Mr. Brown spoke on the Truth Breakfast Show of FM 96.1 where he accused this administration of protecting a few and leaving others vulnerable. The former Foreign Minister and one time Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company (LPRC) said amongst other things that the United Nations’ travel ban on them has not been justified. He noted that they, under the sanction, have been punished or convicted without trial for their perceived offence.
“You should know that people on the travel ban enjoy the confident of their people. Some of these people were elected to the Legislature because their people think they are capable of defending their interest,” Mr. Brown, also a one time Security Advisor to former President Taylor, noted.
He maintained that the treatment being meted against them could not have been one meted against United States officials, especially congressmen elected by their respective constituents, who have not been convicted but merely accused of crimes.
Another Liberians who has got to be bitter against the ban include another former Foreign Minister Dorothy Musuleng Cooper, who said, in reaction to French Ambassador Jacques Gerard’s statement, that victims of the travel ban have been responsible people who “..,will not destabilize the country” even if they were purged of the sanction.
Also John Richardson, another victim of the travel ban, who spoke recently at a news conference in reaction to the French ambassador’s statement against travel ban victims, said Ambassador Gerard’s recent statement to the effect of the UN travel ban should not be taken lightly; he said instead it should be engaged. Mr. Richardson wondered whether the French Ambassador’s statement is a personal view or the position of the French Government.
The Liberians placed on travel ban by the UN have appealed to the Liberian government to intervene in a statement made against them by the French Ambassador.
Ambassador Gerard reportedly told Senate Pro-Temp Cletus Wotorson that the affected Liberians would use their alleged hidden wealth to destabilize the country. Ambassador Gerard made the remarks when Pro-Temp Wotorson requested the intervention of France in the removal of the travel ban on the Liberians.
The sanctioned Liberians recalled the first reason the UN gave was to facilitate the peace process in Sierra Leone, which later changed to on-going ties with former President Charles Taylor. According to the affected Liberians, with peace now restored to Sierra Leone and Mr. Taylor in prison, a new reason is being crafted to justify the travel ban on them.
The Liberians, some of whom supported the Unity Party in the 2005 elections, said they have remained law-abiding and promised to be law-abiding in spite the situation. They want the Liberian government to intervene in what they termed advanced punishment without due process or the benefit to be tried for any wrong-doing.
UL Baccalaureate Was A Flop
…Rev. Simpson Wants Graduates Use Education for Nation
The 87th commencement baccalaureate of the University of Liberia was somehow a flop as a result of poor organization, which reduced the occasion to photo-taking affairs.
Panwhanpen who stopped by on the Main Campus of the University of Liberia to listen to the Baccalaureate sermon noticed that the service, which should have started11:AM, was delayed for almost an hour plus. It was scheduled to have begun with a procession of faculty and successful candidates for this commencement convocation, but the process was poorly arranged.
Seated later, some of the members of the graduating classes did not have a chance to view the podium or to listen to the baccalaureate sermon due to uncontrolled over-crowdedness of the UL Pavilion that hosted the service.
Journalists who went to cover the occasion were caught up in struggles for shots between the stage and the podium which Rev. Simpson and others spoke from without a public address system to transmit sound louder to the thousands of prospective graduates who swam the area along with their jubilant relatives, friends, spouses and/or well-wishers.
Panwhanpen observed lost of total orderliness and lack of quietude that should have characterized such occasion, as there ensued a struggle amongst the prospective graduates to hear speakers and the master of ceremony.
The ultimate thing that therefore resulted was the cornering of members of the graduating classes by photographers for shots, thereby reducing the entire campus to a photo taking gallery.
Speaking to the graduates, however, a Liberian cleric and educator, the Rev. Leo M. Simpson, on that Sunday, admonished the 2, 155 successful candidates of the classes of 2009 of the 87th Commencement Convocation of the University of Liberia to use their education to contribute to the process of nation-building.
He told members of the graduating classes to use self-control and sound reasoning as academicians to fast-track national development.
Bishop Simpson of the Pentecostal Assembly of the World (PAW), who delivered the baccalaureate sermon, further called on members of the classes to be careful and disciplined as they obtain their respective academic degrees. He was addressing more than 2, 155 prospective graduates from under-graduate and graduate schools of the University of Liberia.
“Education without discipline leads to anarchy. Education without discipline leads to disaster and crisis”, he said as he struggled to be audible in amidst of a poor sound system and an overcrowded baccalaureate service.
The PAW cleric and educator told the graduates that education is not a right in Liberia but rather a privilege. “There are thousands of your colleagues out there who do not have the opportunity to achieve education. Education in Liberia is not a right but a privilege,” Rev. Simpson said; writes Bill K. Jarkloh (www.panwhanpen.com) also billkjarkloh.wordpress.com
The 87th commencement baccalaureate of the University of Liberia was somehow a flop as a result of poor organization, which reduced the occasion to photo-taking affairs.
Panwhanpen who stopped by on the Main Campus of the University of Liberia to listen to the Baccalaureate sermon noticed that the service, which should have started11:AM, was delayed for almost an hour plus. It was scheduled to have begun with a procession of faculty and successful candidates for this commencement convocation, but the process was poorly arranged.
Seated later, some of the members of the graduating classes did not have a chance to view the podium or to listen to the baccalaureate sermon due to uncontrolled over-crowdedness of the UL Pavilion that hosted the service.
Journalists who went to cover the occasion were caught up in struggles for shots between the stage and the podium which Rev. Simpson and others spoke from without a public address system to transmit sound louder to the thousands of prospective graduates who swam the area along with their jubilant relatives, friends, spouses and/or well-wishers.
Panwhanpen observed lost of total orderliness and lack of quietude that should have characterized such occasion, as there ensued a struggle amongst the prospective graduates to hear speakers and the master of ceremony.
The ultimate thing that therefore resulted was the cornering of members of the graduating classes by photographers for shots, thereby reducing the entire campus to a photo taking gallery.
Speaking to the graduates, however, a Liberian cleric and educator, the Rev. Leo M. Simpson, on that Sunday, admonished the 2, 155 successful candidates of the classes of 2009 of the 87th Commencement Convocation of the University of Liberia to use their education to contribute to the process of nation-building.
He told members of the graduating classes to use self-control and sound reasoning as academicians to fast-track national development.
Bishop Simpson of the Pentecostal Assembly of the World (PAW), who delivered the baccalaureate sermon, further called on members of the classes to be careful and disciplined as they obtain their respective academic degrees. He was addressing more than 2, 155 prospective graduates from under-graduate and graduate schools of the University of Liberia.
“Education without discipline leads to anarchy. Education without discipline leads to disaster and crisis”, he said as he struggled to be audible in amidst of a poor sound system and an overcrowded baccalaureate service.
The PAW cleric and educator told the graduates that education is not a right in Liberia but rather a privilege. “There are thousands of your colleagues out there who do not have the opportunity to achieve education. Education in Liberia is not a right but a privilege,” Rev. Simpson said; writes Bill K. Jarkloh (www.panwhanpen.com) also billkjarkloh.wordpress.com
Friday, April 17, 2009
Debt Relief Progress Hangs on Legislature
…Finance Ministry Wants PFM Law PassedBy: Bill K. Jarkloh Reports
http://www.newvisionliberia.com/
http://www.panwhanpen.com/
billkjarkloh.wordpress.com
“One critical step to assure further progress” in the debt relief campaign of gthe Ellenj Johnson Sirleaf Government,” Finance Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan says, “is the passage and implementation of the comprehensive Public Financial Management (PFM) law, which is now at the Legislature for passage.
The Minister of Finance who therefore calls on members of the National Legislature to put the passage of the PFM law high on its agenda as they return form the Easter Break, told a news conference Thursday that the passage and implementation of PFM law is critical in the total alleviation of Liberia from its staggering debt burden which, according to him, has undermined the credibility of the country in international circles.
Saying that this government has inherited more than US$4 billion debt to financial institutions and donor countries, Mr. Ngafuan said, “In 2006 when the Government of HE Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took over, we inherited an enormous burden, mostly a huge external debt overhand of about US$4.9 billions, equivalent to 700 percent of our Gross Domestic Product, by far the highest ratio of any country in the world.”
The Finance Minister noted that in order to restore economic sanity to Liberia, “the government decided to confront head-on this nightmarish challenge by working with its international partners through the Heavily Indebted Poor Counties (HIPC) Initiative. Accordingly, we as a government committed ourselves to instituting a host of sound reform measures as a way of restoring confidence in our partners and or people, thereby making it easy for us to get back our lost credibility.”
Flanked by his deputy Tanue Marwolo and Deputy Information Gabriel Williams and other officials of Government’s economic management team, Ngafuan indicated, “Today we are in good standing with the international financial institutions, the IMF, the World Bank, and the ADB for the first time in decades.”
He also pointed out that Liberia is also rewarded for our reform efforts with a generous restructuring agreement with the Paris Club, a group of bilateral creditors who have already eliminated 900 million in debt with more to come once we reach Completion Point.
“Continuing on the path of bilateral debt reduction,” he accentuated, “I hereby announced that I today signed on behalf of the Liberian government an agreement with the British government immediately waiving an equivalent of US$45.5 million of our US$50.6 million debt. The remaining US$5.1 million debt is expected to be waived by the British Government when we reach the HPIC Completion Point’ he explained.
Liberia bought back US$1.2m debt
Mr. Ngafuan averred that while the government has been making tremendous strides in dealing with our debt situation with our bilateral and multilateral partners, “we still had to tackle the huge debt burden with our commercial creditors. In this respect, it is an exhilarating privilege that I inform you that we have taken a giant step forward tin our debt reduction effort.”
He then announces that I am pleased to announce that Liberia has bought back 1.2 million dollars of debt from its foreign financial creditors. “On Tuesday April 14, 2009, we concluded the exercise of purchasing back our commercial debt at a discount of nearly 97 percent off the face value, the deepest discount ever negotiated on a developing country’s commercial debt,” he explained.
Moreover, he said creditors holding 97.5 percent of the claims participated, one of the highest rates of participation in a sovereign debt buyback in the last few decades and explained that the buyback means that Liberia will now be able to take off 1.2 billion dollars of debt of the government’s balance sheet which means in a simple term that Liberia’s debt stock has reduced by 1.2 billion dollars.”
“The retiring of 1.2 billion dollars of debt is the single largest action in addressing our debt burden that we have completed to date. We can now safely and proudly proclaim that with the significant reduction, our overall debt burden is now a full 3 BILLION DOLLARS less that it was three years ago,” he bragged, saying “The buyback occurred with a strong support of our international partners, who provided the 38 million needed to complete the operation. The World Bank provided half of the financing for the buyback, and the World Bank’s Debt Reduction Facility provided the mechanism for other partners to contribute and to conclude the operation.”
Already, reports from the World Bank Headquarters http://www.worldbank.org/liberia have authenticated the information from the Ministry of Finance at home. According to the report, Liberia has slashed debt with $1.2 billion buyback at steep discount and added that buyback was completed at no cost to the citizens of Liberia.
According to the dispatch on the World Bank web, Liberia today on April 16, 2009, announced that it had significantly reduced its foreign debt by buying back $1.2 billion in outstanding government debt at a discount of nearly 97 percent of face value, the steepest ever negotiated on developing country commercial debt.
Buying back cost US$38m
The deal, the report said, was concluded with the payment of $38 million to retire 25 outstanding commercial claims. The World Bank contributed half of this money through the International Development Association (IDA) Debt Reduction Facility, and Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States contributed the other half.
“The successful resolution of this inherited debt, which had ballooned through interest and penalty charges during a period when my country was wracked by civil war, is an important step on our road to recovery,” the report quoted Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who furthered that this puts us on a firmer footing to attract investment and accelerate economic growth.
“This buy-back significantly eases Liberia’s heavy external debt burden and normalizes the country’s financial relationships with the investment community,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. “The support to the buy-back by the Bank’s Debt Reduction Facility is part of our commitment to help heavily indebted poor countries reduce their debt burden”.
This deal cuts Liberia’s foreign debt to $1.7 billion, representing a reduction of more than $3 billion in the last two years. Most of the remaining debt will be cancelled when Liberia reaches its Completion Point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative, probably in 2010.
he bought back debt had been in default since the mid-1980s when Liberia was beginning to descend into civil war. During the intervening years, most of the debt was sold and often resold on the secondary market.
The Liberia deal, which had been in negotiation for two years, is the first successful debt buyback in which the vast majority of the debt was held by hedge funds and other distressed debt investors rather than by the original creditors. Creditors holding 97.5 percent of Liberia’s foreign commercial debt participated in the deal, one of the largest rates of participation in a sovereign debt buyback in the last several decades.
In December 2007, the World Bank financed Liberia’s clearance of its overdue debt service payments to the World Bank, resulting in a reduction in its debt of close to $400 million, and a similar operation with the African Development Bank led to a reduction of an additional $250 million. Negotiations with its bilateral creditors have led to cancellations of approximately $800 million.
Liberians are among some of the poorest people in the world, with an average annual per capita income of $150. More than half of the population of 3.5 million is under 25 years old, meaning that most Liberians had not even been born when the original debt was incurred. Liberia has recovered quickly since the end of the war in 2003. Economic growth has accelerated to nine percent a year, school enrolments have grown rapidly, and health facilities have re-opened across the country.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Liberian Diplomat, Kosovo Envoy Discuss Global Financial Crisis
….Lauds Liberia for Recognition of Kosovo Independence
(MONROVIA, Thursday, March 05, 2009): The Liberian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom and Ireland , His Excellency, Wesley M. Johnson, on March 4, 2009, received in audience at the Liberian Embassy, the Charge d' Affaires, from the Republic of Kosovo , Dr. Muhamet Hamiti.
Receiving Dr. Hamiti, Ambassador Johnson thanked him for the visit and expressed the support the Liberian Government had given the Government of Kosovo by the recognition of Kosovo’s Independence , and trust that the cordial relations that now exists between the two countries will continue to improve, which may perhaps lead to the opening of diplomatic missions in both Capitals.
According to a Foreign Ministry Release, Dr. Hamiti also thanked Ambassador Johnson for receiving him and asked that the Liberian envoy convey to the President, Government and people of Liberia the warm sentiments for support given Kosovo by the Government of Liberia.
He welcomed the hope of exchanging diplomatic mission in both capitals in the not too distant future. The two envoys then discussed issues of importance confronting the comity of nations, especially the global financial crisis and the political fallout it might cause relative to world recession.
They also expressed confidence that both nations will continue to adhere to the principles and Charter of the United Nations with the conviction that all peace-loving nations of the world must live together in harmony.
Ambassador Johnson said Liberia being a peace-loving nation, extends her hands of friendship to all peaceful nations of the world and that the Johnson-Sirleaf Administration is ready for business, adding that all peaceful nations are invited to come and invest in the Liberian economy.
Meanwhile, the President of the Republic of Liberia, Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has sent a Message of Congratulations to the President, Government and People of the Republic of Ghana, on the auspicious occasion marking the 52nd Independence Anniversary of that country.
According to a Foreign Ministry Release, in the message to Her Ghanaian Counterpart, His Excellency President John Atta-Mills, Madam Johnson Sirleaf conveyed warmest congratulations and best wishes to the Ghanaian leader, and through him, to the Government and People of Ghana on behalf of the Government and People of Liberia, and in Her own name, noting that the bond of friendship subsisting between the two countries will continue to grow stronger in the years ahead.
President Johnson-Sirleaf then prayed that as Liberia joins Ghana in celebrating this prestigious occasion, the people of Ghana will enjoy the shower of blessing under the dynamic leadership of President John Atta-Mills. www.mofa.gov.lr
(MONROVIA, Thursday, March 05, 2009): The Liberian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom and Ireland , His Excellency, Wesley M. Johnson, on March 4, 2009, received in audience at the Liberian Embassy, the Charge d' Affaires, from the Republic of Kosovo , Dr. Muhamet Hamiti.
Receiving Dr. Hamiti, Ambassador Johnson thanked him for the visit and expressed the support the Liberian Government had given the Government of Kosovo by the recognition of Kosovo’s Independence , and trust that the cordial relations that now exists between the two countries will continue to improve, which may perhaps lead to the opening of diplomatic missions in both Capitals.
According to a Foreign Ministry Release, Dr. Hamiti also thanked Ambassador Johnson for receiving him and asked that the Liberian envoy convey to the President, Government and people of Liberia the warm sentiments for support given Kosovo by the Government of Liberia.
He welcomed the hope of exchanging diplomatic mission in both capitals in the not too distant future. The two envoys then discussed issues of importance confronting the comity of nations, especially the global financial crisis and the political fallout it might cause relative to world recession.
They also expressed confidence that both nations will continue to adhere to the principles and Charter of the United Nations with the conviction that all peace-loving nations of the world must live together in harmony.
Ambassador Johnson said Liberia being a peace-loving nation, extends her hands of friendship to all peaceful nations of the world and that the Johnson-Sirleaf Administration is ready for business, adding that all peaceful nations are invited to come and invest in the Liberian economy.
Meanwhile, the President of the Republic of Liberia, Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has sent a Message of Congratulations to the President, Government and People of the Republic of Ghana, on the auspicious occasion marking the 52nd Independence Anniversary of that country.
According to a Foreign Ministry Release, in the message to Her Ghanaian Counterpart, His Excellency President John Atta-Mills, Madam Johnson Sirleaf conveyed warmest congratulations and best wishes to the Ghanaian leader, and through him, to the Government and People of Ghana on behalf of the Government and People of Liberia, and in Her own name, noting that the bond of friendship subsisting between the two countries will continue to grow stronger in the years ahead.
President Johnson-Sirleaf then prayed that as Liberia joins Ghana in celebrating this prestigious occasion, the people of Ghana will enjoy the shower of blessing under the dynamic leadership of President John Atta-Mills. www.mofa.gov.lr
3 Presidents: Halonen, Wade, Kigame Arrive Today
To Participate In An Int'l Women Colloquium
(MONROVIA, THURSDAY MARCH 5, 2009): The President of Finland, Her Excellency, Mrs. Tarja Halonen, at the head of a 37-member delegation, arrives in the country tomorrow, Friday, March 6, 2009, on a State Visit.
Two African Presidents, His Excellency, Mr. Abduaoleya Wade of the Republic of Senegal, coming with a 28-member delegation and His Excellency, Mr. Paul Kigame of the Republic of Rwanda, heading of a 19-member delegation, will also arrive in the country this week to participate in the International Women Colloquium, co-convened by President Johnson-Sirleaf and her Finland counterpart, President Halonen.
According to a Foreign Ministry release, the President of Finland and delegation will arrive at the Roberts International Airport, onboard a Special Presidential Aircraft, and will be received by the Liberian leader, President Johnson Sirleaf.
Upon arrival, President Tarja Halonen will be accorded an appropriate traditional welcome befitting a world leader and presented white rice and kola nuts by the Chairman of the National Council of Chiefs, Chief Zanzan Karwor.
On the same day, President Tarja will address the Joint Session of the House of Representatives and the House of Senate after which she will proceed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where the Finland leader will be gowned by the Traditional Council of Chiefs, and admitted into the Most Venerable Order of the Pioneers of the Republic of Liberia by Grand Master of the Orders of the Republic of Liberia, President Johnson-Sirleaf.
Also during the ceremony, President Halonen will bestow on Her Excellency, President Johnson Sirleaf, the Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland with Chain and Star.
Meanwhile, the International Colloquium for Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security will be graced by high profile women leaders and dignitaries from around the world.
Prominent among International dignitaries expected in the country include: Mrs. Tarja Halonen, President of Finland, at the head of a 37-member delegation; President Paul Kigame of Rwanda, at the head a 19-member delegation; H.E Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal, at the head of a 28-member delegation, and Sharif Husayn Ibn’Ali, Queen of Jordan.
Others are: the Governor General of Canada, at the head a 22-member delegation, the Vice President of Spain, at the head of a 65-member delegation; the Vice President of The Gambia, at the head of a 9-member delegation; Margot Wallstron, Senior Vice President of the European Commission (EC), at the head of a12 -member delegation; the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union, at the head of a 3-member delegation and Her Excellency Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, and the United Nations High commissioner for Human Rights respectively.
The international dignitaries also include H.E. Luisa Dias Diogo, Prime Minister of Mozambique, at the head of a 10-member delegation; H.E. Kazimira Danute Prunskiere, Former Prime Minister of Lithuania; H.E. Rugh Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland; H.E. Maria Liberia-Peters, former Prime Minister of Netherlands and the First Lady of Sierra Leone, among hundreds of others prominent women leaders.
(MONROVIA, THURSDAY MARCH 5, 2009): The President of Finland, Her Excellency, Mrs. Tarja Halonen, at the head of a 37-member delegation, arrives in the country tomorrow, Friday, March 6, 2009, on a State Visit.
Two African Presidents, His Excellency, Mr. Abduaoleya Wade of the Republic of Senegal, coming with a 28-member delegation and His Excellency, Mr. Paul Kigame of the Republic of Rwanda, heading of a 19-member delegation, will also arrive in the country this week to participate in the International Women Colloquium, co-convened by President Johnson-Sirleaf and her Finland counterpart, President Halonen.
According to a Foreign Ministry release, the President of Finland and delegation will arrive at the Roberts International Airport, onboard a Special Presidential Aircraft, and will be received by the Liberian leader, President Johnson Sirleaf.
Upon arrival, President Tarja Halonen will be accorded an appropriate traditional welcome befitting a world leader and presented white rice and kola nuts by the Chairman of the National Council of Chiefs, Chief Zanzan Karwor.
On the same day, President Tarja will address the Joint Session of the House of Representatives and the House of Senate after which she will proceed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where the Finland leader will be gowned by the Traditional Council of Chiefs, and admitted into the Most Venerable Order of the Pioneers of the Republic of Liberia by Grand Master of the Orders of the Republic of Liberia, President Johnson-Sirleaf.
Also during the ceremony, President Halonen will bestow on Her Excellency, President Johnson Sirleaf, the Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland with Chain and Star.
Meanwhile, the International Colloquium for Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security will be graced by high profile women leaders and dignitaries from around the world.
Prominent among International dignitaries expected in the country include: Mrs. Tarja Halonen, President of Finland, at the head of a 37-member delegation; President Paul Kigame of Rwanda, at the head a 19-member delegation; H.E Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal, at the head of a 28-member delegation, and Sharif Husayn Ibn’Ali, Queen of Jordan.
Others are: the Governor General of Canada, at the head a 22-member delegation, the Vice President of Spain, at the head of a 65-member delegation; the Vice President of The Gambia, at the head of a 9-member delegation; Margot Wallstron, Senior Vice President of the European Commission (EC), at the head of a12 -member delegation; the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union, at the head of a 3-member delegation and Her Excellency Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, and the United Nations High commissioner for Human Rights respectively.
The international dignitaries also include H.E. Luisa Dias Diogo, Prime Minister of Mozambique, at the head of a 10-member delegation; H.E. Kazimira Danute Prunskiere, Former Prime Minister of Lithuania; H.E. Rugh Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland; H.E. Maria Liberia-Peters, former Prime Minister of Netherlands and the First Lady of Sierra Leone, among hundreds of others prominent women leaders.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Political Thuggery & Espionage Re-surfacing?
Introduction
The Liberian parlance, “Monkey does not leave behind its black hands” is difficult to disprove when it is analogized with the Liberian politician’s ingrained tendency of bullying critical voice into absolute submission, this was how the Public Agenda newspaper started its analysis of the resurgence of political thuggery. The topic sentence or thesis statement of this article by the paper was not mistaken. In the past, political actors that have found themselves in leadership position have used the scare-tactics of bullying opponents or those critical of them was the modus operandi from the days of the foundation of Liberian politics – heightened during the tubmanic era and then peaked at during Taylor’s civil-military regime that phased out 2003 August. This kind of tactics was a way of obliterating critics and, at most, driving them into exile so that they perpetuate themselves into power without criticism against the odds of their regimes. At this tactics, dissenting voice often comes overtly and brutally; but it also comes subtly and covertly, or by means of the combination of both. The manner and form notwithstanding diverse, there is one thing that almost always stands in every case: no Liberian leader lets challengers of the Presidency survive without deep bruises either inflicted by him/herself or his/her commissioned thugs and spies as the situation seems to be resurfacing at the General Auditing Commission (GAC), the Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC and other domains of the government.
The Brevity of This Vicious Political Trait’s Evolution
The country’s 18th President, Tubman, constructed the architecture for political intimidation, coercion and annihilation in the country. He spread his despotic tentacles across the country via “Public Relations Officers (PRO)” who were actually secret agents that gathered true or false intelligences for his ear and action.
Once Tubman lent ears and eyes on hints from his intra-governmental or intra-national espionage network, he got into action and effectively subdued the target. The 27-tenured President left the traits so entrenched that his successors imbibed them. Tolbert, however his noted liberal deportments, hardly uprooted Tubman and True Whig Party’s secret cells and fanatics whose information to the President was sufficient ground for governmental action.
President Samuel Doe maximized the trait via his Krahn-dominated Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SATU) and other military and paramilitary forces who worked both covertly and overly to feed the Presidency with the real or perceived maneuvers of opponents and critics. And Doe hardly ignored their reports on his and government’s perceived and real opponents within and without.
Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor, probably the luckiest of all--lucky because he’s having his day in court to answer to entrenched culture of political thuggery and espionage--is also on record fielding partisans, well-wishers and other extremists to contain, if not liquidate, dissenting voices.
The Hereditary Traits Hit Ellen
Beyond all the pretenses camouflaged by rhetoric, there seethes a fury of political and bureaucratic intolerance and hate within Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and/or her administration--the same intolerance and hate that historically and characteristically provide the composts that give growth to the culture of political espionage and thuggery in the country. Probably mortified by past appellation of human rights and pro-democratic advocate and by the fact that the administration does not command an active military force of its own, coupled with the overwhelming presence of the rights-obsessed international community, Sirleaf and most of her officials are constrained to keep the hereditary traits of political intolerance and hate highly discreet and disguised.
Nonetheless, monkey can hardly leave behind its black hands, the ripples of political espionage and thuggery are growing visibly with time under the Sirleaf leadership. And the new tactic is to disfigure and render inconsequential any individual or group within or without government who, even those standing on the pedestal of its own transformation policy for proving to be tough and dissenting on the modus operandi of Government in general and the presidency in particular.
The most recent targets are the government’s own progenies--the General Auditing Commission (GAC) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)--which have variously come under and been enduring devastating presidential maneuvers. One longtime political pundit states, “As it had been under past authoritarian regimes, so it is under the Sirleaf administration: firstly, commission aficionados, often within the same organization, to keep surveillance on the principal targets and leak every trace of non-conformity; and secondly, if the result is difficult to come by, use thugs to unleash provocative venoms.”
The GAC Malaise
The GAC is currently wobbling in the furnace of the onslaught and is endeavoring to salvage itself from political espionage and thuggery. In less than a week recently, the physical attack increased on the Commission: office vehicle damaged, senior official’s home burglarized and another senior official brutalized.
Since the transfer of Elizabeth Tubman from the Ministry of Finance, where she headed the BGA Section, the Commission continues to witness intermittent disquiet owing to what some staff there call her “espionage” tactics a the GAC. According to a source who does not want to appear in print, the planting of Elizabeth at the Commission, believed to be a daughter of President William Tubman, was perhaps an ideal placement not only because the transferee must have been carrying the espionage-thuggery trait of her father, but also because the GAC and its head were about to produce audit reports that might leave far-reaching political implication for the transferor, President Sirleaf.
It is not clear how the presidential maneuvering have been paying off, though there were reports recently that a trumped-up and obscure pressure group, Movement for the Downtrodden Masses, got access to deliberately abridged GAC financial reports sent to the Ministry of Finance and subsequently exploited the leaked documents to rain disparaging comments on the Commission.
Probably just mere social hoodlum and professional misfit, the source said, Madam Tubman has so far limited her job at the GAC to fomenting hullabaloos and trading chitchats between the Commission and her assignors for which sources say she snatches US$2,000 monthly.
The issue of professional misfit of Madam Tubman was since raised at the Ministry of Finance by ex-Assistant Minister for Expenditure, Aletha K. Brown, who wrote a memorandum of December 5, 2007 questioning the professional capacity of the subject. The quality of quarterly reports supervised and submitted by the then Director-General of the Bureau of General Accounting (BGA) for review, according to the Browne memo, required weeks of additional work to get her handiwork tidy up.
“We are particularly concerned about the disruption this level of our involvement in the work of the BGA is causing our office,” Browne’s memo further states. “Clearly, there are issues of capacity that need to be addressed.” The GAC Deputy Auditor General for Administration, Madam Elizabeth, confessed to her incapacity problem in a memo to Auditor General John Morlu, a copy obtained by Public Agenda.
“This is in reference to your memo dated 15 May 2008, giving me the responsibility to prepare four proposals for your review and onward submission to the World Bank and EU,” she wrote in the memo dated May 28, 2008. “I do not have the technical skill in writing project proposals, therefore, it will be prudent to hire a expert [sic] or select someone in our organization who has the technical skill, and I will be more than happy to work on the team.”
GAC sources begging for anonymity for fear of reprisal say the assignment of Madam Tubman by Madam Sirleaf at the GAC is epitome of pension scheme for the former first family member. “The lady does nothing, except to collect her check and other emoluments at the month’s end for which she gather hints pleasant to the ears of her masters,” a GAC source hinted. “If we have little quiet today, tomorrow is commotion often authored by this lady.”
In her latest show of brouhaha, according to our sources, Madam Tubman and her “NGO” [Women Never Got Old] pals verbally and emotionally attacked Auditor General John Morlu at ceremonies marking President Sirleaf’s presentation of the State of the Nation Address before the 52nd Legislature on Monday. The source further said when the Elizabeth-led cabal’s whispers of “GAC-Corrupt” invectives could not attract much attention in the hall where the President was delivering her speech, they reinvigorated themselves outside the hall scoring the goal they had sought: many passersby and bystanders gave them audience as they shouted on the top of their voices, “GAC Corrupt; Morlu Corrupt”.
The GAC Deputy Auditor-General took her new assignment at the Commission with a backlog of fiscally indiscipline credentials. The fraudulent case was about some “eat-so-eat-so” scheme that Madam Tubman engaged in as she took office at the GAC. In taking office, a source divulged, she had a gracious offer from Government via the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to pay her “transitional” emolument. But Tubman did not inform the GAC. She rather chose to put pressure on the GAC which bowed with some US$1,500 monthly.
Caught pants down, sources say Madam Tubman was asked to refund monies taken from GAC while at the same time receiving another “eating” from the UNDP. Apparently her “eat-so-eat-so” has passed on with impunity. As if Madam Tubman and colleagues’ onslaught on Morlu at the Annual Message ceremony was not sufficient, they drove to the premises of the GAC a day or two later and used car-parking claims to unleash another round of invectives.
The Deputy AG insisted parking on a spot reserved for the Auditor-General despite being persuaded by guards to use an alternative spot traditionally reserved for D/AG/Adm. The guards’ counsel, eyewitnesses said, enraged Madam Tubman and her peers who were seen panting in anger and stampeded with insults and other acts of discourtesy that attracted swarms of onlookers.
The stampede-breakers called in their contacts who sent a band of police officers. Without much ceremony, the officers commandeered the park-signs before the GAC and made away with them.
Except God intervene, one source said, the TRC would soon break into two factions, engulfed in commotion which detractors of the Commission might use to further discredit and annihilate it. “As long this lady is around she shall work to ensure her espionage mandate is achieved,” the source said. “And there is little or nothing authority at GAC cannot do because it is President Sirleaf who commissioned her and it is at her way and will and pleasure Madam Tubman is serving.”
If the GAC cracks, the source said, it would be joining the fate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which is nursing the wounds of the policy of political espionage and thuggery.
In the wake of the rancor at the GAC, reports have it that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has called for the reprimand of the women that had assaulted the Auditor General of Liberia after a probe has proven then liable. But the General Auditing Commission of Liberia has rejected calls by Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for a probe into the incident which followed the President’s State of the Nation address on Monday, leading to an assault on the Auditor General, John S. Morlu by Morlu’s deputy, Matu Tubman and two other women.
Reports have indicated that Sirleaf has asked the various ministries to punish the women who allegedly assaulted the Auditor General on Monday. The President has called for an investigation between Ms. Elizabeth Martu Tubman, and the GAC security.
The decision by Sirleaf is hardly acceptable to the Auditor General and auditors at the GAC who call on the President to take action as her call for probe is “unacceptable” to them. The accused Mrs. Tubman of leading a gang of women to attack the AG who eyewitnesses say did not retaliate during the incident. The assault on Morlu was curbed through the swift intervention of Moses Kollie and former Minister of State, Morris Dukuly.
President was notified
Already, it has been reported that the GAC has notified the President and the Executive Mansion; that the incident was witnessed by several people and seen in broad day light and a probe now would only lead to a waste of time for the “apparently a clear cut incident”. Ms. Tubman, and the women, following the Monday incident, again assault the Auditor General and other staff of the GAC on Tuesday, when Ms. Tubman and band of women reportedly stormed the GAC’s offices and launched the new round of assault.
The GAC has described Ms. Tubman’s actions as a “calculated plan” to obstruct and undermine the work of the GAC and to humiliate the Auditor General. During the President’s State of the Nation address Monday, Tubman reportedly insisted on parking her vehicle in the space reserved for the Auditor General. The incident according to Morlu, made him thirty minutes late for an important EGRIP meeting at the Ministry of Finance.
For Morlu, the incident raises serious questions about the support he is receiving from the administration. The AG a media outlet recently that he wondered why Tubman and her peers showed up at his place of work; after attacking him at the State of the Nation's Address? “It is calculated. It was planned. It could have been directed, because of their boldness to attack an AG and the entire GAC staff. Who is providing them backing? You are the appointing power, and tangible action is needed. Again, Morris Dukuly and Hon. Kollie witnessed the entire incident at the Capitol.”
'Will Not be Swept Under the Carpet'
According to Morlu, the staff of the GAC has been attacked in the past and nothing has been done by the government to protect him, and his staff of the GAC. “This attack on me at the State of the Nation Address by a gang of women put together by Deputy AG Martu Tubman will not be swept under the carpet by an expanded and unnecessary investigation, because the facts are so glaring with even the Government admitting that I was unduly harassed. The Minister of State McClain, and DG of the CSA know the facts, because the DG has spoken to Mr. Dukuly.”
Morlu says he has informed the President, that he has already informed the Minister of Justice, that he reserves the right to self defense against these types of attacks. However, he continues to exercise the maximum patience, as he and his staff of the GAC has come under attack. “I cannot take anymore!,” Morlu declared.
In the wake of the incident Morlu says, he does not see how he and Ms. Tubman can ever work in the same building. “This issue will not be watered down by an expanded investigation. Demonstrable inaction on the part of the Government to take swift and reputable actions against these kinds of attacks against me, and the GAC is increasing the risk of more unprovoked attacks, which is affecting the morale of the staff of the GAC. They are all concluding that it is likely supported by the Mansion, which you have been assured that it is not the case. I like to continue to believe that is the case,” Morlu declared Thursday.
Wife, family fears for safety
Morlu said his wife and family are concerned for his safety in Liberia, and the incident has dampen his resolve to even consider renewing his contract to stay in Liberia beyond the three-year mandate. “Truly, I have reached the end of this whole attack. I cannot tolerate it any longer. I just came to Liberia to do a piece of job. If they want to take GAC back to the days of compromised audits and continue the looting of state coffers, I will not be a part of it. This Nation needs to move forward responsibly to respond to the needs of its people, rather than the perceived continued support to disorderly behavior by highly placed Government officials who will leave their places of work, to join another person to attack and undermine the work of others."
The AG asserted that he has never been an enemy of the Sirleaf Government, and only came at the President's request to help improve accountability and transparency. "However, the uncontrolled, planned and escalated attacks and threats against me, and the staff of the GAC was not a part of the deal. But I am the real target of so many of these people,” the AG said.
Morlu said it is highly likely that if it was him who had attacked and threatened the women, he would have been immediately ordered arrested and imprisoned. “For instance, I was accused of breaking a US$50 glass door and was prevented from leaving this country to see my wife and children for Christmas. I would have been probably sent to the "Gulag" for attacking and threatening other government officials at the President’s State of the Nation Address. But since it is against me, they are walking free.”
Morlu said in any event, if swift action is not taken against Ms. Tubman and her gang of unruly women who attacked him at the State of the Nation Address, and followed it up with another attack at my office of work, then he would have to seek legal redress in the Courts. “There are many ways to scheme to get me out of this position and this country, so that they can carry on the “business as usual” you're trying to end. Attacks and threats on my personhood is not a viable option. GAC must not be turned into another GRC, TRC, and Transport Ministry etc confusion was or is the order of the day.
As long as I am AG, Mr. insisted, I will resist any attempt by people like Ms. Tubman and her gang of women to undermine the work and integrity of the GAC. No expanded investigation is needed, when the facts are so glaring. It is not proper to shift blame on the GAC security. How will any Cabinet Minister feel, if his or her undermen decided one day to insist that he or she park their vehicle in the space reserved for them, a day after the same minister was attacked by the same women?”
The incident comes as Morlu, in recent weeks has been winning praise from the U.S. government. Both the United States Ambassador to Liberia Linda Greenfield, and Mr. Gene L. Dodaro Comptroller General of the General Accountability Office(GAO), the Supreme Audit Institution in the United States have heralded the GAC for fighting fraud and waste in Liberia.
Pres. Sirleaf must decisively act
Greenfield, in a meeting with Morlu this week said she was greatly impressed and deeply overwhelmed with the high level of performance of the Auditor General in the fight against fraud, waste, abuse of resources, graft and fiscal improprieties. The incident also comes as the Department of International Development (DIFID),based in Great Britain announced that it has paid the arrears of the General Auditing Commission (GAC) to the African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions of English Speaking Countries(INTOSAI), thereby making the GAC a full-fledged and active member of AFROSAI-E.
The payment of the arrears, over US$45,000.00 accumulated over the years is a notable gesture on the part of DIFID, something which smoothens GAC ‘s relations and demonstrates its active and increasing participation on promoting independence and collaboration amongst international auditing institutions.
For Morlu, in the wake of this week’s incident, it is crucial for President Sirleaf to put her foot down and put her friends in check. “Their attacks were surreal because it was unprovoked. I believe I have never met or crossed paths with these women, except for their ring leader Ms. Tubman. They must not exploit their relationship with the President, - or anyone else in the Mansion to attack and threaten other people,” the AG concluded.
The TRC melancholy
Another pivotal state institution that has been radiating with symptoms of political espionage and thuggery is the Truth & Reconciliation Commission probing Liberia’s social, economic and political aberrations between 1979 or even beyond and 2003. The advent of the TRC, coupled with its operations, has been encumbered by external, though national, influences that are nearly wrecking the essence and gains of the Commission.
In-fighting between and amongst commissioners and feuds between the Commission and other state structures, particularly the office of the President, has been the order of things characterizing the modus operandi of the TRC. Some analysts believe that the malaise facing the TRC is a grand scheme by high national powers to de-venerate this all-important commission and render it unpopular and useless in the hope that their deeds during the period being probed are left unexcavated for the sake of impunity.
However regarded with contempt by some pundits who believe the Commission’s autonomy from other powerful structures and officials of government is questionable and compromised, the TRC has shown some juice and muscles that nearly contradict pundits’ opinion. Mid last year, the TRC mustered the courage and accused elements in the office of President Sirleaf of interfering with the work of the Commission in trying to establish the authenticity of allegations of war crimes committed by folksinger Michael Davies, alias Sundaygar Dearboy.
Michael is a praise-singer of President Sirleaf. Investigation conducted by journalists and the TRC in a couple of villages in Grand Bassa County uncovered gross violation of human rights and war crimes allegedly committed by the pro-Sirleaf singer during the civil conflict. When the TRC was about to appraise the reports, the Executive Mansion attempted to counterbalance the investigation with pro-Dearboy maneuverings which the Commission found offensive and strongly reacted to at the time.
The TRC also proved it had teeth to bite when it angrily reacted to Justice Minister Philip Banks’ “legal advice” urging President not to stand before the TRC. Banks had cited fear of mob action against President Sirleaf and Article of 61 of the Liberian Constitution as grounds for dissuading the President to appear.
But the TRC, amongst other things, asserted that Banks’ opinion, “stretching the limits of Article 61 of the Constitution of Liberia to include the LTRC, a non judicial, truth-seeking, reconciliation and peace building institution, advising the exclusion of the President of Liberia’s testimony from the LTRC process on matters unrelated to the Presidency from 1979 to 2003, is, in the least, disappointing and appears analogous to and indistinguishable from dishonesty.”
President Sirleaf herself has been evasive in meeting the TRC’s request to appear and testify openly. The TRC members, or some of them, have been in fist fight and quarrels that draw the dichotomy of so-called Execution Mansion-controlled commissioners and anti-establishment commissioners. The dichotomy is becoming clearer by the day as acrimonies linger between two camps of commissioner over the release of TRC’s preliminary reports.
One camp headed by Chairman Jerome Verdier submitted the first volume of report with recommendations for criminal prosecution of perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but another camp of four has objected on grounds that the recommendations were not product of consensus amongst all commissioners.
A similar brew surfaced again when the President’s appearance before the TRC in camera became an issue. TRC source hinted Public Agenda that there are commissioners who usually swallow every gesture of the president and seek to impose same on other members of the TRC. “We must be thankful that there are some good Liberians on the TRC who are independent-minded; otherwise, the TRC would have since been a President’s surrogate commission,” said a TRC source who does not want to be named. “Here, we have the President’s eyes and ears. I am sure they are here. What I don’t know is whether they are acting on the order or commission of the President.”
Malaise of Other Critical Voices
The GAC and the TRC, however principal targets of the resurgence of political espionage and thuggery, are not the only groups in the furnace. A number of private individuals and organizations are also being sweltered by the planted confidantes and thugs to monitor and demean.
The head of a civil society organization, who begged not to be named in print because he would alarm at the appropriate moment in the near future, said he suspects powerful political forces are acting against his advocacy campaign.
“What I notice is that deliberate efforts are being made to frighten some of our donors and partners as a form of strangulation,” the said. “I notice that some of my funders are backing away without any tangible excuse, even though they told me in confidence that I should tune down my aggressive advocacy. At times I get anonymous calls from people who disclose my next moves as if there were insiders here that feed the big powers with information.”
Courtesy of Public ADENDA
The Liberian parlance, “Monkey does not leave behind its black hands” is difficult to disprove when it is analogized with the Liberian politician’s ingrained tendency of bullying critical voice into absolute submission, this was how the Public Agenda newspaper started its analysis of the resurgence of political thuggery. The topic sentence or thesis statement of this article by the paper was not mistaken. In the past, political actors that have found themselves in leadership position have used the scare-tactics of bullying opponents or those critical of them was the modus operandi from the days of the foundation of Liberian politics – heightened during the tubmanic era and then peaked at during Taylor’s civil-military regime that phased out 2003 August. This kind of tactics was a way of obliterating critics and, at most, driving them into exile so that they perpetuate themselves into power without criticism against the odds of their regimes. At this tactics, dissenting voice often comes overtly and brutally; but it also comes subtly and covertly, or by means of the combination of both. The manner and form notwithstanding diverse, there is one thing that almost always stands in every case: no Liberian leader lets challengers of the Presidency survive without deep bruises either inflicted by him/herself or his/her commissioned thugs and spies as the situation seems to be resurfacing at the General Auditing Commission (GAC), the Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC and other domains of the government.
The Brevity of This Vicious Political Trait’s Evolution
The country’s 18th President, Tubman, constructed the architecture for political intimidation, coercion and annihilation in the country. He spread his despotic tentacles across the country via “Public Relations Officers (PRO)” who were actually secret agents that gathered true or false intelligences for his ear and action.
Once Tubman lent ears and eyes on hints from his intra-governmental or intra-national espionage network, he got into action and effectively subdued the target. The 27-tenured President left the traits so entrenched that his successors imbibed them. Tolbert, however his noted liberal deportments, hardly uprooted Tubman and True Whig Party’s secret cells and fanatics whose information to the President was sufficient ground for governmental action.
President Samuel Doe maximized the trait via his Krahn-dominated Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SATU) and other military and paramilitary forces who worked both covertly and overly to feed the Presidency with the real or perceived maneuvers of opponents and critics. And Doe hardly ignored their reports on his and government’s perceived and real opponents within and without.
Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor, probably the luckiest of all--lucky because he’s having his day in court to answer to entrenched culture of political thuggery and espionage--is also on record fielding partisans, well-wishers and other extremists to contain, if not liquidate, dissenting voices.
The Hereditary Traits Hit Ellen
Beyond all the pretenses camouflaged by rhetoric, there seethes a fury of political and bureaucratic intolerance and hate within Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and/or her administration--the same intolerance and hate that historically and characteristically provide the composts that give growth to the culture of political espionage and thuggery in the country. Probably mortified by past appellation of human rights and pro-democratic advocate and by the fact that the administration does not command an active military force of its own, coupled with the overwhelming presence of the rights-obsessed international community, Sirleaf and most of her officials are constrained to keep the hereditary traits of political intolerance and hate highly discreet and disguised.
Nonetheless, monkey can hardly leave behind its black hands, the ripples of political espionage and thuggery are growing visibly with time under the Sirleaf leadership. And the new tactic is to disfigure and render inconsequential any individual or group within or without government who, even those standing on the pedestal of its own transformation policy for proving to be tough and dissenting on the modus operandi of Government in general and the presidency in particular.
The most recent targets are the government’s own progenies--the General Auditing Commission (GAC) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)--which have variously come under and been enduring devastating presidential maneuvers. One longtime political pundit states, “As it had been under past authoritarian regimes, so it is under the Sirleaf administration: firstly, commission aficionados, often within the same organization, to keep surveillance on the principal targets and leak every trace of non-conformity; and secondly, if the result is difficult to come by, use thugs to unleash provocative venoms.”
The GAC Malaise
The GAC is currently wobbling in the furnace of the onslaught and is endeavoring to salvage itself from political espionage and thuggery. In less than a week recently, the physical attack increased on the Commission: office vehicle damaged, senior official’s home burglarized and another senior official brutalized.
Since the transfer of Elizabeth Tubman from the Ministry of Finance, where she headed the BGA Section, the Commission continues to witness intermittent disquiet owing to what some staff there call her “espionage” tactics a the GAC. According to a source who does not want to appear in print, the planting of Elizabeth at the Commission, believed to be a daughter of President William Tubman, was perhaps an ideal placement not only because the transferee must have been carrying the espionage-thuggery trait of her father, but also because the GAC and its head were about to produce audit reports that might leave far-reaching political implication for the transferor, President Sirleaf.
It is not clear how the presidential maneuvering have been paying off, though there were reports recently that a trumped-up and obscure pressure group, Movement for the Downtrodden Masses, got access to deliberately abridged GAC financial reports sent to the Ministry of Finance and subsequently exploited the leaked documents to rain disparaging comments on the Commission.
Probably just mere social hoodlum and professional misfit, the source said, Madam Tubman has so far limited her job at the GAC to fomenting hullabaloos and trading chitchats between the Commission and her assignors for which sources say she snatches US$2,000 monthly.
The issue of professional misfit of Madam Tubman was since raised at the Ministry of Finance by ex-Assistant Minister for Expenditure, Aletha K. Brown, who wrote a memorandum of December 5, 2007 questioning the professional capacity of the subject. The quality of quarterly reports supervised and submitted by the then Director-General of the Bureau of General Accounting (BGA) for review, according to the Browne memo, required weeks of additional work to get her handiwork tidy up.
“We are particularly concerned about the disruption this level of our involvement in the work of the BGA is causing our office,” Browne’s memo further states. “Clearly, there are issues of capacity that need to be addressed.” The GAC Deputy Auditor General for Administration, Madam Elizabeth, confessed to her incapacity problem in a memo to Auditor General John Morlu, a copy obtained by Public Agenda.
“This is in reference to your memo dated 15 May 2008, giving me the responsibility to prepare four proposals for your review and onward submission to the World Bank and EU,” she wrote in the memo dated May 28, 2008. “I do not have the technical skill in writing project proposals, therefore, it will be prudent to hire a expert [sic] or select someone in our organization who has the technical skill, and I will be more than happy to work on the team.”
GAC sources begging for anonymity for fear of reprisal say the assignment of Madam Tubman by Madam Sirleaf at the GAC is epitome of pension scheme for the former first family member. “The lady does nothing, except to collect her check and other emoluments at the month’s end for which she gather hints pleasant to the ears of her masters,” a GAC source hinted. “If we have little quiet today, tomorrow is commotion often authored by this lady.”
In her latest show of brouhaha, according to our sources, Madam Tubman and her “NGO” [Women Never Got Old] pals verbally and emotionally attacked Auditor General John Morlu at ceremonies marking President Sirleaf’s presentation of the State of the Nation Address before the 52nd Legislature on Monday. The source further said when the Elizabeth-led cabal’s whispers of “GAC-Corrupt” invectives could not attract much attention in the hall where the President was delivering her speech, they reinvigorated themselves outside the hall scoring the goal they had sought: many passersby and bystanders gave them audience as they shouted on the top of their voices, “GAC Corrupt; Morlu Corrupt”.
The GAC Deputy Auditor-General took her new assignment at the Commission with a backlog of fiscally indiscipline credentials. The fraudulent case was about some “eat-so-eat-so” scheme that Madam Tubman engaged in as she took office at the GAC. In taking office, a source divulged, she had a gracious offer from Government via the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to pay her “transitional” emolument. But Tubman did not inform the GAC. She rather chose to put pressure on the GAC which bowed with some US$1,500 monthly.
Caught pants down, sources say Madam Tubman was asked to refund monies taken from GAC while at the same time receiving another “eating” from the UNDP. Apparently her “eat-so-eat-so” has passed on with impunity. As if Madam Tubman and colleagues’ onslaught on Morlu at the Annual Message ceremony was not sufficient, they drove to the premises of the GAC a day or two later and used car-parking claims to unleash another round of invectives.
The Deputy AG insisted parking on a spot reserved for the Auditor-General despite being persuaded by guards to use an alternative spot traditionally reserved for D/AG/Adm. The guards’ counsel, eyewitnesses said, enraged Madam Tubman and her peers who were seen panting in anger and stampeded with insults and other acts of discourtesy that attracted swarms of onlookers.
The stampede-breakers called in their contacts who sent a band of police officers. Without much ceremony, the officers commandeered the park-signs before the GAC and made away with them.
Except God intervene, one source said, the TRC would soon break into two factions, engulfed in commotion which detractors of the Commission might use to further discredit and annihilate it. “As long this lady is around she shall work to ensure her espionage mandate is achieved,” the source said. “And there is little or nothing authority at GAC cannot do because it is President Sirleaf who commissioned her and it is at her way and will and pleasure Madam Tubman is serving.”
If the GAC cracks, the source said, it would be joining the fate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which is nursing the wounds of the policy of political espionage and thuggery.
In the wake of the rancor at the GAC, reports have it that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has called for the reprimand of the women that had assaulted the Auditor General of Liberia after a probe has proven then liable. But the General Auditing Commission of Liberia has rejected calls by Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for a probe into the incident which followed the President’s State of the Nation address on Monday, leading to an assault on the Auditor General, John S. Morlu by Morlu’s deputy, Matu Tubman and two other women.
Reports have indicated that Sirleaf has asked the various ministries to punish the women who allegedly assaulted the Auditor General on Monday. The President has called for an investigation between Ms. Elizabeth Martu Tubman, and the GAC security.
The decision by Sirleaf is hardly acceptable to the Auditor General and auditors at the GAC who call on the President to take action as her call for probe is “unacceptable” to them. The accused Mrs. Tubman of leading a gang of women to attack the AG who eyewitnesses say did not retaliate during the incident. The assault on Morlu was curbed through the swift intervention of Moses Kollie and former Minister of State, Morris Dukuly.
President was notified
Already, it has been reported that the GAC has notified the President and the Executive Mansion; that the incident was witnessed by several people and seen in broad day light and a probe now would only lead to a waste of time for the “apparently a clear cut incident”. Ms. Tubman, and the women, following the Monday incident, again assault the Auditor General and other staff of the GAC on Tuesday, when Ms. Tubman and band of women reportedly stormed the GAC’s offices and launched the new round of assault.
The GAC has described Ms. Tubman’s actions as a “calculated plan” to obstruct and undermine the work of the GAC and to humiliate the Auditor General. During the President’s State of the Nation address Monday, Tubman reportedly insisted on parking her vehicle in the space reserved for the Auditor General. The incident according to Morlu, made him thirty minutes late for an important EGRIP meeting at the Ministry of Finance.
For Morlu, the incident raises serious questions about the support he is receiving from the administration. The AG a media outlet recently that he wondered why Tubman and her peers showed up at his place of work; after attacking him at the State of the Nation's Address? “It is calculated. It was planned. It could have been directed, because of their boldness to attack an AG and the entire GAC staff. Who is providing them backing? You are the appointing power, and tangible action is needed. Again, Morris Dukuly and Hon. Kollie witnessed the entire incident at the Capitol.”
'Will Not be Swept Under the Carpet'
According to Morlu, the staff of the GAC has been attacked in the past and nothing has been done by the government to protect him, and his staff of the GAC. “This attack on me at the State of the Nation Address by a gang of women put together by Deputy AG Martu Tubman will not be swept under the carpet by an expanded and unnecessary investigation, because the facts are so glaring with even the Government admitting that I was unduly harassed. The Minister of State McClain, and DG of the CSA know the facts, because the DG has spoken to Mr. Dukuly.”
Morlu says he has informed the President, that he has already informed the Minister of Justice, that he reserves the right to self defense against these types of attacks. However, he continues to exercise the maximum patience, as he and his staff of the GAC has come under attack. “I cannot take anymore!,” Morlu declared.
In the wake of the incident Morlu says, he does not see how he and Ms. Tubman can ever work in the same building. “This issue will not be watered down by an expanded investigation. Demonstrable inaction on the part of the Government to take swift and reputable actions against these kinds of attacks against me, and the GAC is increasing the risk of more unprovoked attacks, which is affecting the morale of the staff of the GAC. They are all concluding that it is likely supported by the Mansion, which you have been assured that it is not the case. I like to continue to believe that is the case,” Morlu declared Thursday.
Wife, family fears for safety
Morlu said his wife and family are concerned for his safety in Liberia, and the incident has dampen his resolve to even consider renewing his contract to stay in Liberia beyond the three-year mandate. “Truly, I have reached the end of this whole attack. I cannot tolerate it any longer. I just came to Liberia to do a piece of job. If they want to take GAC back to the days of compromised audits and continue the looting of state coffers, I will not be a part of it. This Nation needs to move forward responsibly to respond to the needs of its people, rather than the perceived continued support to disorderly behavior by highly placed Government officials who will leave their places of work, to join another person to attack and undermine the work of others."
The AG asserted that he has never been an enemy of the Sirleaf Government, and only came at the President's request to help improve accountability and transparency. "However, the uncontrolled, planned and escalated attacks and threats against me, and the staff of the GAC was not a part of the deal. But I am the real target of so many of these people,” the AG said.
Morlu said it is highly likely that if it was him who had attacked and threatened the women, he would have been immediately ordered arrested and imprisoned. “For instance, I was accused of breaking a US$50 glass door and was prevented from leaving this country to see my wife and children for Christmas. I would have been probably sent to the "Gulag" for attacking and threatening other government officials at the President’s State of the Nation Address. But since it is against me, they are walking free.”
Morlu said in any event, if swift action is not taken against Ms. Tubman and her gang of unruly women who attacked him at the State of the Nation Address, and followed it up with another attack at my office of work, then he would have to seek legal redress in the Courts. “There are many ways to scheme to get me out of this position and this country, so that they can carry on the “business as usual” you're trying to end. Attacks and threats on my personhood is not a viable option. GAC must not be turned into another GRC, TRC, and Transport Ministry etc confusion was or is the order of the day.
As long as I am AG, Mr. insisted, I will resist any attempt by people like Ms. Tubman and her gang of women to undermine the work and integrity of the GAC. No expanded investigation is needed, when the facts are so glaring. It is not proper to shift blame on the GAC security. How will any Cabinet Minister feel, if his or her undermen decided one day to insist that he or she park their vehicle in the space reserved for them, a day after the same minister was attacked by the same women?”
The incident comes as Morlu, in recent weeks has been winning praise from the U.S. government. Both the United States Ambassador to Liberia Linda Greenfield, and Mr. Gene L. Dodaro Comptroller General of the General Accountability Office(GAO), the Supreme Audit Institution in the United States have heralded the GAC for fighting fraud and waste in Liberia.
Pres. Sirleaf must decisively act
Greenfield, in a meeting with Morlu this week said she was greatly impressed and deeply overwhelmed with the high level of performance of the Auditor General in the fight against fraud, waste, abuse of resources, graft and fiscal improprieties. The incident also comes as the Department of International Development (DIFID),based in Great Britain announced that it has paid the arrears of the General Auditing Commission (GAC) to the African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions of English Speaking Countries(INTOSAI), thereby making the GAC a full-fledged and active member of AFROSAI-E.
The payment of the arrears, over US$45,000.00 accumulated over the years is a notable gesture on the part of DIFID, something which smoothens GAC ‘s relations and demonstrates its active and increasing participation on promoting independence and collaboration amongst international auditing institutions.
For Morlu, in the wake of this week’s incident, it is crucial for President Sirleaf to put her foot down and put her friends in check. “Their attacks were surreal because it was unprovoked. I believe I have never met or crossed paths with these women, except for their ring leader Ms. Tubman. They must not exploit their relationship with the President, - or anyone else in the Mansion to attack and threaten other people,” the AG concluded.
The TRC melancholy
Another pivotal state institution that has been radiating with symptoms of political espionage and thuggery is the Truth & Reconciliation Commission probing Liberia’s social, economic and political aberrations between 1979 or even beyond and 2003. The advent of the TRC, coupled with its operations, has been encumbered by external, though national, influences that are nearly wrecking the essence and gains of the Commission.
In-fighting between and amongst commissioners and feuds between the Commission and other state structures, particularly the office of the President, has been the order of things characterizing the modus operandi of the TRC. Some analysts believe that the malaise facing the TRC is a grand scheme by high national powers to de-venerate this all-important commission and render it unpopular and useless in the hope that their deeds during the period being probed are left unexcavated for the sake of impunity.
However regarded with contempt by some pundits who believe the Commission’s autonomy from other powerful structures and officials of government is questionable and compromised, the TRC has shown some juice and muscles that nearly contradict pundits’ opinion. Mid last year, the TRC mustered the courage and accused elements in the office of President Sirleaf of interfering with the work of the Commission in trying to establish the authenticity of allegations of war crimes committed by folksinger Michael Davies, alias Sundaygar Dearboy.
Michael is a praise-singer of President Sirleaf. Investigation conducted by journalists and the TRC in a couple of villages in Grand Bassa County uncovered gross violation of human rights and war crimes allegedly committed by the pro-Sirleaf singer during the civil conflict. When the TRC was about to appraise the reports, the Executive Mansion attempted to counterbalance the investigation with pro-Dearboy maneuverings which the Commission found offensive and strongly reacted to at the time.
The TRC also proved it had teeth to bite when it angrily reacted to Justice Minister Philip Banks’ “legal advice” urging President not to stand before the TRC. Banks had cited fear of mob action against President Sirleaf and Article of 61 of the Liberian Constitution as grounds for dissuading the President to appear.
But the TRC, amongst other things, asserted that Banks’ opinion, “stretching the limits of Article 61 of the Constitution of Liberia to include the LTRC, a non judicial, truth-seeking, reconciliation and peace building institution, advising the exclusion of the President of Liberia’s testimony from the LTRC process on matters unrelated to the Presidency from 1979 to 2003, is, in the least, disappointing and appears analogous to and indistinguishable from dishonesty.”
President Sirleaf herself has been evasive in meeting the TRC’s request to appear and testify openly. The TRC members, or some of them, have been in fist fight and quarrels that draw the dichotomy of so-called Execution Mansion-controlled commissioners and anti-establishment commissioners. The dichotomy is becoming clearer by the day as acrimonies linger between two camps of commissioner over the release of TRC’s preliminary reports.
One camp headed by Chairman Jerome Verdier submitted the first volume of report with recommendations for criminal prosecution of perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but another camp of four has objected on grounds that the recommendations were not product of consensus amongst all commissioners.
A similar brew surfaced again when the President’s appearance before the TRC in camera became an issue. TRC source hinted Public Agenda that there are commissioners who usually swallow every gesture of the president and seek to impose same on other members of the TRC. “We must be thankful that there are some good Liberians on the TRC who are independent-minded; otherwise, the TRC would have since been a President’s surrogate commission,” said a TRC source who does not want to be named. “Here, we have the President’s eyes and ears. I am sure they are here. What I don’t know is whether they are acting on the order or commission of the President.”
Malaise of Other Critical Voices
The GAC and the TRC, however principal targets of the resurgence of political espionage and thuggery, are not the only groups in the furnace. A number of private individuals and organizations are also being sweltered by the planted confidantes and thugs to monitor and demean.
The head of a civil society organization, who begged not to be named in print because he would alarm at the appropriate moment in the near future, said he suspects powerful political forces are acting against his advocacy campaign.
“What I notice is that deliberate efforts are being made to frighten some of our donors and partners as a form of strangulation,” the said. “I notice that some of my funders are backing away without any tangible excuse, even though they told me in confidence that I should tune down my aggressive advocacy. At times I get anonymous calls from people who disclose my next moves as if there were insiders here that feed the big powers with information.”
Courtesy of Public ADENDA
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