Saturday, January 30, 2010

Sirleaf’s 2011 Announcement Desecrates Presidency, Says NPP Lewis Brown

Sirleaf’s 2011 Announcement Desecrates Presidency, Says Lewis Brown, National Patriotic Party (NPP)

01/30/2010

SELFISH AMBITION: “What has never been done-well until the recent “report” of the President-is to not just trivialize the important function of the President but also employ the resources of the Liberian state in announcing a wholly selfish political ambition”.  

A staunch member of the former ruling National Patriotic Party (NPP), Lewis Brown has described the recent action by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to use the time allotted for the delivering of the State of the Nation Address to declare for intention to contest a second term of office as a desecration of the office of the President.

Speaking at a news conference in Monrovia Friday, Brown said the action of President Sirleaf did not trivialize the important function of the President but the President also employ state resources to announce her political ambition.

“What has never been done-well until the recent “report” of the President-is to not just trivialize the important function of the President but also employ the resources of the Liberian state in announcing a wholly selfish political ambition”, Brown frowned.

The former Foreign Minister of Liberia observed that since the foundation of the Liberian nation no President has diminished and disfigured the office of President and desecrated the sacredness of the duties assigned like President did on January 25.

“No president, since the foundation of our Republic, has so diminished and disfigured the Office President and desecrated the sacredness of the duties thereunto assigned like President/candidate Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf”, the NPP stalwart declared.

President Sirleaf, Brown asserted has the right like any other Liberian to declare her intention to contest any position in Liberia but said what is troubling is reducing the office of the President for the remaining two her of the current term to a campaign office.

“What is at issue is not the right of a citizen Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to run in 2011. Of course she, like many qualified Liberians, is protected by law to pursue her ambitions. However, what ought to trouble all concerned is that, to the detriment of our fledging democracy, and especially our need for cohesive governance, at least for the next two years, the candidate/president has intentionally reduced the office of President to campaign headquarter, effectively rendering the entire Executive domain, their actions, including the administration of the national budget, as self-seeking and intended to make the candidacy of Madam Johnson-Sirleaf, to choose her word formidable”, the opposition politician observed.

Ellen Must be checked
Brown believes the action by President Sirleaf to use the constitutional time to announce her personal political ambition must not go unchecked to set precedent for future presidents.

“The employment of state resources and the sequestration of the entire government to include the Supreme Court which should be insulated from the intrigues of politics, so as to justly anchor our democracy, to merely further an individual’s political aspiration would have been wrong than and is certainly wrong now. And, is allowed to go unchecked and unaccounted for, we unwittingly participate in corruption the institutions of our government established to serve our national interests”, Brown intimated.

He called on the National legislature to act promptly to what he termed make the Liberian know that they are individuals who stand for principle and upholding of the constitution.

“As the legislature, the candidate/president, in unprecedented fashion may have shattered what residue there may be of the hollowness and sanctity of the legislature Dias. It is left to be seen what courage members of the Legislature will summon not simply to halt the cascading public impression with which their reputations have unfortunately come to be associated but also whether they can even muster the will to retain a modicum of self and institutional respect about what used to be popularly referred to as the First branch of government”, Brown challenged the legislature.

Brown is one of few Liberian opposition politicians that have expressed anger at the action of the President to use the state of the Nation Address to declare her political intention to contest the 2011 elections
 
Samwar S. Fallah, sfallah@FrontPageAfrica.com( 231-077-920-058); Nat Nyuan-Bayjay,nbayjay@frontpageafrica.com (231-77-402-737)

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Inside Liberia with Bernard Gbayee Goah

Everyone is a genius

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – A Einstein

Drawing the line in Liberia

Crimes sponsored, committed, or masterminded by handful of individuals cannot be blamed upon an entire nationality. In this case, Liberians! The need for post-war justice is a step toward lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Liberia. Liberia needs a war crimes tribunal or some credible legal forum that is capable of dealing with atrocities perpetrated against defenseless men, women and children during the country's brutal war. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in Liberia will not produce the intended results. - Bernard Gbayee Goah



Men with unhealthy characters should not champion any noble cause

They pretend to advocate the cause of the people when their deeds in the dark mirror nothing else but EVIL!!
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people - Bernard Gbayee Goah.

If Liberia must move forward ...

If Liberia must move forward in order to claim its place as a civilized nation amongst world community of nations, come 2017 elections, Liberians must critically review the events of the past with honesty and objectivity. They must make a new commitment to seek lasting solutions. The track records of those who are presenting themselves as candidates for the position of "President of the Republic of Liberia" must be well examined. Liberians must be fair to themselves because results from the 2011 elections will determine the future of Liberia’s unborn generations to come - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's greatest problem!

While it is true that an individual may be held responsible for corruption and mismanagement of funds in government, the lack of proper system to work with may as well impede the process of ethical, managerial, and financial accountability - Bernard Gbayee Goah

What do I think should be done?

The situation in Liberia is Compound Complex and cannot be fixed unless the entire system of government is reinvented.
Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption.
Any attempt to institute the system mentioned above in the absence of rule of law is meaningless, and more detrimental to Liberia as a whole - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's Natural Resources
Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.
Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government. The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia needs a proper system
If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else. To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law. To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Solving problems in the absence of war talks

As political instability continues to increase in Africa, it has become abundantly clear that military intervention as a primary remedy to peace is not a durable solution. Such intervention only increases insecurity and massive economic hardship. An existing example which could be a valuable lesson for Liberia is Great Britain, and the US war on terror for the purpose of global security. The use of arms whether in peace keeping, occupation, or invasion as a primary means of solving problem has yield only little results. Military intervention by any country as the only solution to problem solving will result into massive military spending, economic hardship, more fear, and animosity as well as increase insecurity. The alternative is learning how to solve problems in the absence of war talks. The objective of such alternative must be to provide real sustainable human security which cannot be achieved through military arm intervention, or aggression. In order to achieve results that will make the peaceful coexistence of all mankind possible, there must be a common ground for the stories of all sides to be heard. I believe there are always three sides to every story: Their side of the story, Our side of the story, and The truth – Bernard Gbayee Goah

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