Friday, June 11, 2010

Cancellation Hangs Over Delinquent Concesssion Firms; House Probing

Cancellation Hangs Over Delinquent Concesssion Firms; House Probing

07/11/2010

Source: http://www.frontpageafrica.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=10997&z=3

Monrovia - Following persistent concerns in the public and of late a recent letter under the signature of a ranking member of the House of Representatives Bhofal Chambers to the full plenary of the House of Representatives that some concessions agreements ratified are not living up to the terms of the agreements, the House Committee on Concession and Investment says it will start inviting heads of various concessions that are deemed to be delinquent in living up to the agreements signed with the Liberian government.

House Committee Chairman on Concession and Investment Lofa county Lawmaker Moses Kollie told journalists that the body wants to exercise its role of having oversight on agreements that are signed with various companies in the country.

Kollie warned that the Legislature has multiple options available to it if it observed that the concessionaires concern are showing signs that they lack the capacity to live up to the terms of the agreement.

“We have a lot of concessions that we signed, the president approved and some printed into handbill but we have observed that most of these concessions have actually not been monitored and in some instances have not been committed because every concession agreement is a law. Gentlemen let me make this clear that we are going to be robust as part of our oversight.

As a matter of fact we have serious concern with ADA (African Development Aid). As chairman on concession and Investment, ADA is an embarrassment to this country because we have made some follow-ups and we have seen nothing besides makeshift structures and you also see people squatting in these areas, and so we are going to invite the head of ADA Mr. McIntosh and absolutely we are not going to accept any proxy because normally if you invite him, he will normally sent someone else,” The Lofa County Lawmaker told journalists on capitol Hill Thursday.

Few weeks ago a group of rural forest owners stormed the Capitol Building demanding that the Legislature revisit concessions mainly in the forest sector it signed with these companies. The rural dwellers complained that the companies in question have reneged on the various agreements it signed with the Liberian government by failing to implement various social agreement it said it would do in these communities.

Early this year the man Representing Foyah District in the National Legislature, Eugene Fallah Kparkar complained that the African Development Aid, operating a 30million dollar agreement to produce rice in the northern part of country has neglected the people and was failing on the terms of the agreement.

But the House Committee Chair have said if companies concerns failed on the terms of the agreement, a process of cancellations will start on Capitol Hill.

“We are not going to be embarrassed by anyone. If it is proven that these companies do not have the capacity, we will begin the process of cancellation here because this is a legal process and we are very serious and the Chief Clerk is now preparing the communications for Mr. McIntosh and other including the BRE and Alpha Logging and in fact Alpha Logging has been an embarrassment to this country. We have done an official complain to the FDA because we were in the position of reconditioning the feeder road in Salayeah but they assured the government that they could do that but unfortunately they have failed,” Representative Kollie maintained.

During the last hearing on the ratification of four forest management contracts, Civil Society Activist Silas Saikor told the hearing that nearly all the forest management contracts signed by the government of Liberia with various companies were standing on shaky grounds and warned that it would be dangerous for the government to sign new ones again.

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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 truthBernard Gbayee Goah

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