Source: allafrica.com
The Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia (TRC), Counselor Jerome J. Verdier, Sr commends the President of Liberia, H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for withdrawing the nomination of two prominent figures of the Independent Human Rights Commission.
The President’s wise move points to the faultiness of the process leading to the nomination of these individuals and the need to give serious considerations to public interest processes like the human rights commission which will most significantly impact the peace and stability of the nation now and in the future as it strives for genuine reconciliation.
In a release issued today, Cllr Verdier said that “…in all matters involving the greater interest of the people, it is important that the processes are transparent and fair, otherwise the product or the outcome of the process will be faulty and unrepresentative of the best interest of the people in whose interest these processes are instituted.”
Chairman Verdier is urging the Honorable Liberian Senate to closely scrutinize the other nominees to ensure that the best results come out of this very important process. He is convinced that greater scrutiny is essential because the selection process was not transparent and therefore faulty, for reasons that:
1. The Human Rights Commission Act requires that the Chief Justice in consultation with civil society appoints members of the vetting panel to select nominees for the human rights commission. Unfortunately, the vetting panel was constituted by the Chief Justice without broad or public participation of the greater civil society. This resulted to the constitution of a panel of friends and associates in a manner and form less than transparent.
2. The Panel announced that some 200 persons either applied or were recommended for nomination to the Commission but failed to publish the listing of all those who applied or were recommended for the post. The absence of this left the public with no opportunity to vet the process of selection or access the level of independence and objectivity put into the work by the panel. This would have given the public an opportunity to also compare the final selection with the poll of applicants and independently determine whether the final selection was the best of the pool.
Under these circumstances, the process of selection was neither transparent nor credible; it is therefore not surprising that the President was misled into nominating very unsuitable candidates to hold such auspicious offices.
The TRC Chairman then observed that when conducting matters of interest to the public and not the individual, the standards of objectivity, competence and transparency must be at all times upheld over personal and parochial interest.
He further recommended that the Advice of National Security Advisor Dr. H. Boima Fahnbulleh be taken seriously when he said at the TRC Public Hearings that people who hold important public offices should be subject to psychiatry test to determine the extent of their lunacy.
Friday, August 27, 2010
News Headline
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.
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.
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
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
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