The Analyst Reporter
Source: allAfrica.com
The Chairman of the proposed National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP), has accused some members of the County's legislative Caucus of receiving US$10,000 each as bribe.
Senator Prince Y. Johnson, barely few days after coming under heavy pressure from some of his kinsmen and the general public for not attending the nation's 163rd Independence Day's Celebration held in Nimba County, the chairman of his proposed party has hit back hard on his fellow lawmakers hailing from Nimba for acts of bribery and neglect of the welfare of their people.
Accuses Lawmakers of Tempering With County Development Fund
The Chairman of the proposed National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP), Emmanuel Lomax, making the revelation, accused eight members of the County's legislative Caucus for receiving US$10,000 each as bribe from the US$800,000 Social Development Funds allotted by Mittal Steel for the development of the County.
Mr. Emmanuel Lomax defending Senator Prince Johnson absence from the July 26 Independence Celebration held in Nimba County, alleged that the lawmakers received the amount to prevail on their constituencies for the petitioning of president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for the second term running.
Revealing the information to reporters at the party's headquarters in Old Road , Sinkor, Mr. Lomax said the information provided is one of the main reasons for Senator Johnson's absence during the July 26 festivity.
The NUDP's Chairman in his stunning revelation narrated that the purpose of the rotation of the Independence Day's celebration was basically to have government own development programs that would impact the lives of the people, and to clearly identify projects for the country in line with the national budget which was approved by the legislature. But contrary to this, he said it was very strange to hear that a huge portion of the county's Social Development Funds were used as bribes for the Independence Day program.
He added that Senator Johnson vehemently opposed the usage of the social development funds in such a clandestine and cruel manner, and said it was unfair to use the money that were already earmarked for the purpose of executing projects.
He said the funds were not meant to be used for the Independence Day celebration but for Development of the county, and added that the County Development Funds (CDF) should have squarely gone to other programs outside of the Independence Anniversary festival.
"This is why they are parading the country making noise and challenging Senator Johnson bid for the presidency and other issues. What they needed to addressed is what portion of the national cake was set aside for this celebration, nobody wants to address it because of the inducement" he narrated.
Mr. Lomax also vowed to expose the lawmakers whom he said were not in the interest of the people of Nimba, but were bent on parading and spreading lies and all sorts of negative propaganda against the senator.
"We are going to expose them to the people of Nimba County and let the people know that indeed they were not working in the interest, but rather receiving bribes to circumvent what should have been the fair share for the people" he promised.
Asked as to how he thinks the alleged bribe was acquired, Mr. Lomax responded in a rather rhetorical tone and had the following to say " We need to be mindful about writing resolutions and nurturing our fragile democracy because leaders normally have their own way of giving huge sum of moneys for people to write resolutions and this is exactly what transpired in Sanniquellie" the NUDP's Chairman claimed.
When contacted at his Capitol Hill office on the allegation, District #3 Representative Worlen Saywah Dunah, could neither confirm nor deny but had these few remarks to make "I always told those Lawmakers that we should not use the funds without any budgetary allocation because doing so in my view will not do justice to the people" he said.
Rep. Dunah however agreed that some of the money was used for the Independence celebration and the temporary electrification of the County, pointing out that Senator Johnson was not part of the plan to have the funds disbursed for those purposes.
Meanwhile, the District #3 Rep has disassociated himself from the allegation, and called on the county authority to do a complete and comprehensive audit of the county's Social Development Funds (SDF).
Wednesday, August 4, 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