Wednesday, August 4, 2010

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE LIBERIAN SENATE

KEEPING THE LIBERIA BUREAU OF MARITIME AFFAIRS HONEST


DEAR Senators

LEAD Liberia admonishes the Liberian Senate to put loyalty to the country above loyalty to government persons, party and/or the Bureau of Maritime Affairs thereby voting against the Maritime Authority Act that was passed by the House of Representatives because it is not in the national interest of our beloved country (Liberia). With prudent research and deliberations on these countries (Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Sierra Leone, etc.) listed in the Bureau of Maritime Affairs argument for an Authority status in Liberia, LEAD Liberia concludes that the Maritime Autonomy Act is not in the national interest of our beloved country (Liberia) for the following reasons shown below.

We admonish the House of Representatives and the Senate to research a bill thereby getting public opinions, especially when the bill is based on comparison with other Countries—instead of just saying “Yes” and/or “No “without considering the impact on our future and the national interest of our beloved country (Liberia)—they should be engaging and educating the Liberian people on proposals that affect their future and the national interest of the country thereby empowering the people through citizens’ participation in government. DO THE RIGHT THING!

The Propose Liberia Maritime Autonomy Act vs. Other Countries Maritime Authority Act

Liberia Maritime Authority Act vs. (Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Sierra Leone etc. Acts)

1. The Liberia Bureau of Maritime Affairs Is Seeking To Be Autonomy Authority.

2. The Countries Above Maritime Authorities Are Not Autonomy.

3. The Liberia Bureau of Maritime Affairs Is Seeking Tenures of Seven Years.

4. The Countries above Maritime Authorities have Tenures of Three to Four Years at the “pleasure of the President Of their Respective Countries”.

5. The Liberia Bureau of Maritime Affairs wants all commissioners to be immune from prosecution in the discharge of their respective duties in a country where corruption, waste and fraud are the directors and governors of the day. No One Is Above The Law.

6. The Countries above Maritime Authorities Directors and/or members are not immune from prosecution in the discharge of their respective duties.

7. The Liberia Bureau of Maritime Affairs Is Seeking to be its own tax collector. (This is the official duty of the Ministry of Finance)

8. The Countries above Maritime Authorities are tax exempt but not tax collectors

9. The Liberia Bureau of Maritime Affairs Is Seeking to have the authority to borrow on behalf of the state for the affairs of the Bureau (This is the official duty of the state—not an agency, ministry, department, commission, bureau, etc.)

10. The Countries above Maritime Authorities have the authority to borrow on behalf of the state for the affairs of the Authority with the consent of the Minister of Finance.

11. The Liberia Bureau of Maritime Affairs wants to be audited with no specific reference to the General Auditing Commission, the country’s supreme auditing body.

12. The Countries above Maritime Authorities have Internal Auditor—however; they are subject to the country’s supreme auditing body every year. (Their fiscal year is the same as the country).

13. The Countries above Maritime Authorities are under the supervision of the Minister of Transport.

14. The Countries above Maritime Authorities Directors and/or Members are appointed by the President of their respective countries with the consent of the National Legislature.

15. The Liberia Bureau of Maritime Affairs Is Seeking 70% percent of the revenue generated by the Liberia ship registration program, while the Liberia Ship and Corporate Registry) manages the administration of ships flying the Liberian flag).

16. The Countries above Maritime Authorities have 50% percent of the revenue generated by the ship registration program, while managing the entire affairs of their respective Maritime Authorities because they do not have existing contracts with other bodies to manage the industry. But Liberia does (The Liberia Ship and Corporate Registry).

Today in Liberia, the Liberian Senate is discussing an act passed by the House of Representatives that will move the Bureau of Maritime Affairs to an Authority status. At a recent appearance before the House of Representatives Committee on Maritime, Committee on Public Procurement and Concession and the Committee on Judiciary, According to Mr. Rodney D. Sieh, FrontPageAfrica.com—Mr. Benoni Urey, the former Commissioner of the Bureau of Maritime Affairs expressed concerns over what he described as unfair revelations that the BMA, post-Urey is looking to accrue for its operational purposes 70 percent of the revenue generated by the Liberian ship registration program.

Mr. Urey contended that countries with Authority status do not really have existing contracts with other bodies to manage the industry. However, Liberia had the “Liberia Ship and Corporate Registry”, which is responsible for the administration of ships flying the Liberian flag. In addition, some observers say the “Maritime Authority Act” has the potential avenue for future conflict, especially when the Board of Directors is not in line with the Commissioner because the Maritime Authority Act does not spell out the powers of the Board. While LEAD Liberia supports Mr. Urey proposal for the Bureau to be elevated to a Ministerial level; we believe the establishment of an Autonomy Maritime Authority and/or Ministry is not in the national interest of our beloved country (Liberia) therefore we are calling upon the Liberian Senate to vote against the Maritime Autonomy Act because loyalty to the country shall be above loyalty to government persons, party and/or the Bureau of Maritime Affairs.

Sincerely,



LEAD Organizing For Liberia

Abraham Hoff, Chief Community Organizer

077384990 leadliberia@yahoo.com

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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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