Saturday, October 23, 2010

Opposition Merger Taking Shape: Brumskine, Weah, Mason in Monrovia Talks

By Precious Seeboe,

Source: FrontPage Africa

COALITION BUILDUP: Progressive icon Dew Mason, left and George Weah of the Congress for Democratic Change emerge from a four-hour meeting at the Rose Garden on Broad Street Friday night. Mason, Weah and Liberty Party’s Charles Brumskine met for the first time since a FrontPageAfrica revelation that both Weah and Brumskine had agreed to join forces and possible for a dream ticket to challenge incumbent Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. FrontPageAfrica has learned that a joint statement is expected to be released to the public Saturday.


Three key opposition forces aligned for four hours Friday in an attempt to solidified a united front in hopes of forming a viable coalition to challenge incumbent Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in next year’s Presidential and Legislative Elections in Liberia.

Liberty Party’s Charles Brumskine, Congress for Democratic Change George Weah and progressive icon Dew Mayson met for the first time since a FrontPageAfrica revelation that both Weah and Brumskine had agreed to join forces and possible dream ticket to challenge Sirleaf.

Liberty Party's Charles Brumskine emerges from the Rose Garden after holding talks with Weah and Mason Friday. Brumskine flew in from Accra, Ghana along with Weah Friday.

Details of the meeting have been sketchy as all sides remain tightlipped emerging out of Friday’s talks at the Rose Garden Building located on Crown Hill Broad Street, which went deep into the evening. Weah, in an earlier appearance at the CDC's headquarters in Congotown sougth to brace his supporters to expect what appears to be the inevitable. "Whatever happens from here on, it is important that all of you turned out to vote."

Prior to the meeting of the trio, both Brumskine and Weah met in the Ghanaian capital Accra before arriving in Monrovia Friday afternoon.

While initial reports suggested that both Weah and Brumskine had agreed for Weah to run number two to Brumskine, sources informed FrontPageAfrica that the final decision on the arrangement is being delayed as efforts are made to incorporated more opposition figures into the equation.

Mayson’s emergence is key. The former head of the National Investment Commission was crucial to the election of Sirleaf in the 2005 presidential elections and is expected to be a major player in the formation of the opposition buildup.

Last week, both Weah and Brumskine agreed that it was important for opposition forces to align and avoid the multiplicity of candidates which hogged the elections in 2005. Said Brumskine after a phone call to Weah last week: "A time for every member of the opposition political community to come together and finally make possible a transition to constitutional democracy. I, therefore, call on all opposition political parties to seize the moment and capitalize on the gift of unity handed to us by one of the opposition’s most renowned champions. We must develop a singleness of purpose, as we proceed during the painstaking process of producing a winnable slate of candidates, platform and strategy for a much desired 2011 victory”.

For Weah, it is all about sacrifice for now. “Each of us who are leaders in the opposition community must be prepared to sacrifice personal ambitions to achieve a single slate of candidates - a more responsible, united and credible alternative for the 2011 elections. Enough time has been spent by each of us pursuing our personal ambitions and objectives while the Liberian people have endured the failed leadership of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. It is time to embark upon a new course for the opposition community and for the country.”

News Headline

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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