Source: The Liberian Journal
A US-based Liberian financial expert has praised Liberian senators Cletus Wotorson of Grand Kru County, Jewel Howard-Taylor of Bong County, and Sumo Kupee of Lofa County, for championing the Dual Citizenship Bill that is currently in committee room under discussion.
Austin Fallah said the collective effort of these lawmakers demonstrates their concerns for Liberians in the Diaspora, who did not leave Liberia out of their own accord, but rather to seek safety and prosperity for themselves and their motherland.
In a press release issued Thursday, Oct.29, Fallah spoke highly of the senators and noted that they showed leadership and patriotism, and must therefore be commended by all well-meaning Liberians, both at home and abroad.
Fallah said if the proposed legislation passes the senate, as promised by the three senators and meets the concurrence of the House, many Liberians will have the opportunity to participate in the upcoming elections and make their presence felt.
He called on members of the House of Representatives to concord with the Senate to pass the Bill once it is submitted to their chamber, so as to ensure that Liberians living abroad fully participate in the development of their common patrimony.
He told Liberians not to treat their fellow countrymen as outsiders--who have taken up nationalities in foreign parts--but as compatriots who have qualified themselves and ready to contribute to the reconstruction of their beloved country.
Fallah frowned on other Liberians who returned home under the guise of making sacrifices, only to underperform, “to the extent that all Liberians in the Diaspora have been sized up in such manner”.
He further said Liberians in foreign lands, who are eager to return home to make positive impact on the lives of Liberians, should be given the chance and opportunity to do so, pointing out “statistics have shown that Diaspora Liberians continue to be an integral part of the social and economic well being of the nation through remittances wired back home to family members on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.”
Fallah, a supervisor at the Financial Analysis and Accounting Department of Hennepin County Government in Minnesota, was recently inducted into the Government Finance Officer Association of the United States and Canada, and subsequently placed on the Special Review Committee responsible, to analyze financial statements of local and state governments.