Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Liberia: Ivorian Government Delegation Presents Special Message to President Sirleaf

Source: All Africa


President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has renewed Liberia's commitment to peaceful co-existence between Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire and within the sub-region. The President reiterated that Liberia will not allow its territory to be used for any insurgency against Cote d'Ivoire or any neighboring country. The President said Liberia will remain vigilant at its borders, ensuring that those who attempt to undermine the security of the sub-region will be dealt with under the laws of the country.

An Executive Mansion release says the President was speaking on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 when a two-man delegation from Cote d'Ivoire delivered a special message from President Alassane Ouattara.

The President assured the delegation that she will continue to exert all efforts to help stabilize the situation in Cote d'Ivoire, allowing all Ivoirians to live in peace and harmony in a democratic environment.

Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire, the President said, are all one people. "We share your plight and concerns; we must therefore do whatever we can to allow peace to return to your country," the current Chair of the Mano River Union told the visiting Ivorian delegation, which also included Mr. Gnamien Konan, the Minister for Public Service & Employment.

The head of the delegation, Mr. Banzio Dagobert, commended the President for her mediation in the Ivorian crisis. He also praised the President for her tolerance and understanding in accommodating Ivorian refugees at the borders. Mr. Dagobert, who now serves as Minister of Youth and Sports & Sanitation, spoke of the President's support for the refugee population in Liberia. He made specific mention of her recent visit to refugee transit points in the Southeast of Liberia, where more than 5,000 Ivoirians have sought refuge. The delegation also lauded the Liberian leader for supporting the stance of ECOWAS and the African Union on the Ivorian crisis.

The delegation later met with inter-agency heads, including the Ministers of Justice and Internal Affairs as well as the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC), Immigration and the Liberia National Police. Representatives from both countries discussed humanitarian and security concerns along the Ivorian-Liberian border, triggered by the influx of refugees fleeing the political crisis in Cote d'Ivoire.

The Ivorian delegation has, meanwhile, extended to President Johnson Sirleaf an invitation to attend the inauguration of President-elect Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, on a date to be announced soon.

The visit by the Ivorian delegation is its first official visit outside Cote d'Ivoire since the capture of President Laurent Gbagbo.

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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 truth – Bernard Gbayee Goah

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