Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Liberia: President Sirleaf, Others Halted!


Source: The New Dawn (Monrovia)

Six political parties, including the governing Unity Party and the main opposition Congress for Democratic Change have been summoned by the Supreme Court to appear Tuesday, to answer why a prohibition filed against them by the Movement for Progressive Change or MPC, and a former President of the Press Union of Liberia Abraham Massally should not be granted.

Other parties include the Liberty Party (LP), Liberia Transformation Party (LTP), National Union Democratic Progress (NUDP) and the National Democratic Coalition (NDC).

The Supreme Court has also ordered the National Elections Commission or NEC and the Ministry of Justice to respond accordingly.

All concerned have been told to cease all political activities in the country, pending the outcome of today's hearing.

The action followed a prohibition filed against the NEC by the MPC and Massally for "illegal and unqualified certification" of the Standard Bearers of the six parties, including incumbent President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
The controversy surrounds the 10-year Residency Clause in the Constitution of Liberia, which states under Article 52, "No person shall be eligible to hold the office of President or Vice President, unless that person is:
a) A natural born Liberian citizen of not less than 35 years of age
b) The owner of unencumbered real property valued at not less than twenty-five thousand dollars; and
c) Resident in the Republic ten years prior to his election provided that the President and the Vice President shall not come from the same County."

The Constitution was suspended during the 2005 presidential elections, which Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won in the runoff.

The National Elections Commission had proposed in the August 23, 2011 National Referendum for the reduction of the residency clause by five years, but was rejected at the polls along with the three other propositions. The NEC recently qualified all 15 presidential candidates in the race, including President Sirleaf, to contest for the Presidency.

If the prohibition is granted by the Supreme Court, it could pose a serious setback to the entire electoral process as the NEC has already announced the printing of ballot papers for the October 11 polls.
However, legal experts, including former Solicitor General Tiawan Gongloe, have argued that the Constitution does not say ten years consecutively prior to elections, saying all presidential candidates in the race are qualified under the law.

The NEC will have to defend its action before the highest court.

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 truth – Bernard Gbayee Goah

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