BY: Abraham M. Keita, VI
We cannot abstain ourselves from writing these harsh words as a critique to Madam Sirleaf?s usual worthless annual message. We will be placed in the pool of backwardness should we not write a critique of President Sirleaf?s rabble-rousing State of the Republic Message that was delivered on Monday, January 26, 2015. Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf disgorged an annual message that is worthless and has no logical & realistic reflection on the lives of our people and cannot unravel current political, economic and social problems our country (Liberia) is going through. Thus, we were not surprised by the recent State of the Nation?s Report by President Sirleaf as she strives to relive herself from the pangs of constitutional violation. Therefore, she had to deliver a perfidious and trashable annual report so as to free herself from constitutional violation.
We know President Sirleaf and her appetite to see our country being economically bankrupt and her quest to see Liberians anguishing. In a country of equal citizenship, many Liberians are feeding from the crump that are falling from the table of bad governance, corruption and economic enslavement, and the chief architect and controller of such table is Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
We would have rather President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf come out and tell the Liberian people what her administration has done in terms of transforming their livelihoods, how many jobs have been created and to what extent corrupt government officials are being prosecuted for siphoning tax-payers money. As a student, who has read world history with clarity and distinction, I know that President Sirleaf is political laggard who dabbles in the pool of contradictions, lies, falsehoods and deceits.
According to Article 58 of the Liberian Constitution of 1986, ?THE PRESIDENT SHALL, ON THE FOURTH WORKING MONDAY IN JANUARY OF EACH YEAR, PRESENT THE ADMINISTRATION?S LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM FOR THE ENSUING SESSION, AND SHALL ONCE A YEAR REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON THE STATE OF THE REPUBLIC?. The yearly reports shall cover income & expenditure and the social programs that the government created and implemented to transform the lives of ordinary Liberians. In adherence to and in reminiscence of this constitutional obligation, President Sirleaf delivered her Annual Message on January 26, 2015 on the grounds of the National Legislature. I must extol her for fulfilling her constitutional right or duty, though the report has no developmental or transformational effect on the Liberian people.
As citizens, we are being forced to counter-argue the President?s Annual Message not on the basics of wanting popularity, but when the report has no positive impact on our country and people. Every Liberian has a cardinal role to play in the determination of national decisions and it is our civic duty to shift a new page onto a new future, and we must make excess use of it now. It is our inalienable right to flag out critical issues when they exist.
The fundamental concept of citizenship is to uphold an endless allegiance to one?s country, and civil critique or engagements on essential national issues.
As a Child/Youth Advocate and a patriotic citizen of Liberia, it is prudent and justifiable to give my critical views on President Sirleaf?s annual message. Please allow me now to counter-argue with an objective criticism and in a civilized manner.
CONSOLIDATING FOR CONTINUITY
The title of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf?s speech sounds hilarious but creates appetites for reading. For each time President Sirleaf speaks about consolidating and continuity, I then retrospect on her two inaugural addresses. The President has turned to be a comedian, that is, for every time she addresses the Nation, she makes Liberians to laugh because of her recycling of words or promises. There have not been and there will be no consolidating for continuity when there exist no reconciliation among our people; not when corruption and nepotism remain President Sirleaf?s best friends; not when over 70% Liberians do not have access to clean pipe-borne water; not when our girls and women are delivering in the streets; not when our sisters & brother are raped and sodomized, not when all of our resources are sold or siphoned and the future generations have nothing for which they can hope! The continuity for authentic development, growth, human capacity building and eradication of poverty, hunger and disease can only be actualized when corruption and nepotism are devastated and more jobs be created for Liberians and when we fulfill our promises, not in words but actions.
AN ILL-CONSTRUCTED PREFACE
When one listens to the president?s introduction that person bursts up into what I called comicality. The President said, ?OUR AGENDA DURING THE COURSE OF THIS YEAR WAS DEFINED VIRTUALLY BY THE EBOLA VIRUS WHICH THREATENED OUR VERY EXISTENCE. OUR HOSPITALS AND CLINICS, AS WELL AS OUR SCHOOLS CLOSED DOWN: PEOPLE RAN AWAY FROM THEIR FAMILIES & HOMES. OUR ECONOMY WAS ON THE VERGE OF COLLAPSE AS OUR CITIZENS AND NATION WERE STIGMATIZED?. It takes only a brain-less individual to believe all that the President said. President Sirleaf argued that our existence was threatened by the Ebola virus only, but she failed to mention that our existence was also threatened by the police & military when they shot at residents in West Point during the government quarantine of that community leaving one person (Shaki Kamara-16yrs old) dead and three other severely injured. If the angry residents in West Point had guns or other weaponries and retaliated, by now, our existence would have been threatened and left in utopia. The President said our schools, clinics and hospitals were closed down. The schools closed down not because of Ebola, but because President Sirleaf wanted to create obstacles in our educational sojourns, while her children and grand children were attending schools in foreign lands and their future were not hindrance. Schools could have remained open had it been that the government was willing to put precautionary measures in place, restrict how many students will sit in a class and supply schools with buckets, chlorine or clorox, faucets, and thermometers. Our hospitals and clinics were closed down not as a result of Ebola, but because President Sirleaf and her cronies wanted to see Liberians dying, anguishing and languishing in the streets as a result of the closure of health facilities to render medical services for other diseases. The government had refused to give health workers their incentives prior to the Ebola outbreak and extended to the period of the outbreak.
We must say BRAVO to President Sirleaf for having placed a moment of silence as a component of her annual message in reminiscence of those who lost their lives as a result of the Ebola virus. The President deliberately failed to mention that Ebola killed thousands of Liberians due to the disintegrated and hazardous condition the health sector is in under her regime.
President Sirleaf insinuated that our economy was on the verge of collapse due to the Ebola outbreak. But, the failed to tell the people of Liberia what was the rate of inflation (which was 6.8%); what was the exchange rate (which was fluctuating between 85-90%); what was house hold income or consumption by percentage shared (which was 10%); and what was the budget deficit (which was 2.7 GDP) prior to Ebola. The government could not sponsor its programs or projects due to corruption, budget indiscipline, and inadequate revenues.
The economy was in the state of collapse even prior to the outbreak of our invincible enemy, the menacing Ebola virus. We experienced three times budget short-falls before Ebola came.
LEGISLATIVE AGENDA: Another mere charade
The President thanked the Legislature for the spirit of cooperation received by the Executive Branch. I do believe the President did not do so on the basics of sincerity but as a result of the Legislators aiding her in ratifying bogus concessions. When the President mentioned the Agenda for Transformation and the National Vision 2030, then I asked my-self, do these two government economic policies still exist? How have they transformed our lives? Has the government been accounting for money received and budgetary allocations made towards the Agenda for Transformation and the National Vision 2030? No! No! No! The National Vision 2030 was or is an economic scheme by President Sirleaf to ensure that Liberia does not transform until after 2030. This means our resources and tax-payers money will be stolen and taken out of our country. As for the agenda for transformation, it is an agenda to make more Liberians to live in perpetual poverty, hunger & disease. President Sirleaf said, she is pleased with the Legislature?s ratification of financial agreements between the Government of Liberia & Export-Import Bank of India, the Kuwait Fund, the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, and the International Development Association of the World Bank. These are all travesties.
The President said, she submitted to the Legislature an amendment to the Mineral Development Agreement among the Government of Liberia, SESA GOA Limited & Bloom Fountain Limited, and a bill to ratify a concession agreement between the GOL and the Liberian Cocoa Cooperation. She said, this agreement will create more employment opportunities for Liberians. Then, I asked myself, where are the 20,000 jobs that were promised by President Sirleaf? The President commended Aureus Mining for the level of work done. Then, I ask, what are the cooperate-social responsibilities of Aureus Mining? Has Aureus Mining been meeting up with its responsibilities? And, how have the living conditions of the people of Grand Cape Mount County been transformed so far? These are questions that cannot be answer.
The President said, she will be submitting additional bills for Legislative passage. One of these bills will be a bill to establish an Energy Law to govern the energy sector. We welcome this move, but again, with the separate laws governing the energy sector (the Liberian Electricity Cooperation and the Rural & Renewable Energy Agency?s laws), how have the energy sector been shifted in the positive dimension? What I am simply saying is that, a single law cannot govern the entire energy sector when there are existing laws governing separate energy agencies without transformation.
The President wants a bill out lining procedures for the exercise of the Constitutional Authority for Expropriation and a bill creating Criminal Court ?F? for economic crimes of corruption. Let me first deal with the Constitutional Authority for Expropriation?s procedures. The word ?expropriation? means the act of seizing, impounding or confiscating people?s rights or properties. Now, President Sirleaf wants to ensure that there are procedures set-up should in case any Liberian President wants to defy constitutional authority and seize some fundamental rights of citizens. Only tyrants will think on such draconian paths. Our legislators should not be fooled by President Sirleaf?s diction in persuading them to dance to her tune.
CRIMINAL COURT ?F?
It takes only a shameless leader who baths in the pool of corruption, to seek for a special court in handling economic crimes of corruption. The President said, she will be submitting a bill to create Criminal Court ?F? for corruption. President Sirleaf thinks Liberians are hoodwinkers and that we will smile when she talks about this. We will appreciate if President Sirleaf submits her office for auditing. Then, we will be talking about the creation of Criminal Court ?F?. Besides, has Robert Sirleaf been audited since he claimed to have left NOCAL? Where is the over US$300,000 that was taken from two Korean businessmen by Fumba Sirleaf? Has Musa Bility (Head-Liberia Football Association and CEO-Renaissance Communications Inc) submitted himself to the corrupt charges brought against him and Ellen Cockrum? In fact, the President re-emphasized her confidence in Mr. Bility when he was indicted by the General Auditing Commission (GAC). Let Walter Gwenigale (out-going Health Minister) and Min. Amara M. Konneh (Minister of Finance and Development Planning) account for the US$13 million that was given by the European Union to the Ministry of Health. That money unknowingly vanished and both of them did not even know how that money where and how it was spent. If all of these can be done, then, I will concur with President Sirleaf for creating Criminal Court ?F?.
DUAL CITIZENSHIP
For me, I feel it will be a waste of time, energy and resources on crafting a bill allowing dual citizenship since in fact, some Liberians are already dual citizens for Liberia and another country.
ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
President Sirleaf continues to budge an unnecessary blame on the Ebola outbreak for desolating our economy excluding our pre Ebola-status. Over 60% Liberians were living on less than US$1.00 dollar a day. Before Ebola, the rate of inflation was 6.8 percent and exchange rate was between 85-95 percent. We had budgetary short falls for 3 distinct times. The government for many months did not pay health workers their incentives and they were always on strike actions before Ebola.
Prior to the outbreak of Ebola, the government launched a campaign to appeal for international aids, assistance and loans. In fact, civil servants and health workers went on strike actions for many months. How then can she blame the Ebola outbreak for crippling everything? There will always be poor Economic & Financial Performance when President Sirleaf government economic policies are based on ?get rich quick mentality?. Under Robert Sirleaf?s Chairmanship at NOCAL, NOCAL spent US$138, 20% percent of our National Budget (US$138m/US$566m) without accountability. Guided by the World Bank, President Sirleaf credited US$290m from the Central Bank of Liberia contravening the 2009 MPF Budgetary Law, prior to Ebola. This shows that our economy had collapsed prior to this blood-letting and life-terminating virus, Ebola. Under President Sirleaf?s regime (a lady who said she would have rebuilt the Executive Mansion in few weeks if it was destroyed or burnt down), Liberia?s debt stock increased to US$759.46 million, that is even more than our National Budget. This represents 22 percent of our GDP.
President Sirleaf said a total of US$244.2million has been spent on Ebola response. I am challenging the government to provide detailed explanation on where, how when and what this money was spent on. During the heat of Ebola, families were quarantined without food and other materials. The government did not buy over 20 ambulances at its own expenditure. The Indian Community in Liberia, Eco-Bank Liberia, the National Mandingo Caucus of Liberia, the Fula Community in Liberia, and several other non-governmental institutions donated ambulances, food items and PPEs to the government. But, to date, the government cannot account for those things received. In fact, the ambulances and thousands of bags of rice disappeared from the General Services Agency (GSA). Over 100 motorbikes were donated to the government, but they cannot be seen any longer.
NGOs
We must commend the NGOs for their services rendered especially during this hazardous period (Ebola outbreak) in our country history. In fact, during this crisis, the NGOs were more proactive and vigorous than our so-called government.
President Sirleaf wants NGOs to be reporting on their programs, projects especially their finance services. I will agree with President Sirleaf only if she boldly comes out and tells us that her administration is free from corruption. I will be one of the front-liners in support of such idea as soon as she does my request.
COMBATING EBOLA
I want to appreciate the Government and its partners for the level of toughness in combating Ebola. President Sirleaf?s administration is excellent in attracting international partners, and we must commend her for this.
President Sirleaf said, Ebola virtually collapsed our health sector. It is only a coward or a flunky that will believe or make such statement. This speaks to the fact that President Sirleaf is the reservoir of falsehoods/lies. Prior to Ebola, clinics and hospitals, even government hospitals, were not adequately equipped to render medical services. In fact, government officials and well-established families used to go Ghana or the US to seek medical care. Had it been that Liberia had a better health care system, over 3,608 Liberians and178 health workers would not died. Liberians had to die and anguished in the streets due to the wickedness, failure and refusal of this government to revamp our health sector.
President Sirleaf spoke about our health sector, in her annual message, but I do not want to waste my time on it because Ebola speaks volume to the facts.
EDUCATION: A dormant sector
I think President Sirleaf erred, when she said education remains a top priority in her administration. Instead, she actually wanted to have said, corruption is a top priority. The education sector of Liberia is still walloping and galloping in the pool of non-transformation. The country has over 5,181 schools (3,074 public & 2,107 private). If these statistics are accurate and were not made to impress Liberians, then, we must appreciate our government.
The education sector will continue to be a mess for as long as the Ministry of Education lacks the will to monitor and mandate District Education Officers (DEOs) and County Education Officers (CEOs) to effectively evaluate, monitor & supervise schools. The system will remain in mess for as long as sports betting companies (WINNERS, PREMIER, DOXX BET) continue to operate during school periods and rendering their services to students especially under 18yrs; as long as money and sex for grades are still masquerading in the fabric of our society.
President Sirleaf shamelessly claims to be a Harvard graduate and one of the most educated women in the world, yet, her country?s education sector suffers chronic set-back.
CONCLUSION
To conclude, I want to say that only 25 percent of our population has access to clean water and 15 percent has access to sanitation, instead of the 67 percent falsehood that was insinuated by President Sirleaf. President Sirleaf intentionally meant it to have not recognized Hon. Saah Joseph for his tireless and patriotic role he played in the fight against Ebola. I want to recommend to the Government of Liberia especially the Legislature these two recommendations: 1) Ebola Victims Day, a national holiday that will memorialize and immortalize those who died from the Ebola pandemic and those who contracted the virus but became well.
2) Health Workers? Day, a working holiday that health workers will be appreciated and remembered for their services toward mama Liberia.
About the writer: Abraham M. Keita, VI is a young Liberian and a Child Advocate. He lives in West Point with members of his family. Keita became the youngest writer ever and first high school contributor to The Perspective (an online Liberian web), FrontPage Africa-Liberia, SpyGhana (a Ghanaian-based online web) and AwakeAfrica and currently Liberia?s youngest articles? writer. Abraham is still in high school, and can be reached at [email protected] or +231775259248.
