Africa-Press – Liberia. President George Weah has ignored calls for the withdrawal of Mr. Darlington Karnley whose aviation credentials have been proven to be fake and he would very soon be facing the Liberian Senate for scrutiny and possible confirmation as Managing Director of the Liberia Airport Authority.
Ahead of his appearance, the President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate has told legislative reporters that the issues reported at the issues confronting the Roberts International Airport are daunting and beyond individual capacity.
A very noticeable challenge posed to the airport has been the issue of electricity which has caused flights to abort and divert landing at the RIA – a situation many have described not only as embarrassing but also a great danger to passengers, and airport workers and airlines.
The situation has forced airlines to change their schedules to Liberia and in some cases, have to push their check-in time ahead so as to make room for refueling in a neighboring country.
The Pro-Tempore believes this challenge, among others, includes constant protests by workers at the airport are systematic issues that need to be tackled thoroughly.
“The RIA [problem] is not only human resources, it is not only power supply. We need to look at it as an institution. We need to see what the problem is and on Thursday there will be a letter on the floor instructing our Committee on Transport to visit the Airport to assess the problem there,” Sen. Chie said.
It is likely that Senate Committee on Transport would be touring the facilities at the Roberts International Airport ahead of the confirmation hearing of Darlington Karnley.
President Weah appointed Mr. Karnley on May 4 amid the crisis the country’s only international airport had been faced with.
In a Press Release, the Executive Mansion stated that Mr. Karnley has “a rich background in the field of aviation and is a Master’s Degree Candidate in aviation management from the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Philadelphia”.
Following the pronouncement, social media became flooded with a variety of claims about Mr. Karnley’s credentials. Some Facebookers claimed they were fake and refuted the information published by the Office of the President. Some criticized the President for appointing an individual, who they claimed, lacks the basic credentials to manage the country’s airports.
A fact-check conducted by Local Voices Liberia proved that the Philadelphia’s Campus of AIM does not offer any course in Aviation Management as claimed by the Executive Mansion.
Local Voices research also found that the AIM does not grant bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Philadelphia. This means, the Philadelphia Campus is basically a vocational training institution. The programs offered at the school include, Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT), Aviation Maintenance Technician Avionics (AMTA), Maintenance Technician, Professional Aviation Maintenance Certification online course and Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
According to the AIM website, it currently has 14 aviation maintenance schools that are accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) in 11 states across the United States of America.
Local Voices fact-check also discovered that contrary to the Executive Mansion that Mr. Karnley works at Boeing, America’s leading aircraft manufacturer as Avionics Tech Specialist Manager, managing all installations, inspection, tests, adjust, or repairs avionics equipment, such as radar, radio, navigation, and missile control systems in aircraft or space vehicles, Mr. Karnley name did not appear on any list of employees at Boeing – the world’s leading aircraft manufacturer.
According to the Local Voices, considering the position (Avionics Tech Specialist Manager) mentioned by the Executive Mansion that it claims Mr. Karnley occupies at the company is an essential staff position that the company labels as “key employees”.
But a review of Boeing’s key employees listing did not find Mr Karnlay’s name enlisted.
We also reviewed the Boeing Zoominfo Directory – where the names and titles of all the company’s current 93,558 employees are listed – but Karnley’s name was not found.
Elections law and Lofa by-election
On other equally important issues, the Senate Pro-Tempore said, the Senate will address the proposal by Grand Cape Mount County Senator Varney Sherman which seeks to adjust the timing of the election in an election year and adjudication of election cases.
In April of 2021, Senator Varney Sherman (Grand Cape Mount County, UP) proposed an amendment to Section 4.8 of the New Elections Law that would allow the National Elections Commission and Supreme Court to take shorter time to hear and adjudicate elections dispute cases in shorter periods.
In his proposal, the Grand Cape Mount Senator who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee said three successive elections ended in run-off and that it is highly likely there would be run-off election for the 2023 general and presidential elections.
On the pending Lofa by-election, the Senate announced that they have been informed by the National Elections Commission that they cannot conduct the Lofa by-election due to ongoing court issues. Pro-Temp Chie said, the Senate will act on setting a new date after the Supreme Court ruling.
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