Africa-Press – Liberia. The President Pro-Tempore of the Senate, Albert Chie, has seized a motion that was intended to reject President George Weah’s newly appointed officials of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC).
Chie said his decision was based on legal, political, and procedural issues raised by his colleagues which needed to be discussed by the Senate leadership.
The pro-temp action came after some opposition senators argued that while the President has the constitutional authority to make nominations at any time, appointments to those tenure positions coming at the eleventh hour with elections just around could be a smart move by the President to keep his confidantes at the anti-graft institution should be the case he is defeated in the elections.
According to the Senators, the Liberian people should have the opportunity to express their views through the presidential election in October before the Senate considered new crops of officers for the country’s anti-graft institution.
They argued that it should be a matter of principle to let the next president, who would be elected by the people, make the nomination and allow the Senate to confirm or reject the nominee.
The “common logic here” is that these positions are for seven years, observed River Gee County Senator Jonathan Boye Charles.
Charles is of the belief that tenure position appointments that occurred in an election year should not be filled until after the election as it would strangulate the next government.
“The President technically has four months unless the country decides otherwise but the appointments would strangulate the next government,” he said.
As for Senator James Biney of Maryland County, any decision of the Senate in such a direction would be within the constitutional, which is legal.
“Kindly explain to me, fellow Senators, where is the logic that, while those confirmed are still in tenure, we confirm others; are we not part of the confusion? We can’t just do anything that the President wants, especially so when we are cognizant that our very actions will fuel the conflict. Does it make sense?
“The tenure of those people we confirmed has not ended, and we are saying we are confirming another group of people in the same positions; where is the sense and logic? This Senate is not prepared to undermine its own respect and authority; that’s exactly what we are trying to do, and that’s what the President wants us to do and we cannot do that just to please the President. In my opinion, I think we must inform the President that this Senate is not prepared to do that, at least I am not,” Biney said.
However, in defense of the President’s, supportive Senators assert that the Constitution grants the President the authority to make appointments, and as such, his appointments should not be open to debate as it would impede on his authority. They emphasize that the passage of the amended LACC law supersedes the previous law, indicating that the new legislation should now be the governing law.
The President’s appointment of new officials of the country anti- corruption body comes after the legislature had repleaded and restated the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission Act of 2008 — which dissolved the Commission’s current executive leadership — and calls for appointments of vetted by an Ad-hoc committee.
The Supreme Court of Liberia had earlier ruled that the legislature has the constitutional power to make and alter laws without limitation after the restated act has been challenged.
The court ruling was in response to a petition from Cllr. Edward Martin, the current Executive Person of the LACC. He asked the court to declare sections 16.1 and 16.2 of the amended LACC Act unconstitutional, saying it was an abuse of power for a government to dissolve a tenured position and recreate the same.
However, the Court in its unanimous verdict delivered by Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh, ruled that the Legislature has the “unquestionable power to amend, modify or abolish the LACC as deemed expedient in the interest of the state, and its action cannot be said to violate the constitution.”
Martin’s lawyers had argued that Parts 16.1 and 16.2 of the restated LACC Act were not in accordance with the norms and concept of ex post facto law as entrenched in Article 21 of the Constitution and that allowing the sections to remain would be a grave breach of the Constitution.
Article 21 of the 1986 Constitution, which Martin’s lawyer is quoting, states that “no person shall be made subject to any law or punishment which was not in effect at the time of the commission of an offense, nor shall the Legislature enact any bill of attainder or ex post facto law.”
The Court Justices, however, disagreed and ruled that no public official has the vested right to a public office except for those officers or offices that are clearly and expressly protected by the Constitution, “which is not the case in the present petition.”
The Court added that “however, should it become necessary to terminate the services of the petitioner and others similarly situated before the expiration of their contractual rights, the sanctity of contract as enshrined in the Constitution should be given due consideration.”
But River Gee County Senator Conmany B. Wesseh asserted those who are confirmed on tenured positions are done so and must be respected; “and if there is anybody or institution in this country that should ensure and fight for justice of other people it is this Legislature, especially the Senate.
Meanwhile, Maryland County Senator J. Gleh-bo Brown, for his part, suggested that the leadership of the Senate take up the matter to hold further consultations among themselves and other stakeholders to avoid “serious fracas” with the Supreme Court.
In a surprise move, the usually pro-regime debater, Senator Francis Paye, warned the Senate is a house of elders and agreed that the existing LACC positions are tenured.
Except for Senators Numene T. H. Bartekwa, Augustine Chea, and Morris Saytumah who argued on the contrary, majorities of the Senators argued that the nominees be rejected.
Source: Liberian Observer
For More News And Analysis About Liberia Follow Africa-Press
