Africa-Press – Liberia. When the Executive Mansion issued a statement on President Joseph Boakai welcoming the Supreme Court’s ruling that it was illegal for him to have arbitrarily removed tenure position holders who still had time left in their tenure, he was hailed by many for his adherence to the rule of law.
The April 25 press release stated: President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., has welcomed the rulings of the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia relative to recent nominations at some government institutions. The President reaffirms his commitment to upholding the rule of law and will, therefore, honor the rulings of the High Court. President Boakai believes that strict adherence to the rule of law is fundamental to strengthening institutions and building a vibrant democracy.
President Boakai, upon his inauguration, attempted to replace the chairperson and commissioners of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA), the Chairperson at the Governance Commission, heads of the National Identification Registry, and the Liberia National Lottery Authority. The holders of these tenure positions were appointed by former President George Weah.
“There being no showing of the existence of any of the conditions for the petitioner’s removal from office as stipulated in the Acts Creating the respective entities to which the petitioners are appointed, their said removal from office prior to the expiry of their tenure without due process is ultra vires,” the Supreme Court ruled, barring their removal through new nominations to their posts. The Court’s ruling was predicated upon the fact that the Boakai-led government had raised no issues of gross ethical transgression on these tenure position holders for which they must be removed and replaced.
However, barely 24 hours after accepting the ruling from the Court and indicating that the said ruling would guide future administrative action across all government institutions, the President suddenly suspended all chairpersons and commissioners of the LTA and also at the Governance Commission while replacing them with the very nominees he initially named that led to the intervention of the Supreme Court.
The Executive Mansion stated in a release announcing the suspension of the LTA officials President Boakai, “has suspended, with immediate effect, Madam Edwina C. Zackpah, Mr. Israel Akinsanya, Mr. Zotawon D. Titus, Mr. James Gbarwea, and Mr. Osborne K. Diggs, Chairperson and Commissioners, respectively of the Liberia Telecommunication Authority for allegations of questionable financial transactions and other malpractices at the Authority. The President has requested a comprehensive audit of the LTA by the General Auditing Commission (GAC) to investigate the allegations at the Authority. He urged the suspended officials to cooperate fully with the GAC as they undertake the investigation.”
At the same time, he named Mr. Ambullah L. Kamara, Mrs. Angela Cassell Bush, Mr. Clarence K. Massaquoi, Mr. Ben A. Fofana, and Mr. Patrick Honnah as Acting Chairperson and Acting Commissioners, respectively, pending the finality of the General Auditing Commission’s audit. They were all previously nominated to the positions they would now be acting in. The President believes that these appointments will ensure continuity and stability in the affairs of the LTA until the final audit report is released.
In a separate release, the Executive Mansion announced the suspension of Mr. Garrison Yealue, Chairperson, and Madam Elizabeth Dorkin, Commissioner of the Governance Commission with immediate effect for activities inconsistent with the Act creating the institution. The release, however, did not mention those activities but stated that the President has established a committee to investigate the matter and present a report.
The naming of the very nominees to act in the positions of the suspended officials has sparked a debate on the President’s true intentions. Mr. William Gilbert, a resident of Matadi, opined that while he welcomes the push for accountability, the manner in which the President proceeded leaves one to believe that his decision is only a political maneuver to still get those officials out of his government. “Just yesterday he welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling and then today, he’s suspending them because of perceived financial improprieties. When did he get to know that? Why wouldn’t we believe that he is just forcing it for those he named earlier to still take the position? I feel the President is not being sincere here,” he said.
Mr. Randall Dobayou, a steward of the opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) posted on Facebook: “The Supreme Court has ordered that he should withdraw all those he nominated to those tenure positions with immediate effect. Instead of adhering to the court’s order, he has doubled down by re-appointing those very people while removing those who defeated him face-down in the court of law. He has no authority to remove these people consistent with the court’s ruling; there is no precedent grounded in the law as such, especially when his intention to remove these people initially was deemed illegal by the Court! He has disobeyed the court by failing to withdraw those he has appointed to replace the current occupants of those positions.”
Others counter-argue that the President has taken the right step towards fighting corruption. “There was too much corruption in the Weah-led government, and if there is reason to believe that a lot of corruption took place at the LTA, then, they have to be suspended by the GAC as it conducts an audit. They cannot be on the job while the audit is going on. They might manipulate the audit or take seizure of important records,” said Cecilia Tokpah, a student at the University of Liberia.
A civil servant who asked for anonymity stated, “For me, I support the audit of the LTA. I also support the suspension of the chairperson and the commissioners, but there must be solid proof that they engaged in corruption. We should not condone witch-hunting only to give our friends jobs. While Pres. Boakai might appear to be doing what is right, let’s also be cautious of the inner motives. We must be sincere in our governance process,” she said.
Source: FrontPageAfrica
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