THERE IS MUCH TALK going around about how come many persons are placed in high societal positions of decision-making but they promote themselves and do not promote others. The former Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) said publicly that as a member of the ruling political party, he would do whatever the Head of the ruling political party instructs him to do.
Guest Editorial by Togba-Nah Tipoteh, [email protected]
The present Executive Governor of the CBL said publicly that he got his job at the CBL not because of his competence but because the voters of Grand Gedeh, his County of origin, voted for the Head of State. So, when commitment and competence are placed below political party support, there is a societal breakdown. Therefore, we should not be surprised at the longstanding and widespread corruption that has led to the longstanding and widespread poverty in Liberia.
MUCH OF THIS TALK about integrity has come out recently during the celebration of Mother’s and Father’s Days, respectively, in Liberia and elsewhere in the world . During this celebration, the main view coming out from the preaching is that females and males are not automatically Fathers and Mothers. There are some bad females and and bad males but all Mothers and all Fathers are necessaily good because they have integrity, meaning honesty that makes them to have credibility. Mothers and Fathers Walk The Integrity Talk, showing that Integrity Makes Credibility. When any person engages in the Walk The Integrity Talk the person becomes credilble, respectable and worthy of honor.
IT IS THE LACK of integrity in some females and males that has National Legislators having access to at least USD1,000 a day and their foreign partners, in the commercial sector alone, having access to at least USD2 million a day while over 80 per cent of the people of Liberia have access to at most less than USD2 a day (Annual Reports of CBL, LISGIS, MFDP, MCI, WB, IMF, ADB and UNDP).
IT IS THE EXPERIENCE with the Coup d’etat and Civil War in Liberia that has led the people of Liberia to conclude that they prefer Peace to War. This horrific experience is seen in the Civil War in Liberia that took the lives of at least 300,000 people, damaged billions of dollars worth of infractructure and left the economy of Liberia unrecovered at its pre-war level. Foreign partners, led by the government of the United States of America (USA) continue to condemn the corruption in Liberia but continue to give the government of Liberia substantial support in the forms of grants, loans and even budgetary support.
VOTERS IN LIBERIA, especially young voters, continue to ask the question about how come that they voted for the elected persons but upon their elections they forget about the interests of the voters and pursue their own interests. The questioning can be put back to the voters to find out as to whether or not they will expect persons who set their houses on fire to put out the fire. The House called Liberia is on fire with corruption and poverty. The voters at the Hataee Center for the Exchange of Intellectual Opinions (CEIO) answered the question by saying a big NO. saying that the persons who set the House called Liberia on fire are not going to put out the fire. This answer is what continues to be practised, despite the pronounced public policies and slogans. But voters continue to vote for the corrupt persons who set Liberia ablaze and are surprised that the elected ones pursue their own interests rather than the interests of the voters. They vote for the corrupt persons because of the money and rice that the corrupt candidates give the voters. Therefore, the voters have themselves to blame for the continuous corruption and poverty in Liberia.
HOW THEN CAN the fire on the House called Liberia be put out? The fire in the House called Liberia can be put out through the spreading of knowledge to raise awareness among the people in ways that motivate them to work together through the Rule of Law to transform the UNFAIR electoral system in Liberia into the FAIR electoral system. As the National Elections Commission (NEC) of Libera is the supervisory boby for elections, the Chairperson of NEC was taken to the Supreme Court of Liberia (SCL) over two years ago through the Tipoteh versus Korkoya Case. NEC operates in ways that violate the Constitution of Liberia.
MR. JEROME KORKOYA, Chairperson of NEC at the time, remains a citizen of the USA, not forgetting NEC allowing foreigners to vote, allowing money to be given to voters to vote, allowing the illegal movement of voters across borders of foreign countries and counties in Liberia and the violation of the regulations of the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) regarding the awarding of contracts. Up to now, not a single national religious, political, civil society, business, or government leader has given support to the Tipoteh versus Korkoya Case.
MANY PEOPLE say that it is useless to take cases to the Court because of corruption in the Court. True, there is corruption in the Court but when Journalists take out reports of court cases and publish them locally and globally, the publications raise awareness to help in motivating people locally and globally to take action through the Rule of Law to transform the UNFAIR electoral system into the FAIR electoral system.
The only WAY TO GET GOOD PERSONS (PERSONS WITH RECORDS OF HELPING OTHERS TO HELP themselves in their struggle for better living conditions) elected is through the transformation of the electoral system!!! Only good persons can take non-violent actions to move Liberia from poverty generation into poverty alleviation!!!