The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Liberia has finally concluded public hearings and submitted a report of its works with recommendations.
Addressing journalists in its final conference, TRC Chairman Cllr. Jerome Verdier said the report is made against the background of rising expectations, fears, and anxiety.
Cllr. Verdier pointed out that the vast majority of the Liberian people who are victims or survivals of massive wave of atrocities induced by the conflict, expects that all of the recommendations contained in the report will be implemented and reparations in the forms of compensation, policy and institutional reforms, specialized services, restitution or financial relief, will address all the social and economic cultural, civic and political rights issues, ensure accountability, impunity and foster national healing and reconciliation.
The TRC Chairman said the few Liberians who commended armed forces, financed, resourced and provided political and ideological guidance to several warring factions; he said the commission fear alienation, prosecutions and other forms of public sanctions which may undermine Liberia current socio-economic and political stature during the conflict period.
Cllr. Verdier noted that the outcome of the report is the product of deliberation planting and engagement with all segments of the Liberian society centering on all 15 counties of Liberia and the Diaspora.
He said capturing over 22,000 written statements, several dozens of personal interviews and over 500 hundred live public testimonies of witnesses, including actors, perpetrators, and direct victims.
The Commission's Chairman stated that a national regional consultation with county stakeholders and a national conference on reconciliation and the way forward provided the Commission a national perspective of the conflict, its causes, trends, impacts and the vision and aspirations of the people of Liberia for better future.
He told a news conference that the Commission incorporated desk research, media publications and human rights reports of very prominent international and local human rights institutions into a work so guided and informed, the commission is well poised to make this report and draw the conclusions making the recommendations contained in this report which in four volume documents the comprehensive works of the commission.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has recommended that those associated with former warring factions, their leaders, political decision makers, financiers, organizers, commanders, foot soldiers shall be subject to public sanction in one form or another.
He said among those who are recommended to be bar from holding public office include President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Pro tempore of the Liberian Senate, Isaac Nyenebo , Former Transport Minister Jackson E. Doe, Liberia Produce Marketing (LPMC) Managing Director, Nyan Mentan, Former Police Director, Paul Mulbah and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Kabineh Ja'neh among others.
Nimba County Senator Prince Johnson was placed in the category of notorious perpetrators thus recommending for prosecution for gross human rights violations and war crimes.
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allAfrica.com: Liberia: TRC Throws Bomb -Former Rebel Leaders, Others for Prosecution (Page 1 of 1)
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Auditor-General Under Fire allAfrica.com: Liberia: GAC Boss X-rayed - Accused Of Flouting The Law (Page 1 of 1)
John Morlu came to the position of Auditor General of Liberia with clean records and credentials having won the admiration of the President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf with the backing from the international community.
Of late, he has come under x-ray for allegedly requesting huge sum of money from the management of the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) to audit it. But did he is the question being asked in many quarters.
Before his preferment to head the General Auditing Commission (GAC) most Liberians followed him through his professional review of issues relating to audits thru series of articles, how it is done, what Liberians needed to do to achieve transparency and accountability in the administration of public finance.
And since taking the seat of Auditor General of the GAC, he continues to be hailed by Liberians, mostly the grassrooters, even people in officialdom for what they called "doing the most appositive thing" Liberia lacked since its founding. Others considered as the "darling" of the new Liberia hoped for, for being in the vanguard of unearthing litanies of corruption in the private and public sectors.
The erudite Morlu, a professionally US-trained auditor struck the cord mostly when he said in a Voice of America interview that the Ellen-led Government was three times corrupt that the government it succeeded. That assertion sparked and ignited public debates across the political divides, but he remained undaunted in his professional pursuits.
The GAC which he heads has succeeded in auditing several institutions, but this is not without public outcry, finger-pointing and accusation, especially the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) audit.
Now this paper has gathered that the hailed GAC boss allegedly went beyond the bond of duty when reportedly requested 'plenty money' to audit the NASSCORP.
It may be recalled that NASSCORP in his response as published in the Inquirer on May 7, 2009 wrote and accused him (AG Morlu) of requesting US$231,632.40 for what it called "Daily Subsistence Allowance."
This is how NASSCORP put it at the time when it wrote in The Inquirer: "The Auditor General requested USD231, 632.40 as "daily subsistence allowance" for the GAC's audit of the NASSCORP Audit. "After an analysis of the request, the Board of Directors approved Management's recommendation to provide USD70, 000.00. The full amount of USD70, 000 was provided the GAC spelling out in unmistakable terms, the earmarks."
When the NASSCORP's claims are anything to go by, according to observers, then the GAC boss has flaunted the law, especially the Act creating the Commission.
Section 53.10 of the Act establishing the GAC forbids "Acceptance of Money by Officer or Employee of General Auditing" which is the title of that section of the Executive Law of Liberia (as amended June 16, 2006), under which the GAC operates in particular, the above section of the Executive Law of Liberia provides thus: "No official or employee of the General Auditing Commission shall accept any money or gift for services performed for or in way connected with the audit of Government agencies, Government organizations, or private or furistic persons, whether in the form of salaries, fees, expense reimbursements, honorarium, or in any other form. All monies received for restitution of funds shall be paid to the Ministry of Finance."
Most concerned to many Liberians is the fact that Mr. Morlu an outspoken and eloquent gentleman has not made any official response since the accusation was made, and moreover, not many Liberians have shown interest in raising issues since.
In consideration of this, observers are of the belief that his reticence is a tacit confirmation of the NASSCORP's claims.
"It is unreasonable to surmise that the Auditor General of Liberia was ignorant of this clear and explicit provision of the Act of legislation that brought the General Auditing Commission which he heads. Certainly the Auditor General must have read this provision, but chose the act contrary," remarked an observer.
When this paper contacted the Head of Communication of the GAC, Earnest Maximal, he said: "We are tired of the NASSCORP thing. As far as we are concerned, we have conducted our audit and made our reports to the National Legislature with recommendations."
He told this paper via mobile phone that what NASSCORP needed to do was to adhere to recommendations enshrined in the report by improving its operations for the benefit of the Liberian people.
According to him, if NASSCORP is not satisfied with the report, it should take the GAC to court and that they are prepared to defend everything to that effect.
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allAfrica.com: Liberia: GAC Boss X-rayed - Accused Of Flouting The Law (Page 1 of 1)
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Monrovia — After failing on two occasions to pass the much-talked about and somehow controversial Threshold Bill, the Liberian Senate yesterday concurred with the House of Representatives to pass the bill, but with modification and condition that no county get not less than two seats.
The new Threshold, as passed by the Liberian Senate stands at 40,000 instead of the 38,000 agreed upon by the House of Representatives. With its passage yesterday, it will be forwarded to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for her signature, after which it will be printed into handbills and subsequently become law.
Last week, the Senate could not come on term to pass the bill which many believe is tied to the holding of the 2011 general and presidential elections. The same was on Tuesday; this time around there was no quorum at all to conduct business due to the absence of almost 20 Senators out of the entire 30 Senators.
On Wednesday, the Senators converged in a Special Session to put the final nails to the coffin of the Bill, yet it was another show of arguments and contentions, but yesterday, Thursday, July 2, 2009 is the day that will go down in history, the day Senators settled down and passed the threshold bill.
With the setting of the Threshold at 40,000, the National Legislature is likely to swell with additional lawmakers representing new electoral districts in the country.
The 30 Senators sat from 10:00 am to 5:20pm deliberating the relative issues as a means of finding a way forward in setting the population threshold at a number acceptable by both the Lower and the Upper Houses.
Following heated debate in a Session that was closed to the public and the press, the Senators acting upon a motion by Bong County Senator Franklin Sinkor set the threshold bill at 40,000 with the condition that no county get not less than two seats.
According to our Legislative correspondent, 9 Senators voted against the threshold being set at 40,000 while 16 Senators voted in favor with the condition that no county should get less than two seats.
With the setting of the Threshold at 40,000, more seats have been added to Montserrado, Nimba, Bong and Lofa Counties.
The Montserrado County will now get 27 seats, Nimba 11, while Bong and Lofa Counties will pocket 8 and 6 seats respectively.
But political analysts see the setting of the Threshold at 40,000 and the creation of more electoral district representations as means of putting central government into huge financial burdens.
According to them, had the Threshold been set a 45,000 or above, the lower house would have maintained it current seats with each county maintaining their respective electoral districts, thus reducing financial burdens on government.
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allAfrica.com: Liberia: Threshold Bill Sailed At 40,000 (Page 1 of 1)
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The Liberia National Police have been accused by a local church of being in cahoots with alleged robbers who reportedly robbed the church of over US14, 000.00
A huge number of Police officers last Wednesday, June 24, 2009 arrested two Nigerian armed robbers, who were being hotly pursued by motorcyclists from 12th Street up to Neezoe in Paynesville. Following the tracking of the robbers by the police and cyclists, and the retrieval of the moneybag with colossal sum of money belonging to a local church, the police not only took the robbers to the National Police Headquarters but have shown impervious disposition by remaining tight-lipped and effectively refusing to turn over the money that was taken in the presence of motorcyclists and a crowd of eyewitnesses.
Since the incident on that fateful Wednesday, the Police has been conducting investigations with numerous motorcyclists, who have pointed to the fact that the money in question was taken by a black-skinned officer seated by the driver (as all were in the same blue Police uniform) driving a blue police patrol vehicle with a mounted siren that arrived on the scene in Neezoe Jacobtown Paynesville.
The concerned officers of the Police have been frustrating church members to the extent the latter are no longer allowed to enter the hearing halls while numerous Nigerians are being allowed to enter the and whisper to them as well as the armed robbers. The church members who are only bent on seeing an end to the investigation to get their money are frequently being told to wait outside.
But worst of all, the investigating officer, one Mr. J. K. Flomo, head of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) has said that the police now intend to forward the case to the court without disclosing the findings of the investigation including the whereabouts of the money.
According to several of the motorcyclists, the police has been threatening them against providing testimonies about their involvement (police) by calling them on phone number already supplied them during the investigation. The cyclists say the police upon getting the money from the robbers in Neezoe, initially drove into the community and spent a long time there, for reasons best known to themselves, and finally returned along with the second robber without the one who had snatched the money bag.
They also maintain that it was only this second robber that was taken to the Jacob’s town/Lone Star Police depot before he was finally transferred to the Central Police Headquarters on Capitol Hill, where the bag snatching robber later arrived without any explanation by the police as to where he (the robber) had been.
At the Central, the initial investigators, who identified themselves by nicknames to the church members and cyclists as “419” and “Dynamite” respectively, urged them to return the next day when night was far advanced at about 9:30 PM.
Subsequent investigations have been business as usual, questioning the cyclists and church people to show who actually received the moneybag without pointing the questions to the robbers whose small gun that takes single-barrel shots was also with them without any indication of the moneybag’s whereabouts.
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Officers at the National Police headquarters under investigation of Commander J. K. Flomo of the CID are insisting that they do not have over US$14,022.00 and 8,580.00 LD$ along with other identity cards, 2 cell phones along with other personal effects that were retrieved in the presence of numerous eyewitnesses and motorcyclists who had pursued the two Nigerians robbers.
According to the treasurer of the Christian Revival Fellowship Association (CRCA), the umbrella body overseeing the Christian Revival Churches of Liberia, Ms. Dawoso K. Gayflor, she had withdrawn the amounts on three checks from the Association account at the International Bank on Broad Street to enable her pay church workers and ongoing project expenses of the church.
She said little did she know that the two Nigerians were tailing her up to the old worship venue of the Winners Chapel on 12th Street. There and then, the two robbers descended from their motorbike and in Nigerian Movie style demanded at gun-point that Dawoso hand over her handbag. With a sharp bladed knife also pointed at her neck, the treasurer readily handed over the handbag as the robbers also fired a warning shot to instill fear in on-lookers who intended to take contrary moves against them.
After taking the handbag, the robbers started speeding towards Downtown Monrovia over a motorbike. The distraught Dawoso weeping as she narrated her mishap to motorcyclists, who were already pulled to the drama scene on account of the warning shot, started in hot pursuit of the robbers.
The chase proceeded along the Plumkor road then onto the Tubman Boulevard before Total Gas Station, then unto the Mansion, down to UN Drive up to the Antoinette Tubman Stadium back to Camp Johnson Road, up to Horton Avenue before the LACE Building, up before the Cellcom main office on By-Pass, then to Benson Street, Carey Street, then Broad Street and Johnson Street intersection, where another warning shot was fired. The chase continued to Freeport (where another warning shot was fired), up to Jamaica Road Junction (another warning shot) back to Freeport, (another firing shot at Cemenco junction) u-turn to Jamaica Road then unto the Freeway then a longer chase unto Neezoe, where the motorcyclists and the (now involved) police overcame the robbers.
At this point, the approaching motorcyclists attempt to capture the robber with the handbag and gun, led to the robber plunging the barrel of the gun into the arm of a cyclist’s hand inflicting serious injury upon him.
The rest of the cyclists, who were now on pursuing the handbag carrying robber on foot into Neezoe, report that the complete exhausted robber threw the handbag unto the police, who took possession of it and got in the car. Already, second robber who had been apprehended as well as the retrieved gun, was in the patrol car. The bag snatching robber was also captured and placed in the car. But when the car return from the community, the police only had the second robber in the car but did not disclose what was purpose of the session that they had with the robbers in Neezoe.
Both the motorcyclists and other onlookers or eyewitnesses corroborate that they saw the robber throwing the moneybag to the police into the police vehicle without ever saying anything on the scene that they did not see anything with the robbers.
The conflicting statement from the police against the preponderant testimonies of the motorcyclists and the on-lookers only served to annoy the sizeable membership of the Monrovia Christian Revival Church, including Judge Korboi Nuta, who was also present at the Central during the hearings.
But the dilemma is while the police are keeping the robbers in custody, they insist that they did not see any money with them even though they cannot outrightly release them, knowing the ordeal of hot pursuit in which they were involved. These dilemmas with which the police are faced according to some onlookers only send a negative reading as to the entire reform effort by the international community.
Despite the revamping of the institution, the police, as a key tier of the rule of law in the country still manifest no positive sign of genuine renewal for service to the citizens of Liberia. The amount involved is mouthwatering and enticing into doing injustice such that they cannot easily let go and are therefore playing game of wait and see to determine the weight of the church.
The good governance that the international community seeks for Liberia is doomed as long officers of the police cannot enforce the law but wait to take possession of ill-gotten goods from criminals. The money must be produced and done so with some urgency because the church is paying taxes through the efforts of the workers and provided services to other Liberians in fulfilling its spiritual mandate of catering to God’s children.
According to a member of the church, who attended the series of hearings, the police seem to display recalcitrance towards any fair disclosure. This is to say that if they continue to insist that they did not have the bag and not sufficient pressure is put on them by demonstrating that they took the moneybag, they may well go free with the amount involved. But as God lives, the church has sworn that God’s intervention as well as the government’s and the international community’s are essential to the surrendering of this huge amount of money that would go down the throat of faceless individuals pretending to be law enforcers
Meanwhile, members of the church are appealing to the Ministry of Justice, the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Ambassadors of the United States of America, ECOWAS, the African Union, the European Union, Nigeria and the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ellen Margrete Loj to speedily intervene in pressuring the police to return the money without subtraction, depreciation or reduction to the rightful institution (the Christian Revival Association (CRCA located on 13th Street Cheeseman Avenue in Sinkor).
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allAfrica.com: Liberia: LNP Accused Of Conniving With Alleged Robbers (Page 1 of 1)
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Reacting to public outcries relative to the reticence of the Liberian Government on the detention of Sekou Conneh in Guinea, former leader of one of the warring factions in Liberia, Information Minister Dr. Laurence Bropleh has set the record straight, saying that the detained Conneh is being treated as Guinean national and not a Liberian citizen.
Saying that the Government of Liberia was concerned about his condition, he indicated that they (government) cannot do much because the former warlord is prominent citizen of Guinea.
Apart from saying that he is a Guinean national, the Information Minister in the same vein noted that the Liberian government has not received any formal communication from the military government of Guinea, neither Ambassador E. Sumo Jones who follows the activities of all Liberians in that country.
According to him, the situation with Mr. Conneh’s imprisonment is something that needs much required information before any action is considered by the government.
Reports of Conneh detention in Guinea, his native land, have since flooded the media landscape for reasons yet unknown to the Liberian populace.
Since then, there have been incessant calls by Liberians, especially his tribesmen for President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf-led government to speedily intervene.
In other developments, Information Boss has threatened to demolish every video club in the city that does not meet the minimum requirement set by the government of Liberia.
The Information Minister said his ministry is about to inspect all video clubs throughout the country beginning next week, adding that any video club that does not meet the necessary requirement will be demolished.
“Early next week, inspectors from the Information Ministry will carry out intensive inspection of all video clubs, especially those ones that are built in allays, those without proper toilet system and video clubs that do not have copy right license to film movies,” he said.
Addressing his regular Thursday press briefing at the Information Ministry yesterday, Minister Bropleh said “the government is trying to build a civilized nation and will not allow anyone who will stand in the way of the progress of the state.”
He then clarified that the movie that the new film “Johnnie Mad Dog”, is not about the Liberian civil war, but instead is portraying the civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He warned that anyone caught filming “the Jonnie Mad Dog Movie” will be dealt with under Liberian law, adding “the government has not agreed or put into place mechanism that would allow its citizens to watch such movie.”
It is now time that Liberians should find means of working together. Our country has been opened so long to lot of outsiders and many have abused our kindness to kill our people. The information just touched by the information minister concerning Mr. Sekou Conneh being a Guinean national is scary. Mr. Sekou Conneh being a Mandingo Man from Guinea lead a group that infiltrated our territory to kill our people and destroy our nation because we wanted such to happen to us. Tomorrow, the Mandingoes are raising again to stage a demonstration that will impact the function of activities… [Read Full Text]
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allAfrica.com: Liberia: Sekou Conneh Is Treated As A Guinean (Page 1 of 1)
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Monrovia — An executive of the New Deal Movement, Professor Alaric K. Tokpa is suggesting and appealing to the National Legislature, Liberia's lawmaking boy, to consider making 'Torture' a crime in Liberia.
According to him, it should form part of Liberia's criminal law because it is being considered by United Nations (UN) and other countries in the World as one of the inhumane, cruel and degrading tools used against people.
Prof. Tokpa, who teaches at University of Liberia, also former Vice Standard-bearer of the New Deal Movement, one of the many political parties in the 2005 general and presidential elections, made the statement yesterday at the opening of a one-day Civil Society Awareness' Workshop on Anti-Torture Campaign in Monrovia.
Speaking on the topic 'Legislative Advocating and Lobbing Tactics; The Process of Law Making,' he said since torture is an offense in the country, it was time that the National Legislature make same a law under the Liberia's justice system.
The one-day workshop which was funded by the Interchurch Organization for Development Cooperation (ICCO) and implemented by Rescue Alternatives Liberia (RAL), is one of many workshops conducted in three counties namely Margibi, Bong and Montserrado.
Prof. Tokpa, a political activist, challenged the over 20 civil society representatives and Liberians at large to stand up for the quest to have torture as crime and ensure that would-be perpetrators face prosecution under the criminal laws of Liberia.
Pointing out many issues concerning dealing with lawmakers in the perspective of lobbying, he cautioned members and executives of Rescue Alternatives Liberia (RAL) to be focused and creative in their pursuit to make torture a crime in the country.
At the same time, civil society group representatives who attended the just ended workshop are expected to draft an Anti-Torture Bill to be presented to the National Legislature for possible passage in order to make torture a national crime.
Recently, the Rescue Alternatives Liberia (RAL), joined the United Nations (UN), on June 26, 2009 in commemorating the International Day in support of victims of torture by creating awareness for how torture can be prevented in Liberia.
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allAfrica.com: Liberia: 'Make Torture A Crime' (Page 1 of 1)
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This paper has reliably learned that the President of the LIVING Faith Church Worldwide, commonly known as the Winners Chapel International, Bishop David Oyedepo will make an apostolic visit to Liberia from July 20-22, 2009.
He is expected to be in the country for three days and this will be his first time coming to a country where he name has become house-hold.
It is gathered that during the three day visit, Bishop Oyedepo, one of Nigeria’s revered Men of God (MOG) will host an empowerment summit for the Body of Christ. The summit is expected to bring together, Bishops, Pastors, evangelists, political leaders, businessmen and women and people from all walks of life.
It is expected that a record crowd of 35, 000 people will attend the summit which will be held at the Winners chapel in Congo Town and the Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia. During the summit, training sessions will also be held in leadership and business development.
The sessions will run from 8a.m to 12: noon at the Winners Chapel and from 5pm to 8am at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium.
The leadership development sessions are opened to church leaders, corporate and business executives for economic empowerment and political leaders, public officials and potential leaders for leadership skill development.
The empowerment summit will feature teachings, prayers for Liberia and testimonies of the goodness of God in the lives of the people.
Bishop Oyedepo will also administer to the sick, the blind, the physically challenged, the afflicted, the needy and people of God.
For more then twenty years, Bishop Oyedepo has been part of the charismatic renaissance sweeping across the African Continent and the World. His faith based teachings have transformed the lives of many all over the world. Currently, the Living Faith Church world-wide has a net work of Churches in over 35 countries in Africa. It has also established Churches in Canada, the United States, China, Japan, Cuba, the Caribbean, etc.
Bishop Oyedepo has impacted the lives of people in many areas. He is the Senior Pastor of the 50, 000 capacity Faith Tabernacle in Ota, Nigeria. Faith Tabernacle is registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest church edifice in the world.
Bishop Odeyepo is an outstanding teacher and the author of over 50 religious books. His works include “exploits in Ministry”, “Walking in the newness of life”, “Winning Invisible Battles,” “Releasing the Supernatural,” “Understanding Devine Direction”, “Keys to Divine Health”, etc.
Today’s the churches teachings are broadcast live by internet to all nations of the earth. The church printing press, Dominion Publishing House operates at an industrial scale and has printed over five million books.
The church operates numerous nurseries, primary schools. It also operates the prestigious covenant University in Lagos, Nigeria which awards degrees in over 16 different academic programs.
In preparation for the Bishop Odeyepo’s apostolic visit to Liberia, a national steering committee of Christian churches has been established.
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allAfrica.com: Liberia: Bishop Oyedepo Due In Country (Page 1 of 1)
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J. Nathaniel Daygbor — As The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has come to the end of its mandate and made its report to the National Legislature, the Chairman on Reconciliation at the House of Representative, Representative Wesseh Blamoh of Grand Kru County has said the country is still far from achieving total reconciliation.
Rep. Blamo further indicated that during the thematic and institutional hearings of the TRC in Monrovia and other parts of the country, some perpetrators were not fair enough to admit their wrongdoings to truthfully apologize to their victims, instead they put up legal arguments justifying their actions adequately.
Speaking to The Analyst yesterday at his Capital Building Office, he noted "reconciliation comes with sincerity and truthfulness of the heart of individuals who know within themselves the roles they played in the 14 bitter and senseless wars." According to him, such people needed to accept their role and stop shifting blames.
Rep. Blamo said lot of Liberians are still grieving in their hearts for the loss of their properties and relatives during the war, adding "It takes brave mind to say the truth and the truth is what needed to redeem this country from resentments and grieves."
The Grand Kru County lawmaker indicated that from the beginning of the TRC activities to the concluding stages, there were no indications at all that the process would have yielded the needed results.
He added "the exercise which was well supported did not produce the needed result because perpetrators were strong-hearted in accepting their roles and made mockery of the process."
As almost every Liberian has said or is saying, the lawmaker urged Liberians to learn to forgive each other and should think about the future of their children and generations to come.
At the same time, Rep. Blamo whose county is on fire due a land dispute between tribes also called on President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to speedily establish the land commission in order to disburse the dark cloud that is already hanging on the country.
He pointed out that Liberia may experience another war if the issue of land dispute is not given serious attention.
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allAfrica.com: Liberia: Country Far From Reconciliation (Page 1 of 1)
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The Liberian educational system is said to be suffering from the shock of the decade-long civil war, an official of the Ministry of Education has said in Monrovia.
The Deputy Director for School Health Division of the Ministry of Education, Charles Kumbly said the 14 years civil war in the country has gravely affected the educational system, and as a result, he added that learning institutions continue to experience the lack of quality teachers and instructional materials.
Speaking at the weekend during program marking the 9th Thanksgiving Service of the Early Breed Foundation School in Clara Town, Mr. Kumbly blamed the situation on the low salary of teachers.
He said teachers were not making enough as compensation for the services they are rendering the nation.
“This situation has caused many of our trained and qualified teachers to seek greener pasture in other areas of employment for higher pay,” he said, and added “This condition has made many schools in our country to experience lack of trained and qualified teachers.”
The lack of trained and qualified teachers, the MOE official said is affecting efforts aimed at providing quality education and making the school system up to standard.
Another issue Mr. Kumbly believes is playing on the educational system is the level of corruption in the schools nowadays such as teachers/students bribery and other forms of dishonesty.
This type of situation, according to him, continued to underpin “quality system of evaluation within our education system.”
The Ministry of Education official said it would difficult to execute policies aimed at revamping the system, especially efforts geared towards giving youth greater priority.
“Any effort by this Government to prioritize youth education, particularly the girls’ education will be challenged if these mal-practices are not stamped out,” he said.
The government, he said, is not bowing out to this situation, noting “The government of Liberia means well when it says that every child in this country is bound to be educated because it is an important component of the poverty reduction strategy.”
According to him, the best meaning of education depends on how the receiver utilizes the skills and knowledge acquired.
“It does not matter the location of the school but the quality of teachers and the students readiness to learn,” Mr. Kumbly observed.
He urged the graduates to push forward and realize that the level of education they acquired should not be an end to their learning process.
“You who are graduating today, but I encourage you to pursue higher education which is likely to be the answer to the problems of better living in our Liberian Society,” he said and called on the national government through the MOE to include subsidy for schools in the suburbs of Monrovia and its environs.
For his part, the Chairman Board of Director of the Early Breed Foundation School, Chief Marshall of the Supreme Court of Liberia/Gen.Amos Dickson thanked those who gave support to the institution throughout the years.
He called on parents to not relent, but that they must make it their responsibility to ensure that the children acquire better education.
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allAfrica.com: Liberia: Educational System Still In Shock Of War (Page 1 of 1)
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Activities of group of learned Liberians who called themselves “the progressive” have once again come under the microscopic spotlight of a Liberian journalist, James S. King.
In a speech delivered by James S. King at the 9th Commencement Convocation of the Voice of Education School System, Airfield Community on Sunday, June 28, 2009, he partly by carefully focused on the activities of the guys who many blamed for Liberia’s troubled period.
On the topic “Liberia’s Educational Gap the Role of the purported Progressives,” he told the audience of students and parents that he could not conclude his speech without registering the concerns which “I believe are very much the concerns of every ambitious member of the present youthful generation which I am a key role player as a human resource developer.”
He said “as we convoke here today for this worthy exercise in honor of our children whom our assassinated but revered former president Rev. Dr. William R. Tolbert called his “precious jewels”, let me unequivocally state here that as a careerist and a relatively young man myself.
He recalled that it was extreme disgust and woeful robbery and exploitation, the misguide visited upon his generation by those he called “purported progressives of the 1970s and 80s” which according to him led some of his compatriots into taking arms to self destructions “because the purported progressives shielded their minds from understanding the truths about the socio-economic and political realities of the seventies and the eighties.”
“In today’s Liberia, and as a direct consequence of the misguided revolutionary leadership of the purported progressives, most members of my generation are earning their undergraduate degrees beyond what we Liberians called the calendar age, they are graduating with degrees after they have well lived beyond age thirty or thirty-one,” the Liberian journalist noted in the lengthy statement.
More than that, he said such practice has unacceptably created a huge generational academic gap between the so-called progressives and my generation.
“As former UNMIL boss once said about Liberian youths, and I quote, “Liberia is a country where parents are most educated than their children” un-quote. This should not have been the case,” he noted. “Some of those purported progressives earned their undergraduate degrees in their prime ages, but they denied us from doing so.”
Journalist King used the occasion to call on all surviving members of the purported progressive class to unconditionally issue public apology to my generation and all young people of Liberia including all those who, one way or the other were denied their rights to quality education by bringing destruction and ignorance upon them.
In the same token, the guest speaker also reflected in his speech the challenges most parents face in giving their kids education.
“There are numerous and daunting challenges that most parents face in nurturing kids. One social challenge or vise that parents should meticulously guide their kids against is the vise of the unregulated video clubbing by children under age,” Mr. King observed.
According to him, the apparent lack of concern on the parts of most parents to restrain their teens from video clubbing is undermining the educational success of our teenagers particularly the girls most of whom lurk in video clubs at odd hours to watch pornographic films.
“Our country particularly, Monrovia has become a place of indiscriminate and an unregulated display of offensive images such as half naked photographs of performing artists,” he stressed and noted that such practice is outrageous as they corrupt the inquisitive minds of our young people, and therefore needed to be halted.
“I had an experience with two female teenagers a year ago in the Fiama Community. While on my way to work this day, I came across the girls in their school uniforms standing by a video club during school hour discussing plans to boycott their next class hours in favor of video shows which posters they saw displayed on the bulletin of the very video club,” he recalled.
“While I urge parents to regulate their children on the kinds of movies they watch, I think it is equally the inexcusable responsibility of national government to institute stern and comprehensive measures to halt the unregulated proliferations of video clubs in the country and screening of movies during school times,” the Liberian media practitioner said.
According to him it was now time that the relevant authorities at the Ministry of Information stopped their “disingenuous rhetoric about controlling this public nuisance.” “Too many assurances and ultimatums have over the years been issued by Information Ministry authorities, yet the problems exist. How long should our children and youths continue to academically lack behind their contemporaries?”
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It is now time that Liberians should find means of working together. Our country has been opened so long to lot of outsiders and many have abused our kindness to kill our people. The information just touched by the information minister concerning Mr. Sekou Conneh being a Guinean national is scary. Mr. Sekou Conneh being a Mandingo Man from Guinea lead a group that infiltrated our territory to kill our people and destroy our nation because we wanted such to happen to us. Tomorrow, the Mandingoes are raising again to stage a demonstration that will impact the function of activities… [Read Full Text]