The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) is jittery over recent appointments in government to tenure positions and called on the President to rescind his decision.
On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, President Boakai’s nomination targeted several entities to include the Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA), Governance Commission, National Lottery Authority and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as the National Identification Registry, which are by law, tenure positions.
The transparency house argued that these appointments were made without regard for tenure security provided in relevant laws stating, “We wish to highlight that tenure security is a settled matter and that interferences with it in the form of appointments to positions of active tenures are unlawful.”
Citing the case of Martin Sallie Kollie vs the Executive Branch of the Government of the Republic of Liberia, CENTAL stressed that the Supreme Court of Liberia upheld the sanctity of tenure against an illegitimate exercise of Presidential appointment and the court ruled that the appointment was illegitimate.
CENTAL observed that the power of the Legislature to insulate public positions against removal by the will and pleasure of the President was further interpreted to include the power to legislate officials out of office through a Legislative act.
CENTAL contended that positions constitutionally protected by tenure and immune to legislative manipulation are clearly stated in the Constitution, and includes positions of President, Vice president, Chief Justice, Associate Justices, Legislators, Judges of Subordinate Courts of records etc.
The transparency body added, “Only the Liberian people acting through a referendum can remove or amend their tenures. Constitutionally protected tenures can only be removed without cause by the people of Liberia, and legislatively enacted tenures can only be removed without cause by the Legislature. Where cause exists for removal, different competent authorities to effect removal have been designated.”
“We are dismayed about the decision of President Boakai to appoint persons to actively occupied tenured positions. The action of the President does not only violate relevant laws, as enacted by the Legislature and interpreted by the Supreme Court, but undermines the tenets of good governance, which tenures seek to promote and defend. This is particularly true in the case of public integrity institutions whose leaderships are required to act with utmost independence, impartiality, and void of political interferences,” CENTAL noted.
The group, however, recommended that the President immediately recalls appointments to positions occupied by persons with active tenures; constitutes the membership of the National Environment Policy Council of Liberia to allow for a recruitment process for the position of Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), consistent with Section 16 of the EPA Act.
CENTAL believes that the office of the Ombudsman be constituted and fully supported to allow for investigation of possible breach of Code of Conduct provisions regarding political canvassing and campaigning, which could constitute grounds for removal from tenured positions, especially those of public integrity institutions like the Governance Commission.
CENTAL stated that in the absence of determination by the Ombudsman, officials in violation of the Code cannot be lawfully removed as due process must be followed in all cases of removal for cause.
