By Gideon Nma Scott, Jr.
Today, the 73 persons who were elected by their various electoral districts from across the country will be sworn in as lawmakers of the House of Representatives and members of the 55th National Legislature, after which they will make their first decision, either on the side of the country or for their own benefits.
Article 31 says, “Each member of the Legislature, before taking his seat and entering upon the duties of office, shall take and subscribe to a solemn oath or affirmation, before the presiding officer of the House to which such person was elected and in the presence of other members of that House, to uphold and defend the Constitution and laws of the Republic and to discharge faithfully duties of such office.”
Anticipating to assume the duties of a Representative, most of these folks, if not all of them, campaigned to their constituencies that, if elected, they would put aside their personal egos and work in the interest of the country, which would inadvertently bring socioeconomic development and improve the living conditions of their people. Some of them promised to ensure good governance, farm to market and urban roads constructions, an equipped health delivery system, furnished and an improved school system, as well as well-paid civil servants, while others pledged to combat crimes and impunity and ensure accountability and transparency in government. Still, some even promised to open the skies and rain down manna, gold, and diamond for their people, even though two of these resources are found beneath the earth.
As the years unfold, these promises will be tested one at time and the true sons and daughters of the SOIL will be sorted out from among the greedy, self-seeking, and egotistic ones who think that they have arrived by ascending to the post of a lawmaker.
The speakership and deputy speakership elections will also enflame the boiler which these folks will have to pass through in the coming years as they represent their people.
In the Liberian governance system, the position of the Speaker, which is the third in line as per our ascendency clause, is crucial to the political wellbeing and growth of the republic and its people, because the one who sits in that office drives the socioeconomic development agenda of the country through budgetary appropriation and allocation, coupled with his or her functions of oversight, representation, and lawmaking.
Today being the first working day for the 55th legislature, all eyes and ears are turned and tuned to Liberia’s first branch of government as they either elect another CROOK to the third most powerful office in the country, or someone who will be considered as a team player to work along with the incoming government to lift the development agenda of the country; and this is turning out to be another political fight between the ruling Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) and the incoming Unity Party (UP).
A crook is a person who is dishonest or a criminal. For example, “That man is a crook, he’s not to be trusted”. The word crook later took on the meaning of “petty criminal.” You can use crook as an informal way to describe someone who is dishonest. He or she is typically involved in minor or nonviolent crimes like being a con-man. A con-man, like we say in Liberia, or someone committing fraud, could be called a crook. These are some of the people who have been sitting in the nation’s first branch of government’s highest office for the past years and some are opting to go back there.
For the past 18 years, especially in the recent six, the House of Representatives has harbored lots of crooks who have used their offices to convert millions of local and foreign currencies intended to improve the socio-economic, as well as developmental, wellbeing of the common people, to their personal interest in the presence of the chief crooks, the speakers and their principal deputies. Some of them have amassed so much wealth that even their fore-parents never dreamed of.
As CDC faces the Unity Party and its alliance in another round of election, both parties are putting up a fight that could see another crook or a passive lawmaker elected as Speaker of the honorable House of Representatives.
For the CDC, the speakership election is a matter of LIFE and DEATH because it will determine how formidable the party will be in the coming elections, after it has been relegated onto the opposition table, and is therefore doing all it can to have its candidate, Fonati Koffa, elected.
The election of the CDC candidate will also mean that the soon-to-be opposition will control how the Boakai-Koung government rolls out its well-publicized AREST agenda. As the head of the Legislature, the Speaker of the House appoints all standing committee members, and more importantly, decides the size of the budget, which is the core driver of the economy. The UP fears that this could be the rout that a CDC speaker could exploit to garrote its programs and policies intended to refurbish and rebrand the country.
Fonati Koffa himself is also doing all he can to assume the post of the speaker after serving as deputy speaker for the last three years. Many persons, including outgoing Speaker, Bhofal Cambers, have accused Cllr. Koffa of vote buying and vote rigging in his Grand Kru County District #2, paying off potential candidates who may have presented themselves as threats to his election, and as well as attempting to dethrone outgoing Speaker Chambers in Maryland County by encouraging and financially supporting candidates against him.
It is also alleged that to test his political strength against Amb. Boakai, Cllr. Koffa asked the 73 lawmakers not to respond to the incoming President’s invitation, when he, Boakai, invited them for an acquaintance meeting at his residence in the Rehab community.
Also, in an attempt to strengthen their argument, the CDC have coined a phrase, “For balance in government,” which means unlike the outgoing government that controlled both Houses – the Senate and Representatives – a speaker from the opposition with serve as the check and balance between the Boakai-led government and how State resources are being used.
But some time ago, these very CDCians opted for the “smooth running of the State”, claiming that a Speaker from the then winning party was necessary, thereby, without an election for the post, the defeated Unity Party awarded the Speakership to the CDC, which selected Bhofal Chambers a Speaker of the House of Representatives.
It is pathetic, and the highest form of deception, to hear these same CDCians who earlier said, “for the smooth running of the government,” are now championing a case, “for balance in government” and want to head the HoR. This is laughable.
But, for the Richard Koon for Speaker Campaign Team, and the Unity Party and its alliance, the Speakership would mean a smooth rolling out of Amb. Boakai’s AREST agenda, which is intended to rescue the country from a six-year strangulated economy and transform it into a vibrant economy where transparency, accountability, and credibility will be the hallmark. Though not much is known as to the working of Mr. Koon in the House for the last six years, many of his followers are campaigning that he is a good team player who has supported many committees, especially with his expertise in finances.
Like President Weah, who is giving Cllr. Koffa support by calling members of the incoming members of the House of Representatives of the 55th Legislature to consider the CDC candidate for the post, soon-to-be President Boakai is also engaging with any and every lawmaker to consider his support for Koon and elect him as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Amb. Boakai sees Fonati Koffa’s fight for the speakership post as a circulated and a well-articulated attempt to sit on his (Boakai’s) development agenda and drag the Unity Party-led government into the mud of failures, as did the CDC during its regime, while on the contrary, Richard Koon as Speaker will ensure and promote the full rolling out of the AREST agenda of the party.
It is being speculated that the incoming administration has elevated the speaker’s election on his development priorities for the country and any attempt to vote against his candidate is a direct vote against him and the Unity Party Alliance.
With the political fight as to who becomes the speaker between the two men seen on every street corner and in every village square, many followers of the activities of the duo say that Koon and Koffa are “FIVE and SIX,” and suggested that the principle of the “Lesser Evil” must be considered.
Putting their THIS and THAT aside, the two men have matching credentials, though from different academic fields, and have served at the National Legislature for the past six years.
As you, Representatives of the 55th Legislature, are deciding who becomes the first among equals, please remember that this is your very first assignment in either ably representing your people or otherwise. I ask you, like you pleaded with your constituents, to vote right, because the survivability of the country, after a terrible six years we all experienced, should be our concern.
If you put your bellies first and ignore the desire of the people you represent at the National Legislature and elect another crook as speaker, POSTERITY WILL CALL YOUR CASE IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION.
*The thought of the son of a professional Kru woman.
