The legal consultant at the Liberia Law Society, Attorney Samuel Kofi Woods, is urging the media to adopt structural and functional approaches in order to achieve democracy now and the future.
According to him, it is said that democracy is meaningless without an active, independent, transparent and free press.
He made the remarks when he was invited to serve as the guest speaker in the annual stock-taking and reflections of men and women of the pen at the Association of Liberians Journalist in the Americas (ALJA) 8th annual Convention in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA recently.
Attorney Woods stated that structural, self-assessment, self-regulation, building capacity and independence building including adequate training of journalists are all geared towards improving professionalism, training in business management of media entities and the development of other organizational structures to ensure independence of the media from state control.
He maintained that the Media, ALJA and the PUL must establish a common fund for the Liberians media to encourage investment (a business enterprise), training and access to production and distribution of information as well as legal defense fund.
“The media should create the platform for open debate to prevent the control of information and audience by the state, and avoid rent seeking and largesse from the state and private actors that undermine the objective delivery of information to the public,” he said.
Touching on the upcoming 2023 general and presidential elections in Liberia, former Minister Woods said the elections will be one of the most consequential in Liberia since the end of the civil wars 19 years ago.
He said the elections will determine whether Liberia’s post war democratic experiment is resilient enough; and whether state institutions including the NEC and the judiciary have the capacity, especially given the unresolved issues of the 2017 elections and the recent spike in tension and electoral violence to deliver a result that will represent the true will of the Liberian people.
Atty Woods indicated that the 2023 general elections in his view will be one of the most consequential in Liberia since the end of the civil war for several reasons and therefore intents to reclaim the conscience of Liberia.
Meanwhile, Woods underscored the critical role of the Liberian media in the 2023 presidential and general elections adding that the media’s role would be to ensure that the process leading to the elections and the outcome is free, fair, transparent, and that it represents the expressed will of the people.
“It will determine whether the post war democratic experiment is resilient enough, and second whether state institutions including the National Elections Commission and the judiciary have the capacity, especially given unresolved issues of the 2017 elections and the recent spike in tension and electoral violence, to deliver a result that will represent the true will of the people of Liberia,” he added.
At the gathering, Attorney-At-Law Woods, declared that Liberia’s national leadership deficit goes to the core of the country’s governance noting, “We have incompetent leaders, who have no compass to lead. The nation is stranded in a quicksand and the leaders are stranded because they are clueless; and they have lost the compass to lead.”
Commenting on the US Department of the Treasury’s targeted sanctions imposed on three senior officials of the Liberian government in August of this year for their alleged involvement in ongoing acts of public corruption and undermining Liberia’s democracy, the tough talking Samuel Kofi Woods said, “Our nation is sick when it must take the intervention of another sovereign country to whip our officials and public servants with sanctions for acts inimical to their public service before they can see the need to act and honor their obligations.”
He said President George Weah and the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government conceded the action of the US government and affirmed the whipping by suspending the accused officials and later forcing them to resign.
He wondered, “As a nation, how can we brag of sovereignty and independence when we are compelled by another government to fulfill our duties to our citizens?” He said it took a foreign country to discipline and hold our public servants accountable. He asked, “How can our current bunch of leaders lead when citizens march almost daily to the Embassy of the United States imploring them to whip our leaders into submission?”
The eminent Liberian advocate and defender of Human Rights said the fundamentals of statehood in Weah’s Liberia have been compromised and betrayed.
To achieve this, the Attorney-At-Law, recommended that the media put the appropriate infrastructure in place to enable an adequate preparation to report on the electoral process. He said the media must train, secure logistics, and network with local and foreign institutions to ensure unrestricted media access and coverage of the elections.
He said the media must ensure transparency through its “watchdog” role as the fourth estate. He furthered, “The media must serve as the platform upon which all candidates can be heard equally during the campaign and promote adherence to the code of conduct for public officials.”
He stated the media must be a forum for debate where candidates, the public and others would freely discuss electoral matters. He said sustaining the Liberian democracy is not an option; and the media must take the side of the people in the 2023 general and presidential elections.
He called on the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) and the Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA) to work in unison to develop a collective strategy for championing the cause of the people. “You must both decide whose interest you want to advance”, he emphasized.
The legal consultant stressed that the media must put the appropriate infrastructure in place to enable an adequate preparation to report on the whole range of the electoral process, which includes training, logistics, organization, networking with local and foreign institutions to ensure unrestricted media access and coverage, a key element in ensuring the process was free and fair.
“The media must ensure transparency through its ‘watchdog’ role as the fourth estate, a media that is self-sufficient and independent will not be reticent in reporting the stories and will not be swayed by the lure of pecuniary benefits to report otherwise,” he mentioned.
At the same time, he is recommending that the media should complement civil society by being a credible source of information in its role to educate the people about the entire range of the electoral process, promote better inclusion of the marginalized in the society especially the physical challenged and the full participation of women in leadership.
Meanwhile, he eulogized Icon of the pen, the late Philip Wesseh of the Inquirer Newspaper, ‘GINA’, whom he considered as a good man, a gentle soul, a humble patriot, a soldier, crusader and protector of the pen.
He added that his soul and many others that are gone have the tales of their gallantry, raging bravado and fierce crusades for press freedom and the right to freedom expression will be recounted by generations of Journalists and Liberians yet unborn.
“They helped prepare an army that will crush any dictator rearing heads in Liberia and insanely entertaining the thought that the press would return to the dark days of Liberia’s past. Liberia will never be the same when the pen was intimidated and muzzled,” Attorney Woods said.
ALJA crumbled in 2004 due to internal rift amongst its members and former leaders but the Association was revived in 2014 following 10 years of dormancy
ALJA is a conglomeration of current and retired Liberian journalists residing in the Americas. It is a 501c (3) non-profit organization. It was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1998 with the objectives of advancing press freedom through media capacity building. The Association is also, dedicated to fostering the principles of good governance in Liberia through media advocacy.
This year’s benefit dinner brought together several eminent Liberians and friends of Liberia including Grand Bassa County Senator Nyonblee Karngar-Lawrence.
