The Governance Commission (GC) formerly Governance Reform Commission (GRC) hadn’t had fully functional commissioners including chairperson since the retirement of the late Amos Claudius Sawyer even after Counselor A. Ndubusi Nwabudike’s tenure of service ended with the commission.
David Karn Carlor, one of the two commissioners now serving at the Governance Commission, told the media recently in Monrovia that the Commission’s composition is incomplete in terms of commissioners instead of 5; they are only two now serving their terms because the third commissioners’ tenure of service has expired and is on the way out.
He went further that at the moment there are only two commissioners at the Governance Commission but regrettably, there is no chairperson to continue an effort of finding the balance where the late Amos Claudius Sawyer who once served as chairperson of the commission left-off.
Carlor said governance is about public reform, decentralization, civic engagement, peace-building amongst others. As such, it resulted in the establishment of numerous institutions like the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC).
Others are the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Public Procurement and Concession Commission (PPCC), General Auditing Commission, National Identification Registry (NIR), National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE), and Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR).
He stated that the commission rolled out in 2003. At that time, it was designed to bring everybody to the negotiating table as to why the confusion or fighting was about but during the conference in Accra, Ghana; its role was defined by considering state reform.
It can be recalled that President Weah then disclosed that he had earlier spoken with Mrs. Thelma Comfort Duncan-Sawyer, widow of Amos Sawyer, to take over the Governance Commission hoping that perhaps a life of more than 40 years with Dr. Sawyer has given her what it takes to run the Commission, but registered that Duncan respectfully turned down the offer, noting that she was not prepared to succeed her late husband in that line of work.
“This was why I called you, Mrs. Sawyer, if it was possible for you to keep the Governance Commission alive. I did so because you have been with Amos Sawyer for thirty some more years. You said to me you never wanted to be in your husband’s shoes but you wanted to be with your husband. I understood you. This is why today we have to look for the best that will get in the shoes of Dr. Sawyer,” Weah said earlier at the time in the ongoing search.
Apart from Weah’s appeal to Mrs. Sawyer to have taken over the Governance Commission to continue with the legacy of her deceased husband, something she declined to accept, he also appointed former minister Toga McIntosh Gayewea and he too refused to accept the offer on grounds that he too has a political ambition, particularly for the Presidency in 2023.
Also, Yarsuo Weh-Dorliae, a former Commissioner of the Governance Commission and the Cuttington University’s former lecturer of government studies was named but he also declined the appointment on grounds that he cannot undo what has been done. He once served the commission twice as commissioner therefore he cannot serve for the third time which is against the law.
His appointment at the time was strange in contemporary Liberian politics; more so it took place on an occasion rather than receiving a recommendation from anyone to consider the learned teacher and public governance expert for the post.
For years now, the Governance Commission has been without an executive chairperson since the end of service of controversial Counselor A. Ndubusi Nwabudike.
The Governance Commission is an autonomous Commission of the Government of Liberia established by an Act of the National Legislature and approved on Friday, 9 October, 2009.
The Governance Commission’s mandate is to support the Government of Liberia in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to improve the performance and accountability of governing institutions for the benefit of the Liberian people.
The Commission’s mandate is to support the government in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to improve the performance and accountability of governing institutions for the benefit of the Liberian people. It is an independent, professional, nonpartisan agency.
