What many are made to believe that the census exercise has officially kickoff is more likely to be a scheme or a waste of donors’ fund and taxpayers resources as enumerators are instead conducting housing census instead of population census.
Most of those encountered on the field in Monrovia and its surrounding for the past two days are not documenting households’ information rather they are counting house and seem not to be interested its occupants.
According to the former Deputy Director General of the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo-information Services (LISGIS), Alex Williams, Liberia is not prepared for census.
He said people at LISGIS need to resign and be replaced with competent people before there can be a transparent census but where it is now, census cannot be fixed adding, “Even if the government wants to hire any statistician to conduct this census, it won’t work because of ineffectiveness and corruption.”
The dismissed official said apparently President George M. Weah’s legal advisor does not know his job for which he/she is being paid handsomely or either this is a proof that the country under CDC-government is doomed.
Williams asserted that this is because those around the President do not know their jobs and are bent on allowing President Weah to continue to make shameful errors when they are there to checkmate him.
Appearing on Spoon Network two days in succession this week, Mr. Williams pointed out as per the law, Section 58.2, ‘the President of the Republic of Liberia can only appoint the Director General at LISGIS while the Board of Directors appoints the three deputies at LISGIS.’
The aggrieved dismissed official in a strong worded statement, said the issue of President Weah dismissing him or his colleague, Wilmot Smith was out of order because it was done ignorantly- adding, “President Weah’s legal advisor did not inform him well; if you were to read the LISGIS Act in section 58.2 that was established in 2004, it talks about the President’s power to the Director General alone.”
Stating further, “I do not work for the will and pleasure of the president because I am not a presidential appointee so as such, he can’t dismiss by the president,” he said.
Williams challenged the government to check the Executive Mansion website where appointments are made or even the check the Senate whether or not he went for confirmation.
He accused Liberia Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah of sending LD 300,000 to LISGIS census account the last time he appeared on Spoon Talk indicating, “It was a blatant lie that he has since transferred over US$2,000,000 and over LR 97,000,000 to LISGIS census accounts at ECOBANK Liberia that is exclusively managed by LISGIS management.”
“I will also show the Liberian people that it is not only Aloysius Howe who is taking money from the census account but also other people connected to D-Tweah AKA Prisca Paul, Wilmot Smith and Lawrence George who does not work at LISGIS are also taking money from the census account,” he vented.
He said Minister Tweah must also explain to Liberian people who owns the account in Cote d’Ivoire where census money keeps going.
He said Minister Tweah should also tell the Liberian person who owns the fake company that the tablet shipment from Ghana contract was awarded to. “I will expose you to the letter corrupt and wicked agent Tweah who have hijacked the People’s Revolution,” he expressed.
