Spare Us Another Corruption Committee: Citizens' Empowerment Committee Please!

It is to me a glaring contradiction that a government which is bent on stamping out corruption cannot win a single corruption case in court. The most irritating aspect of the whole-corruption ball game is that every time there are talks of corruption the government sets up committees, which are funded by taxpayers' money to probe into what always ends up as another corruption fiasco show.

Many a time, we hear President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's argument that corruption in the country is rife. We agree with the President that religious, educational, political institutions and even civil society groups are by far equally corrupt or more corrupt than public officials. But how can the President explain her government's actions to allow scores of former and present government officials, who have had and are having corruption charges to walk free; and silent on the Western Cluster fiasco in which one of her best friends and confidantes', Dr. Eugene Shannon, fingerprints appeared on every page. Now, with raft of reports indicating flaws in the Western Cluster deal, it is clear to me that we are set for another `corruption committee,' which is usually used by the UP-led Government to create jobs for cronies, who might otherwise failed to make the cut in the government.

It is predicated upon this, that I am calling on the President to spare us another Corruption Committe and live up to her Fire-Brand-Iron-Lady billing by scrapping the Western Cluster deal. There is nothing in the deal to be investigated. The resources earmarked for any investigation should be channeled to other meaningful projects: such as the creation of “The Citizens' Empowerment Committe” that will help alliviate abject poverty in Liberia.

In these six years there have been industrious and inventive Liberians born into abject poverty but who have emerged with grand-breaking ideas and only need a little push-up from the government to tap into their untapped potentials.

Today, these people are seeking a date with the President, towards their innovations, which could drive many out of poverty. Much have been said about the Grand Bassa County young man-Rabbia Saab, who makes miniature Boeing jets for Brussels Airlines. Saab has been able to have his planes on the ground but is yet to lift them into the air. Another one of these young men is Peter Kollie from Gbarnga, Bong County. Has made a helicopter and needed assistance to have his idea see the light of day. These folks born into abject poverty despite their vast innovations are expected to pull themselves out of poverty by pulling their boot-straps even if they don't have one. But their dreams are probably going to die unachieved if the government doesn't care to look their directions.

What about Louis Taleh, a Cuttington University graduate, who has invented an automatic stove that uses assigned telephone numbers. We, including President Sirleaf, have long quivered with outrage indignation about the credentials of our university graduates but with the emerging of Taleh, the onus is now on the President to show whether her indignation was not another back-door attempt to run away from her responsibilities. We wait to see how her government cultivates Taleh and the others innovations into a true Liberian-dream.

In our bid to claim our glory and reputation, we hope the Ellen governments will be necessitated by the emergence of Taleh and others to set-up the “Citizens' Empowerment Committee/Commission,” which primary objective would be to tap into untapped potentials of Liberians instead of the many useless corruption committees.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

F. Momolu Dorley is a Graduate of Cathedral Catholic School on Snapper Hill, Broad Street. He is now based in Turkey, studying International Relations at the University of Istanbul. He holds a diploma in Turkish Language. Dorley also earned certificates in Conflict Analysis and Negotiation and Conflict Management from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). He is a member of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS). He is the Press Union of Liberia's 2007-2008 Best Sports Journalist of the Year and a former employee of the Daily Observer Newspaper. Contact: luzery85@yahoo.com