TUBMAN AND THE EMBASSY SALE SAGA

AMBASSADOR WINSTON Tubman, a candidate for the presidency of the Republic of Liberia has been accused of acting in bad faith regarding the sale of the Liberian embassy in Paris France during the height of the civil war.

THE REPORT, yet-to-be-made was sanctioned by former Foreign Minister Olubanke King-Akerele who, in 2009 and was one of several transactions cited for investigation. The others being,  the Liberian chanceries in London, Nairobi, Belgium, and a number of other foreign missions.

THE SALE in question took place shortly after the fall of Samuel Doe and the arrival of the Interim Government of National Unity headed by Dr. Amos Sawyer, whose government was set up in an attempt to restore peace in Liberia and usher in a democratically-elected government.

THE EMBASSY IN QUESTION is located at 8 Rue Jacques, Bingen Paris, 75017, France and according to the investigation, was sold by certain individuals in 1992. The facility was exclusively owned by the Government of Liberia and had been owned by the Government of Liberia since 1953.

ACCORDING TO THE findings, Tubman signed the document which paved the way for the sale of the embassy but falls short of stating whether the former UN Special Representative to Sudan benefited from financial transaction which followed the sale.

ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, the document upon which the Notary Public in France, Mr. Dominique Ader, relied upon to perfect the sale was signed by Counselor Winston Tubman. Said the report: “We further understand that other individuals involved in the transaction included the late Ambassador Aaron George, the Liberian Ambassador to France at the time; Trohoe Kparghai, former Advisor to Samuel Kanyon Doe; and Alain Carron, the then Liberian honorary consul in Lyon, France. None of the aforementioned individuals had the authority to dispose of the Liberian government assets above described.

THE REPORT goes on to suggest that Tubman, who signed the purported “transfer of title” did not have the requisite indicia of authority in March 1992 to transfer a good, clear and free title of any property belonging to the Government and people of Liberia. Therefore, according to the report, the purported transfer was illegal and null and void ab initio.

WHILE SOME ARE raising questions about the timing of the report’s release, we encourage Ambassador Tubman to go beyond the call of duty in responding point-by-point the allegations raised in the findings especially in reference to suggestions that even though Tubman claimed to have been offered the position of Special Envoy of Dr. Amos Sawyer in 1990, he was not empowered to dispose of assets of the Government of Liberia unilaterally. Usually, Government assets abroad, such as embassies and consulates are under the purview of the Ministry of   Foreign Affairs.

AT A TIME when Liberia and Liberians were scattered all over the world, the findings calls into question, the former Ambassador’s judgment in getting himself involved in a sale of a facility that did not require urgency of sale at the time. Was Liberia in danger of losing a property it rightfully owned? Would it have lost its sovereignty of the embassy had not been sold?

WE FEEL that Ambassador Tubman, who has been very vocal against the ruling Unity Party owes it to voters and the Liberian people to set himself apart from issues he has spoken out against, especially those bordering corruption now clouding the ruling Unity Party.

THAT THE REPORT has concluded that Ambassador Tubman, notary public, Mr. Domique Ader, Ambassador Aaron George, Mr. Trohoe Kparghai, Mr. Alain Carron, and all others involved in the sale of property belonging to the Liberian people and Government, located at 8 Rue Jacques, Bingen 75017 France, acted in bad faith; That the findings have concluded that Tubman had no authority, power or ownership interest to transfer said real property means that something sinister was behind the motives for the sale.

FOR A CANDIDATE seeking the highest office in the land, Ambassador Tubman must make it a priority to ensure that he answers these charges fully and unconditionally.

WHILE WE take the Ambassador to task, we also encourage the government to make all of the various probes public so it does not seem that the unearthing now is political motivated in an attempt to discredit Ambassador Tubman’s candidacy.

WHAT WE ARE advocating for is for candidates seeking the highest office in Liberia to exercise transparency, accountability and a sense of openness involving anything linking them to corruption or activities aimed at denying Liberia and Liberians revenues or a chance for a better life.

WE ENCOURAGE not just Ambassador Tubman but all candidates to come clean over whatever skeletons laying in their closets. Liberia and Liberians have suffered too much and are continuing to suffer as a results of frailties committed by politicians and corrupt officials and former officials. Now is not the time for any more mistakes but a time for all to come clean so that Liberia can enjoy a better future and an even much better chance at a better sense of political and financial security.

SORRY MADAM PRESIDENT, WE, TOO, ARE BOYCOTTING PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY

Failure on the part of the Ministry of Finance and a number of government institutions to pay  media institutions, including FrontPageAfrica, advertising debts owed leaves us with no alternative but to join the New Democrat in Taking this stance today.

FOR MONTHS now, media institutions in Liberia have been pleading with government ministries and agencies to pay debts owed for services rendered to no avail.

SOME GOVERNMENT agencies owe between $US10 and $20,000 to newspapers and radio stations but have found it difficult to get government institutions to pay up.

THE PRESIDENT, has on a number of occasions reminded and even demanded that the Ministry of Finance and government institutions pay but nothing has been done to alleviate the problem.

THE PUBLISHERS’ ASSOCIATION too has to date issued one ultimatum to government to pay up, but that too has fallen on deaf ears. Now even the publishers are planning another meeting to decide how to proceed.

AS WE STATED before, this is not a matter that requires too much discussion. The simple solution for us is to take a new approach in dealing with government institutions: Require them to pay in advance before publishing their advertisements and announcements and boycott further publication of adverts until those debts are settled.

IN RECENT DAYS, there have been several conflicting accounts and blame shifting on the matter over why the debts remain unpaid.

ON THE ONE HAND, the Finance ministry contends that some media institutions were not asked to publish certain adverts so they should not be paid. Our position here is, weed them out and pay those who were asked to publish.

THE FINANCE Ministry has also contended that some government ministries and agencies have simply not submitted their bills for payments. Our position here is, remind them of the President’s demand to pay media institutions.

SADLY, SOME media institutions have followed the book, played the rules submitted the documents requested and simply tried to do the right thing. Sadly, the Ministry of Finance continues to fail to pay up and has persistently come up with one excuse after the next why newspapers and radio stations have not been paid.

ONE WOULD THINK that in an election year, when an incumbent government needs to disseminate all the information it can to the general public, it would do all it can to not in simple English, Piss the watchdogs off!

SADLY, AGAIN, the action on the part of the Ministry of Finance to pay has led many to conclude that the government which has enjoyed high praise for freedom of the press may be using the stalling of advertising revenues to starve struggling media institutions.

IF THAT is the case, then perhaps the president’s attention is required and in a very strong way as we are doing today.

WE HOPE that our action, along with the Democrat will inspire other newspapers and radio stations to realize their power and use it to their advantage.

PERHAPS THIS was what Daniel Bashiel Warner, Liberia’s third president had in mind when he penned the national anthem when he wrote: “In union, strong success is sure, we cannot fail”.  The government must pay up or shut up. The media needs finances to keep its head above water.

NAME AND SHAME LOCAL CONTRACTORS

OVER THE PAST few weeks, the ministry of Public Works has been at loggerheads with local contractors over the slow pace of road construction in several parts of the country..

IN RECENT MONTHS, we have heard stories of contractors failing to complete road projects and complaints from a handful of others lamenting the fact that the government is only giving contracts to foreign firms.

JUST THIS week, Public Works Minister Samuel Kofi Woods took resident engineers to task and demanded that development and infrastructure projects must meet a certain degree of standard irrespective of the nomenclature associated with the project.

ACCORDING TO WOODS, projects implemented by both the Ministry of Public Works and its partners should be in line with required standard set or be stopped.

WOODS WARNING comes amid what many are suggesting is the apparent lack of ability by local contractors to perform.

WHAT THE MINISTRY of Public Works should be doing is naming and shaming those local companies that have failed to deliver on projects, keeping developments at bay.

WHILE WE encourage and are impressed that the ministry is looking to get local contractors a shot in the arm, this endeavor must not compromise the development agenda of a post-war nation.

AS IT TURNS out many of these local companies not only lack the capacity but some misuse the funds intended for the road projects at the detriment of a nation on the rebound.

NAMING AND SHAMING is the way forward and the only language strong enough to ensure that development projects are put in the hands of the right people capable of doing the job. If this means having foreign companies doing all the work, then so be it. But local companies must realize that they have to step up to the plate if they intend on winning more contracts to improve our roads and infrastructures.

PRESS FREEDOM AND THE RULE OF LAW

Changing Landscape Requires Liberia to take a closer look at how it handles and tolerates the Fourth Estate

LIBERIA JOINED the rest of the world in celebrating World Press Freedom Day Tuesday, the set aside on May 3rd of each year to pay homage to the contributions of journalists around the world.

ESTABLISHED IN 1993 by the United Nations, the celebration aims to raise awareness on press freedom and remind the various governments all over the world to continually do their duty of respecting and upholding the right to freedom of expression.

THIS YEAR’S THEME IS 21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers” is the theme of World Press Freedom Day 2011  and the celebration coincides with the 20th Anniversary of the 1991 Windhoek Declaration for the promotion of free and pluralistic media.

ON TUESDAY, celebrations took place in over 100 countries worldwide are also taking place to mark the observance of the day.

IN BURUNDI, some 100 journalists marched in the capital Bujumbura to press for the release of a jailed colleague, the decriminalization of press offences and to mark World Press Freedom Day. "We're demonstrating, on the international day for press freedom, to demand first and foremost the release of our colleague, Jean-Claude Kavumbagu, who has been jailed for months and risks a life sentence," Alexandre Niyungeko, the president of the Burundian Union of Journalists, told AFP.

IN ALGERIA, journalists gathered in the capital Algiers on World Press Freedom Day Tuesday, pressing for better salaries and training. Lamenting what they deemed the "catastrophic situation" of journalists in the north African country, the group staged a sit-down protest outside Press House, which houses several newspapers. "The profession is in total disorder," said the Algerian National Initiative for the Dignity of Journalists, which organized the protest and put the number of demonstrators at 200.

AS THE CELEBRATION took place in cities around the world, it seems the problems are similar in countries across Africa where newspapers continue to face challenges amid the criminalization of their work by the powers that be.

IN LIBERIA, newspapers are being bombarded with lawsuits in a nation where the courts are being used by the corrupt as a haven to take on journalists and newspapers. In the past few years, the New Democrat and FrontPageAfrica, two of the country’s leading newspapers have had to fight lawsuits. FrontPageAfrica which lost a suit against a former minister has moved against filing an appeal to the Supreme Court fearing the draining of its mere resources to fight a case it believes it cannot win.

THE ISSUE OF SALARY and training is a key problem for journalists around the world. In Liberia, many continue to lament the poor conditions journalists endure with newspapers and radio stations still finding it difficult to pay journalists decent wages.

IT IS BEFITTING TO KNOW that Liberia is not alone it the struggle. In South Africa for example, journalists are facing an erosion of press freedom as parliament presses ahead with the Protection of Information Bill which when enacted will enable national, provincial or local governments to declare secret a wide range of information which if published could result in the person responsible for the publication, an editor, journalist or a citizen, being imprisoned for a period which in some instances could be for up to 25 years. The current deadline date for this Bill is June 24, 2011. The Bill gives the Minister of State Security excessive powers to declare information secret. It also contains a clause empowering the authorities to maintain secrecy over what information has been declared protected, or secret, so that a journalist, or an individual, who gains access to that information will not know that its publication could be a criminal offence.

FOR LIBERIA, which passed a similar Freedom of Information Act last year, progress has been made by media institutions and the press in general but more needs to be done to ensure that the judiciary branch is not used as an empowering tool to keep journalists from doing the work.

THE RULE OF LAW is essential but authorities owe it to the journalism profession to ensure that journalists’ rights are protected and government laws are not misused as a whipping stick to keep the press at bay. Press freedom is a must all over the world regardless of the challenges. Liberia cannot and must not allow itself to fall prey to the abnormal oppression against the Fourth Estate.

AN SOS FROM LOFA

Prominent citizens from county, including Finance, Defense ministers and lawmakers must show leadership  in preparing county for Independence Day celebration, simmering ethnic tension.

LOFA COUNTY, one of Liberia’s most populous was tapped a year ago as the venue for the 2011 July 26 Independence Day festivities.

LIKE PREVIOUS counties tapped for the unique honor, the county finds itself unprepared and probably unready for the task this year, unless serious development initiatives are undertaken in the next few weeks leading to the celebration.

THE ROADS leading into the county is currently in a deplorable state with the only visible sign of progress located on a cocoa farm in the town of Sazanor.

IN TWO YEARS, the farming initiative development covering 14,820 acres and 6,000 hectares nucleus cocoa plantation is matched by a complementary out growers-smallholders program has shown remarkable progress. The plantation located in Sazanor Town, Quardu-Gboni District in Lofa County lies 20 kilometers from Voinjama, the county’s capital and 414 kilometers from Monrovia, Liberia’s capital.

WHILE WE APPLAUD initiatives undertaken by the Chairman of the ruling party, Varney Sherman to raise money for the construction of a clinic in the Quardu District, we feel strongly that the incumbent government and organizers of this year’s festivities begin strategizing on how it can come up with visible progress ahead of the Independence Day celebrations.

MANY OF THE residents FrontPageAfrica spoke to on the weekend lamented the fact that ongoing tension, especially in the aftermath of last year’s violent turn branded as a fight between Muslims and Christians, is a contributing factor to the current state Lofa now finds itself.

IF THIS IS TRUE, then the leaders must begin taking initiatives to bring sanity to Lofa as it prepares for the Independence Day celebration.

THE COUNTY as it stands today is in total darkness at night with very little sign that light is at the end of the tunnel.

WHAT LOFA desperately needs is a wake-up call to order, one which will send a message to the rest of Liberia that the county is open for business.

SADLY, the county boasts some prominent figures currently serving in government who should take the initiative and begin plotting a strategy for redeem the county from carnage and prepare it for a transition from war to peace, from violent to peace and from soul-sinking to soul searching.

THIS IS SOMETHING the people of Lofa desperately needs and is counting on its leaders to take leadership role in unifying the county for the celebration of the country’s independence.

WHAT LOFA NEEDS now is a sign that the county’s worst days are behind and the best days are still ahead.

IT BEGINS and end with the likes of Brownie Samukai, Augustine Ngafuan, Eugene Falakpakai and others putting their best foot forward and working with the superintendents and county leaders to ensure that Lofa rises again.

FAILURE TO TACKLE this issue head on will leave to a major embarrassment for a government, who has a son of the Lofa soil as vice president when the celebration comes along in July. The message must be clear and simple: That Lofa is open for business and is ready to lay the ghosts of violence to rest as it strives to pick up the pieces of war, violence and chaos.