President Weah Needs Government Reshuffle
By J. Patrick Flomo
Contributing Writer
The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
May 7, 2019
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On a recent visit to Liberia (March 2019), the airways were filled with an avalanche of criticism on Weah’s inept ability and capacity to manage the country’s faltering economic meltdown. The paralysis of the nation’s economic woes is exacerbated by Weah’s Minister of Finance, Tweah Envisions, who seems not to understand the sextant of economic policies or finance; yet he is entrusted to shepherd the nation’s economy. He has become a huge distraction for the Weah government and there is a clarion call for firing him. The inflation rate in Liberia was recorded at an all-time high of 28.5 percent in December 2018, averaging 8.67 percent from 1968 until then, and a record low of -5.69 percent in December of 1971(https://tradingeconomics.com/liberia/inflation-cpi). The velocity of commodities’ price fluctuation seems to be approaching the speed of sound and the Commerce Ministry has offered no analysis of it. As a result, the people are becoming discontent and anxious.
George Weah is not the villain (we the people are) in this story. He is the result of our worship of celebrity, even if the celebrity is a moron. The avalanche of criticism should not surprise anyone. We were fully cognizant of Weah’s lack of intellectual discipline to comprehend the basic circuitry of modern government, and yet we elected him democratically. The anemic economic and social condition of the Republic with a gloomy forecast cannot be blamed on Weah alone. The Legislature, especially the House of Representatives (with Article 34—the power of taxation and appropriation), bears culpability for this mediocre governance of Liberia.
University students are calling for his resignation because of his incompetence to govern. Yes, Weah is incompetent, but incompetence is not a high crime or misdemeanor. Second, incompetence is not an “incapacitation.” Third, we knew he was incompetent and yet the people elected him in a free and fair democratic election. So, the chorus for his resignation has a very weak melody. His ineptitude to govern is the price we must pay for our absurdity or foolhardiness.
We have a republic based on the separation of powers among the three branches of our government, namely: Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary. For the PEOPLE to experience their unalienable rights (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) endowed by the Creator (Thomas Jefferson), these three branches of our government have to exercise the full powers granted by the Constitution. Since 1944, the constitutional separation of powers has only been a theory. The ground zero of Liberia political power has been the Executive Mansion—Imperial president. This political indoctrination of the Liberian mind has to be fully deprogrammed and rehabilitated if we want a republican government. Short of this, Liberia will continue to lag behind in the advancement of human development.
The mediocrity of the Weah government is a cancer growing in Liberian society and we, THE PEOPLE, at home and in the diaspora, have a responsibility to surgically administer the most peaceful chemotherapy to stop the spread of this cancer. Here are a few suggestions:
- Call on the president to fire incompetent ministers (e.g., the Finance Minister), and put ministers in positions for which they are technically trained
- Call on the Senate that a presidential appointment confirmation hearing should not be a rubber-stamp exercise. The president has the right to nominate anyone (even a scoundrel), but the Senate has a constitutional responsibility to ensure that the nominee is technically qualified and morally upright to head a ministry
- Article 34 Section D (i) and (ii) gives the House of Representatives an enormous power – the power of taxation and appropriation. The Article reads: The Legislature shall have the power levy taxes, duties, imports, exercise and other revenues, to borrow money, issue currency, mint coins, and to make appropriations for the fiscal governance of the Republic. All revenue bills, whether subsidies charges, import duties or taxes and other financial bills, shall originate in the House of Representatives. No monies shall be drawn from the Treasury except as a consequence of appropriations made by legislative enactment and upon warrant of the President.
With such an oversight power of constitutional authority, the country has always been mired in misappropriation of funds and unaccountable of taxes and other revenue. WE THE PEOPLE should hold the House of Representatives responsible and bring pressure to bear on them to live and breathe the constitution.
- The Imperial Presidency (a presidency characterized by Arthur Schlesinger Jr. as exercising greater power than that which is enshrined in the constitution) must end. Since 1944, we have been indoctrinated in the concept of Imperial Presidency. This is a dangerous concept and a threat to a democracy based on representative government with separation of powers as its guiding principle.
Conclusion
We have met an intractable enemy (corruption) and it is us. Every living Liberian over the age of 18 knows the debilitating diseases (abject poverty, 80 percent unemployment, dismal healthcare system, mediocre educational system etc.) that are inhibiting growth and progress in Liberia. Moreover, we do know the clinical resolution to these diseases, but the willingness to act collectively is our Catch-22. The answer lies with disinterested, patriotic, and nationalistic Liberians. When will such a group evolve? Only time can tell, but it will come. In the meantime, WE THE PEOPLE must overcome our pusillanimity and bring pressure to bear on Weah to reshuffle his government and to bring in competent technocrats to do the governing the Republic deserves.
About the Author: J. Patrick Flomo can be reached jpflomo@outlook.com