Presidential Statements Are Policy Statements
Forum
Monrovia, Liberia
Distributed by
The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
When the president speaks, it is considered as “serious.” But since the elections of the Liberian democratically elected leadership of Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, making her 22-days in office today, there seems to be the opposite. Statements by the president herself or those from the Executive Mansion run contradictory and this has serious political impact in the running of the government.
At her inaugural ceremony, the president declared that all public official assets should be declared before taking offices but the taking over of offices by Managing Directors Harry Greaves and Tokpa Naghana at the NPA and LPRC contradicts this policy statement.
Recently, during her visit at the Finance Ministry, the employees of the Ministry were left flabbergasted when the president said that all employees of the Ministry should consider themselves dismissed.
Few hours later, a statement from the Executive Mansion followed to clarifying the president’s earlier statement. In fact, political observers who heard both statements were confused in terms of what was going on.
One political analyst, Peter Nimely, pointed out that it is very ugly for the president or her office to continue making statements that are contradicting.
Another political activist student from the AME University, Nah Konto indicated that “even though the president is human, she should be mindful of her statements adding, “She should think before making statement instead of making statements before thinking.”
Mr. Konto said as a first female leader in Africa, a lot is expected out of her, so let her watch her presidential statements.
