By Tophic Degleh
KAKATA, Margibi County — Former Margibi District #3 representative candidate Dr. John S. Smith Jr. has extended a helping hand to members of a local women’s organization who claim they were let down by their lawmaker, Representative Ellen Attoh-Wreh, over an unfulfilled election empowerment promise.
Dr. Smith on Saturday donated several empowerment items — including bags of rice, gallons of vegetable oil, cartons of soap, caustic soda, and cash — to over 30 members of the United Women Organization in Kakata. The group, comprising more than 200 women engaged in small business activities, had accused Rep. Attoh-Wreh of abandoning a pledge made during her 2023 campaign to provide business support and financial assistance.
Speaking during the presentation, Dr. Smith clarified that his gesture was not politically motivated but driven by compassion.
“Our mothers and sisters deserve sincerity, not empty promises,” he said. “Leadership should mean service — not deception. This small gesture is just a way of restoring hope and dignity.”
He urged the women to make more thoughtful choices in future elections, emphasizing accountability and integrity in leadership.
“It is better you vote for a son or daughter whom you can hold accountable,” Dr. Smith said. “But in this case, who can we complain to?”
Members of the organization, who say they campaigned vigorously for Rep. Attoh-Wreh in 2023, expressed disappointment over what they described as a “betrayal of trust.” According to them, they were issued “empowerment tickets” before the election, which symbolized a promise of business goods and startup funds once the lawmaker assumed office.
“We were promised that our small businesses would be empowered after the election,” said Sarah Johnson, one of the group’s members. “We campaigned, we voted, and we waited. But since then, we’ve seen nothing — not even a bag of rice.”
Group leader Pauline Pearl accused the lawmaker of deception.
“They gave us tickets and said they would empower us, but now they don’t know us,” she said. “As they always say, after election comes selection.”
The women said repeated attempts to engage the lawmaker have gone unanswered. They added that some members abandoned their petty trading activities to campaign for Attoh-Wreh, believing she would champion women’s empowerment and support small-scale business initiatives for single mothers and elderly women.
When contacted for comment, Representative Ellen Attoh-Wreh admitted distributing empowerment tickets during her campaign but said the implementation had been delayed due to financial constraints.
“My salary cannot do everything,” she said. “The empowerment process is ongoing. We are working through the Women’s Legislative Caucus $1 million Women Empowerment Project, supported by UN Women and WONGOSOL, which will provide business skills training before disbursing funds.”
Attoh-Wreh appealed for patience, assuring her constituents that she remains committed to supporting women across the district.
However, political observers believe the controversy could damage the lawmaker’s credibility — especially given her influential role as Chairperson of the Women’s Legislative Caucus of Liberia, a position that places her at the forefront of national women’s empowerment efforts.
