Frankly, I did not have very high expectations for the Unity Party (UP). That is, I had no illusion that the party would have put together a government that would resolve the structural imbalances in the Liberian economy – tackling unemployment, lifting hundreds of thousands out of poverty, creating the conditions for industrial development, stamping out corruption in public service, etc.
However, I was convinced that it would have raised the bar for national leadership above the horrors and chaos created by Mr. Weah and his CDC outfit when they steered the ship of affairs of the republic for six years. I thought, upon assuming power, the UP would have begun rebuilding institutions and structures of governance to restore public trust and build a capable state to deliver public goods. I thought the UP would have been very robust and honest about holding Weah and his handlers accountable. I thought the UP would have made violating our laws for personal political benefits a thing of the past. I thought competence or merit, as opposed to ethnic extraction, partisan bigotry, kinship, etc., would have underpinned appointment to public service.
Unfortunately, open hooliganism aside, brutally clamping down on dissent aside, the UP has shown it is only capable of governing within the CDC framework: assembling a government of the incompetent and inexperience, a president surrounded by career crooks with zero national consciousness, exaggerating minimalist government interventions to obscure the obvious, turning a blind eye on the rule of law and ignoring calls for holding the past administration accountable due to fear for precedence. Why wouldn’t calls for accountability be shrugged off when appointed officials, who watched the CDC goons plunder Liberia for six years and live lavishly amid vast poverty, also want to gather wealth?
This is where the CDC wants it as Weah is only politically relevant when the bar is so low, so very low. Can’t you see CDC, despite the misrule, mismanagement, and socio-economic dislocation experienced by Liberians under its watch, now dares to mobilize partisans to welcome Weah at the airport? “Why can’t we settle for Weah again when those we thought knew better are also ridiculous?”, the ordinary man might say. “Of what use is supporting those who yesterday called out Weah and his handlers for flaunting our laws to feather their nest but are today supporting the president and members of his kitchen cabinet for flagrantly violating established procurement guidelines and standards to award road contracts and purchase government assets?”, another might say.
This brings me to a letter written by the President to the Legislature, explaining his government’s intention to acquire more than 250 earth-moving equipment for road maintenance and construction. The president’s letter comes amid public bickering about the processes leading to the arrival of the “yellow machines” into the country. While supporters of the government welcome the initiative as it would help assuage the deplorable road conditions around the country, critics including this writer have called the acquisition of the machines as shady and called out the government for flaunting established procurement standards to acquire state assets.
The President’s letter to the Legislature has further validated the claims of those who have raised questions about the deal. His justifications do not suffice as they fly in the face of the law. First, according to the President, the earth-moving equipment deal is borne out of the “goodwill” of a friend (unnamed) and a “gentlemen agreement” between him and this unknown friend. However, the acquisition of state assets is not done through goodwill (unless it is a grant or aid from a known multilateral or bilateral partner, which is not the case here) and gentlemen agreement. The Public Procurement and Concession Act of 2005 (PPCA) states guidelines and procedures for the procurement of goods and services by the government.
Contracts for the procurement of capital equipment such as tens of earth-moving machines must be awarded either through a competitive bidding process, restricted bidding, request for quotations, or sole source, as required by Part V of the PPCA. This provision of the Act has established procedures and conditions for every type of bid. Gentlemen agreement is not listed among the conditions for competitive, restricted, requests for quotations and sole source bidding processes.
Second, the President stated in his letter that neither has negotiation for the equipment been concluded nor has a cent from the state coffers been spent to acquire and import them. It is however interesting that officials of the government (led by Mamaka Bility, Minister of State Without Portfolio) paraded through the principal streets of Monrovia with pieces of equipment that do not belong to the government, and pro-government social media propagandists took it upon themselves to taunt activists who had asked the hard questions about the deal. Third, although the president argued that the unnamed friend footed the bills to transport or import the equipment and that if no agreement is consummated to have the state purchase the equipment, the dealer would accept all the liabilities, the machines are parked at the Barclay Training Center (BTC), a government’s property. Isn’t it interesting?
In the final analysis, no honest patriot would want Weah and his CDC outfit to be a major factor in future presidential elections, not after the horrors of the last six years. Sadly, he and the CDC surely will if the UP folks create the objective conditions and there’s the absence of an alternative with bold and progressive ideas and popular appeal among the masses. So far, as has been analyzed above, there is no strong evidence that the UP is governing differently. Open hooliganism aside, what is left is the CDC governing framework. Furthermore, there is no indication that a progressive alternative would be formed and consolidated shortly, not even in the future. Without this alternative with a popular reach among the people we will be left with “two cheeks of the same backside”. Or as the Ghanaians would say: “Na the same old taxi ooo, ayy just be different driver.
About The Author: Moses Uneh Yahmia is a progressive political activist. He can be reached via yahmia936@gmail.com
