15 November 2007
The wise saying - Conflict is an integral part of the human race and can in no way be escaped by any man or institution, has become a reality in the instance of a Liberian newspaper, the Public Agenda.
According to information, the Managing Editor, Gibson W. Jerue and the Publisher/Board Chairman of Mayaba Communication Inc., Abrahim Donzo, who also owns the paper, are reportedly involved in sour relationships, a development with latent propensity to drag the paper into public ridicule.
Mr. Jerue told reporters in Monrovia that he and Mr. Donzo are shareholders in the paper, but that his boss has recently been using the paper as his personal farm, disregarding him as a nonentity.
According to the Public Agenda Managing Editor, when he traveled to the United States sometimes ago to attend a media conference, the Board Chairman restricted his signature privilege of the paper's bank account at the Liberia's Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) without any information on the motive of the change.
Mr. Jerue further indicated that since he returned from the United States, he and his boss have constantly been at loggerheads on the manner and form in which his signature was removed from the institution's bank account.
He also said that the board chairman was single-handedly running the entity as his farm, an act he described as bad governance, vowing to resist such practices, at all costs.
He also indicated that besides removing his signature from the entity's bank account, Chairman Donzo has withdrawn over US$11,000 from the paper's account at LBDI for his personal usage; a practice that Mr. Jerue described as having a negative impact on the smooth operation of the paper.
The Public Agenda Managing Editor further revealed that as an outgrowth of these practices by Chairman Donzo, the paper currently is indebted to the Sabanoh Printing Press for printing on the paper appear on the newsstands on a regular basis over the past weeks.
Speaking further, Mr. Jerue added that while he was in the United States, his two media colleagues: Sherman Seequeh, the paper political Editor and Lyndon Ponnie, Editor in Chief, whom he accordingly recruited to produce the paper were now demonically engaged in undermining him, with the aim of dumping him out of the entity.
"I'm completely disappointed with my two friends that I took at the paper to help me" Gibson bemoaned. "If I had ever dreamt or known that they were of such undermining characters, I won't have recruited them," he further lamented.
"I will not sit here and allow Donzo, Seequeh and Ponnie to take advantage of me; the establishment of this paper is a dire product of my sweat and blood" he said in a determined tone of keeping a hold on his position.
The Public Agenda managing editor then took what amounted to a political move by stating that he has with immediate effect suspended for time indefinite, the paper's political editor, Sherman Seequeh for what he called gross insubordination to his office.
But the political editor, Sherman Seequeh told journalists that his suspension is a non issue on grounds that he was never recruited or employed by Gibson Jerue in the first place.
Mr. Sherman Seequeh said he was surprised by the way and manner Gibson Jerue was behaving, adding that Gibson was being teleguided or programmed by people, who have bent on destroying the good image of the paper even before he could leave for the United States of America.
When reporters contacted the paper's board chairman, Mr. Abrahim Donzo, he retorted to the statements of the paper's managing editor by saying that he was reserving all comments until he can meet his lawyer on the 'way forward'.
Our reporter who covered the rigmarole between Gibson and his boss reported that Mr. Jerue was noticeably alone in his fight, while his former colleagues, Sherman Seequeh and Lyndon Ponnie and a large majority of the work force are reportedly said to be on the side of their boss.
According to unconfirmed reports gathered by this paper, it has revealed that the Public Agenda Board members have begun holding series of meeting basically to expel the Mr. Jerue from the employ of the entity. In that regard, the decision is accordingly set to take place before the end of this week.
This action of the board if at all taken will be a gigantic blow to the media landscape in which Jerue has played a gallant role in the immediate part.
But whatever the spin-off of the decision, pundits are opined that the Managing Editor seems to be targeted for retaliation by the other workers since he did not allow others to use the traveling and study opportunity that availed itself to the paper.
It seems to these people that the head of an organization may not necessarily be the best person to take advantage of key opportunities like golden capacity building privileges in a sought after country like the Great United States.
If the dismissal decision takes effect, Jerue might be the first Managing Editor to win the coveted best newspaper accolade of the Press Union of Liberia, has nothing only to shove before the onset of the following award event. Time will tell.
African Media Center Honors Liberian Herbalist
A renowned Liberian Herbalist and Executive Director of the Center for Herbal Healing and Counseling (CHECO) had been honored in Monrovia.
According to a release issued in Monrovia last night by the African media Network, Mr. B. Mohammed Dukuly was honored based on his outstanding and professional role played during the year in review as well as his commitment to the Health care delivery post war recovery program of Liberia.
The release pointed out that Mr. Dukuly who is well noted for his traditional treatment in the areas of ulcer stomach, pale and other sicknesses has helped many Liberians including foreigners who after many years of western treatment failed to recover.
The release further stated that the renowned Liberian Herbalist has demonstrated his life-saving skill which has brought to life many people who lied in sick bed for many months.
The soft-spoken Executive Director of the Center for Herbal Healing and Counseling (CHECO) located in Jacob's Town in Paynesville City, the release continued selection for this years honor was based on opinion poll conducted by pollsters in selected communities in over nine counties in the country.
Meanwhile, Mr. B. Mohammed Dukuly thanked the African Media Network for his preferment saying "We do not know that people are watching us especially the Media, while we sit in our little corner".
He promised to justify the confidence reposed in him to continue to bring smile and relief to sick people in our country.
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