|
|
Liberia: Sawyer Wants Constitutional Reform
 |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Inquirer (Monrovia)
19 March 2008
Posted to the web 19 March 2008
The Chairman of the Governance Commission (GC) Dr. Amos C. Sawyer has said that there is a need for constitutional reform in Liberia as a means of ensuring the existence of a multi-party system and has also proposed a national conference where Liberians can gather to discuss issues about reform and the strengthening of the social political system of the country
Dr. Sawyer said, "We must talk about constitutional reform especially with that provision in the Liberian Constitution which talks about Liberia being a unitary state. We see the need because constitutional reform would ensure the establishment of a true multi-party system in our country."
Dr. Sawyer said there is confusion about the phrase 'unitary state' as some people take it to be the chain of command, while others see it the other way around.
Delivering the keynote address at the opening of a two-day workshop on strengthening political party system in Liberia organized by the International Republican Institute(IRI) and the United Nations Mission in Liberia(UNMIL), Dr. Sawyer stated that it was then clear that people want to elect their superintendents.
He said if this is done, the superintendents must be answerable to a body, preferably a County Assembly, saying, "This issue must be discussed and the phrase 'unitary state' be changed to something else."
Dr. Sawyer, a former Chairman of the Constitution Commission that drafted the 1986 Constitution, observed that in present day Liberia, a constitutional reform that creates multiple centers of authorities is cardinal to a multi-party system.
He said some of the problems Liberia has is political party specific, especially the way political parties are established and driven around an individual's ambition for state power.
Sawyer, a former President of the Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU) in the early 1990s said the party system had a problem because of the constitutional structure.
He earlier expressed regret that such a workshop could be organized by the IRI and UNMIL, saying, "Following series of consultations, it is equally regrettable that our foreign friends could write a concept paper for the workshop and not the political parties themselves."
Dr. Sawyer challenged Political parties to be instutionalized and have tangible ideas to move the country forward.
Speaking earlier, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for the Rule of Law, Henrietta Mensa Bonsu said political parties must build bridges among themselves.
She stressed the need for legislators to work along with their political parties in the enactment of bills, saying "every political party must see themselves as a government in waiting and as such must have a national agenda."
|
She expressed the hope that the workshop would provide a road map for the conservation of democracy in Liberia.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 The Inquirer. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
