The NEWS (Monrovia)
18 April 2008
editorial
Monrovia — About two weeks now, the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) and Defense Ministry authorities have been expressing reservations over feeding and housing facilities for officers of the newly trained Liberian army.
Defense Ministry authorities are claiming that contractors training the army were not involving them into the decision-making process regarding renovation of housing facilities for the soldiers.
Defense Minister Brownie Samukai was quoted this week as threatening that the Ministry will not go along to make a determination for the next class of recruits unless the issue as to proper accommodation was resolved for those who will be coming because it was a major constraint.
Samukai observed that the military units at the Edward Beyan Kesselly Barracks lack kitchen and cooking facilities, making it a "very tough environment to live in".
The soldiers, on the other hand, are pointing out that as the advanced training increases there is little or no time to prepare their food upon return to their base.
In response to these claims, the sponsor of the training program, the United States government, through its Embassy, has assured that it was still "committed to the security sector reform of Liberia and that the contractors who have been working on the training program for three and half years have been doing a great job and something unique as it is difficult to train an army from scratch".
Regarding allegations against the contractors (DynCorps), the American government said it was not that the contractors didn't do something that they were supposed to do; rather, the issues came up because circumstances changed...
Notwithstanding, the U.S. government has maintained that the long-term sustenance of the military program beginning with when the soldiers are deployed at their operational bases is a question for the Liberian government.
From these exchanges, we do sense a reminder that bilateral and multilateral goodwill must be complimented by national initiatives that would sustain partnership activities and programs.
In the case of the AFL, we think there must exist a national program similar to the assistance the Americans are providing, even if it is on a smaller scale, so that when issues arise along the way they can be handled with less controversy.
By so doing, the government would also be sustaining the Army through national initiatives, thereby lessening the dependence on external assistance.
The initial 2000-man strength of the military was, as we also believe, determined by budgetary projections that could afford to adequately cater for the Army. As the Army is the Nation's ultimate line of defense, future budgets should be formulated in a way that would accommodate adequate care for it.
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