The NEWS (Monrovia)
Sheriff Z. Adams
9 September 2008
Monrovia — A former official of government has suggested that the administration of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf should halt all further reviews, negotiations and determinations appertaining to the award of management contract in the Liberia Maritime Program pending a full investigation of the facts and circumstances surrounding the contested email exchanges in the Knuckles-gate affair.
Mr. Lewis Brown, former Foreign Minister under the regime of ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor, said it would be important if the National Legislature advises the executive branch how it should proceed in handling such a critical matter.
His call for government to halt the award of the management of the Liberia Maritime Program comes at the time when the government is considering signing a new agreement with LISCR.
In separate letters addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate, Mr. Brown said a joint committee of both houses consisting primarily the Judiciary and Ways, Means and Finance must now actively seize this matter.
He said the joint committees, acting for and on behalf of that august body, must deliberate upon and fashion out terms and conditions, inclusive of agreeable timelines for the hiring of an independent prosecutor whose direct responsibility shall be to conduct the investigations.
Mr. Brown pointed out that a recruitment exercise to assist investigative bodies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) of the United States and others in the sub-region be conducted by the joint committees in consultation with other institutions involved in the probe.
In this regard, he suggested that the joint committees should prioritize the recruitment of an expatriate in consultation with the United Nations Missions in Liberia (UNMIL) which, he believes, can assist in expediting this exercise.
Mr. Brown, now in private life, said report of the independent prosecutor must be made to the National Legislature through its joint committees.
Of importance, he added, is the Front Page Africa news outlet which must make available to the joint committees copies of all contested or uncontested emails in its possession alleged to have been retrieved from the inbox of Mr. Willis Knuckles.
"If there should be found additional emails similarly alleging malpractices in the administration, the individuals involved and the alleged malpractices must also be brought within the scope of the investigation," he said, adding "should the emails allege foul-play in the recent award or pending award of contracts or concession agreements, the facts and circumstances should be subjects of the investigation. Where such contracts or concession agreements are pending, similar effort should be undertaken to affect a stay order on further proceedings pending the conclusion of the investigation."
Mr. Brown indicated that it is important that this investigation be conducted credibly and professionally and that everything must be done to ensure that the investigation be undertaken without a supposition of guilt, and with neither fear of nor favor to anyone.
He believes that the investigation would help the country either fight the penchant for incessant lies and character assassinations or purge the system of the cancer of greed, corruption and patronage.
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President Sirleaf, Do not halt any Maritime contract or any other contract. This is one of the main reasons the civil war in Liberia started because Liberians love to put gas in the fire and then when the fire starts, they run and we Liberians love to instigate and connive and lie on top. Identical news they had about this or that when Tubman was in power, Tolbert was in power, Doe was in power, Charles Taylor was in power, now they are starting their whoopla behind President Sirleaf who has risked her live and put it on the line to bring some sanity to Liberia. It is the same lies and propaganda they beat up and had Pres. Tolbert and those honorable cabinet ministers killed when they claimed that these people were eating government money and they were millionaires. When will Liberians stop all their lies and do something concrete with their lives? Liberians will imitate exactly what people do in the West claiming they have "freedom of speech” and they are democratic. Liberians want to practice these things but they forget to know that countries in the West are FULLY DEVELOPED AND MODERNIZED so they can afford to sit and complain because they have so much, they do not know what to do with it. If they had to dig wells and draw water and sleep by candles or lantern while the mosquitoes eat them up, they wouldn’ have time to complain. You can search for day, and you will never come across a dirt road in America, their country is #1, period, so they can afford to get into all this free-speech and democracy business. But not a little 3rd world country like Liberia who doesn't have a pot to piss in. All Liberians want to do is practice what people do in America but Liberia is not America. All day Liberians are disgruntled and looking for things to complain about instead of looking for ways to help re-build their country and help President Sirleaf improve the lives of ordinary Liberians. What a disgruntled and whinning people!!!!!!