J. Nathaniel Daygbor
3 October 2008
Monrovia — An official of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf-led government has discredited the donation of 100 vehicles to members of the National Legislature by ArcelorMittal, a giant steel company.
Dr. Marcus Dahn, Deputy Minister of Post and Telecommunications said lawmakers do not deserve the donation as they will not serve the purpose for which they were given.
The company provided the vehicles sometimes as a result of an appeal by President Ellen Johnson.
Dr. Dahn said that it was regrettable for the first Branch of Government to give 94 brand new pickups to the Legislature, when they should have been given to local government authorities such as county attorneys, judges, magistrates, the police and immigration officers, commissioners amongst others.
Speaking to The Analyst recently in Monrovia, Dr. Dahn said government officials assigned in the leeward counties are experiencing difficulties in discharging their respective duties due to the lack vehicles.
According to him, police officers and other officials walk long miles to effectively execute their functions, noting that that makes their jobs very hard to under take.
Dr. Dahn, a former vice presidential candidate of the Alliance for Peace and Democracy (APD) giving the vehicles to the lawmakers was a wrong decision because they already have cars and that their salaries and allowances can afford them as many cars they need.
"Why give cars to those who already have and can get it any time. I think the government should have given the cars to officials whose salaries can't afford them vehicles," he said.
Dr. Dahn, who is lecturing at the Ibrahim Banbagida School of International Studies at the University of Liberia, termed the donation of the cars to lawmakers as a waste, because they (lawmakers) are not even willing to engage in agricultural activities.
According to him, giving the cars to those who do not have would have been more useful and even boost the image of government, as compared to giving them to those who have surplus.
At the same time, Dr. Dahn has appealed to authorities of the Ministry of National Defense to find an amicable solution to the problem with the disrobed soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL).
He indicated that disrobing of 16 trained soldiers is likely to cause security problem for the state. Apart from appealing to defense authorities, he hoped that the Commander-In-Chief, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf would speedily intervene into the matter so that it does not escalate.
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