Monrovia — The comment by the Representative of Electoral District #9, Montserrado County, Frank Saah Foko, Jr., in favor of his most virulent political critic is rare in the political arena of Liberia, where majority (over 98%) of political opponents are on national records of always secretly or openly telling their political benefaciaries never to "forgive" the political benefactor's "political opponent".
At a new hand pump dedication program in a part of the District, Representative Foko appealed to people of the District to forgive his regular harshest critic and rival in the 2023's Presidential and Legislative elections, Fubbi Henries.
Rep. Foko's Political Party--Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), headed by George Manneh Weah, and Fubbi Henries' Political Party--Alternative National Congress (ANC)--now merged with the Liberty Party (LP) and collectively named Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), headed by Mr. Alexander Benedict Cummings--have always been at each other's neck ahead of the Legislative and Presidential elections scheduled for October 10, 2023.
Fubbi Henries ran on the ticket of ANC in the Legislative election in 2017, but he was defeated by CDC's Frank Saah Foko. He is CPP's Legislative candidate for the District for general election slated for the current year (2023)
"My people, please forgive him, Fubbi Henries, on his failures to clean the drainages and renovate market places or construct new ones in District nine. The same things he had accused me for in the past. Maybe the person he was wholly depending on to give him the money to clean the drainages and renovate or construct new market places failed on giving the money to him," Representative Foko assumed.
These comments were parts of his speech at the dedication of a hand pump in a part of District #9, named ICA Community situated between 15th and 16th Streets, Sinkor, on
Sunday, April 2, 2023. The host and guests were gathered along the main Street. At the left-hand side of the sitting hosts, facing the speaking guest, was a new sign board with the photo of President George Manneh Weah in a black coat suit and a red neck tie. Over his image was this information: "GODDESSES AND ADVOCATES OF WEAH'S DISTRICTS INITIATIVES". Under the image was another information: "Sponsored By WEAH PROJECT 2023", and "Implemented Water Life Drilling Company" under the "WEAH PROJECT 2023".
Speaking further, the District # Representative said addressing the "most paramount needs, which has suddenly surged out, is one of the reasons implementation of a project earmarked earlier is delayed or postponed to another time. That should not be understood that the incumbent Representative, like me, doesn't care about the earlier project."
On the hand pump being dedicated, Rep. Foko said the ICA Community was one of 216 Communities of his Legislative Constituency that had been suffering from water problems related to absence of hand pump in each of the 216 Communities.
He cautioned his guests against being carried away by promises from his political opponents who often tell them they can developmentally transform the District in a jiffy, and advised them to vote out the incumbent Representative, and vote the political opponent in.
"No District can be developed overnight. Even President George Manneh Weah can't transform any part of Liberia overnight. Not even Barack Obama, when he was President of America, would have done that for any part of Liberia. Development of any of the Country is a process," he said with matter-of-fact.
He encouraged the youths of the District to take advantage of his sponsored vocational education currently ongoing at the Barnes Foundation School's compound in the Lakpazee. The students are being taught in Cosmetology, Hairdressing, Electricity, Plumbing, Baking, and other areas.
"I want to see the District's residents who will bring their certificates to me to connect them to big business centers in the District for employment. The New Era Supermarket, near the Invincible Park, being turned into a bigger Wall Mart, and will need young people as employees. I will speak with the management of this place to employ graduates of vocational schools in our District," he said on conditional terms.
His report on some of the beneficiaries of his Academic Scholarship program was discouraging.
"Some of these students do not want to go to school because, they are saying, I am not giving them money for transportation," the Lawmaker of Liberia's 54th National Legislature complained to parents, guardians and other young people gathered.
He clarified information in the Liberian media about his assertion, during a Church Service in 2022, that corruption by Legislators to get the money each had promised persons during elections time or during other public functions.
"What I said during the Church Service was, Legislators should not make promise they can't fulfill in the time they announced to people of their Districts," he said.
He challenged young people of the District to be self-reliance on getting their needs and wants, instead of depending on other people. He told them his personal story on self-reliance for survival during his youthful age in the District he's Legislatively representing in the National Legislature today.
"I drove kehkeh, motorbikes, and I drove commercial cars to get school fees during my Junior and Senior High school days in this same District," he said. Kehkeh is a Liberian parlance for three-tyre Tricycle.
He had served as Chief of Office Staff in Legislative Office of Representative Munah Pelham-Youngblood, the person his political Party, CDC, replaced him with on her death in 2020.
"I worked as a house boy for Representative Munah Youngblood," he said, dispelling some people's feeling of his only being restricted to 'paper work' during his work days for the then-alive Lawmaker.
Representative Foko insinuated that some persons registered in other Districts have claimed electoral status of his Legislative Constituency, and are benefiting from his educational and economic empowerment programs for only members of District #9.
"Next time, only those who show their Voter Registration cards of District number nine will be allowed into our vocational education or scholarship program," he vowed.
President George Manneh Weah has put some money in the National Budget for the empowerment of all Liberian women, the CDC's Lawmaker disclosed the gesture of the Party's Standard Bearer.
After the pre-dedication remarks, the Representative led his hosts to the hand pump for official dedication. He began the dedication with Christian prayer, followed by his expression of gratitude to and shower of praises on President Weah for supporting each of his development projects in the District, and ended with his demonstration of how to operate the hand pump for water to come out, with a bucket under the faucet.
"I am thirst, I want to drink some of the water from this hand pump!" the top Government official said inclusion of the hand pump dedication, and began gulping in water dropping into his palms as one of ICA Community's female residents continued operating the machine.
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One of Rep. Foko's signature projects in the District is transforming the District's main entry and exit routes--Airfield to Lakpazee, and New Matadi's turning point-Weasay (in Fiamah)--from crushed rocks to asphalt. He has also erected culverts over bridges, and used his Legislative power to bring new light poles and electrification of most parts of the Districts. The poles and current were provided by the European Union for its "Light Up Monrovia" Project launched by President George Manneh Weah in 2022.
The hand pump constructed by Representative Frank Saah Foko, Jr. is the first of its kind in the ICA Community since the end of the Liberian civil war, the Community's Chairman, Joe Goeh, said to this writer after the District Representative had left.
"Residents of this community had been living on waters from Wells in other communities since 1997. We first met Representative Munah Youngblood to help the Community with a hand pump, but she died while we were still discussing. When Frank Foko became the new Representative, we met him to help us with at least one hand pump. Our wish has become a reality through the presence of the hand pump built by Representative Foko, and dedicated by him today," the Community Chairman narrated to this writer.
A lady who introduced herself as Mamie Ponnie, Chairlady of ICA Community, to this writer said: "With this hand pump, the older people or children won't experience Dysentery sometime again, as it used to be when we were getting water from only Wells, most times left filthy by some persons."
