Monrovia — When President Boakai mounted the podium on January 22, 2024 to give the most important speech of his life right after his swearing in by Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Gyapay Youh, he promised to lead a government that will bring about real change and not a government that will do business as usual.
However, with just one month into the JNB-JKK administration, their government continues to come under damning criticisms over "series of missteps' ' - ranging from poor handling of the inaugural activities, appointment of corrupt officials and illegal appointments.
On Tuesday, President Boakai named several new nominees to some already occupied tenured positions in what some have termed as a flagrant disregard to the Act establishing those institutions.
Security of tenure, usually granted in to civil service and in academic appointments is considered an essential condition of maintaining the independence and freedom of those services from political or partisan control.
It was against this background that the Government of Liberia, under Africa's first elected female President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf embarked on establishing, through acts of legislation, several government entities including integrity institutions with tenure.
However, successive governments after Sirleaf, including the one that is being governed by her own party and her Vice President of 12 years have attempted or are attempting to remove these tenure positions.
In 2018, then President Weah, and his coalition government began to appoint partisans and supporters to positions with officials actively serving their tenures. Mr. Martin Sallie Kollie, who then served as Director General of the National Lottery Authority, challenged the newly minted government's attempt to replace him, despite his position being tenured.
The Weah-led government argued that it was within the President's authority to appoint government officials. However, the Supreme Court, in its ruling for a Writ of Prohibition against the new appointment, opined that the Act of Legislature establishing the National Lottery Authority in no way usurped the powers of the President.
Six years later, President Boakai is now threading the same path. His latest appointment affects several key institutions, including the Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA), the Governance Commission (GC), the National Public Health Institute (NPHIL), the National Lottery, and the National Identification Registry (NIR).
Just as in 2018, Boakai's latest wave of appointments of officials to tenured positions that are currently being occupied is causing political turmoil and has drawn criticisms from a wide range of the public including civil society organizations.
'Undermine tenets of democracy'
Weighing in on the President's latest appointments, the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) said it was dismay over the action and said the President's action does not only violate relevant laws, as enacted by the Legislature and interpreted by the Supreme Court, but undermines the tenets of good governance, which tenures seek to promote and defend.
"Given President Boakai's professed commitment to good governance and the fight against corruption, it is of great importance that his actions are consistent with what he professes. Liberia cannot afford a continuation of disregard for the rule of law and promotion of political interests, at the expense of our hard fought and growing democracy," CENTAL said in a statement released on Tuesday.
"We cannot continue to repeat the same mistakes of yesterday when such can clearly be avoided. If business must not be as usual, keen attention must be paid to the excesses of yesterday with an eye to averting recurrence," CENTAL said.
CENTAL, among several recommendations, called on President Boakai to immediately recall appointments to positions occupied by persons with active tenures, and in addition called on him to constitute the membership of the National Environment Policy Council of Liberia to allow for a recruitment process for the position of Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), consistent with section 16 of the EPA Act.
"By appointing an Acting Executive Director, CENTAL believes the trend of interim appointments continues without any deliberate action to comply with the EPA Act. This will be business as usual and not a deviation from the ugly past, which the President has severally promised," the integrity watch said.
NIR boss vows court action
Some incumbent officials whose tenured positions are being affected have threatened legal action against the government.
Andrew Peters, the Executive Director of the National Identification Registry (NIR), has declared his intention to pursue legal action against President Joseph N. Boakai's government over what he perceives as the improper appointment of Dr. Edward Liberty as the next executive director of NIR.
Established by an Act of the National Legislature in 2011, the NIR was tasked with tackling issues such as double dipping, illegal migration, and identity theft. Its mandate includes the design and issuance of biometric cards, each featuring a unique Social Security Number, to serve as the primary government-approved identity for various purposes including birth and death registration, passports, banking, driver's licenses, and social security benefits.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Peters asserted that according to the Act governing the institution, the Board of Registrars holds the authority to appoint the executive director, who is to serve a four-year term. He contends that the President's decision violates this law, prompting him to seek legal recourse through the courts.
Peters noted that his own appointment as executive director was endorsed and confirmed through a resolution passed on June 22, 2023.
In the midst of this legal dispute, Peters has urged supporters of his party, the NPP, to remain composed while his legal team works to navigate the judicial process in pursuit of justice.
LTA Commissioners threaten to go to court
Meanwhile, all five Commissioners at the Liberia Telecommunications Authority were replaced despite serving active tenures. President Boakai nominated Abdullah Kamara as chairperson, while Patrick Honnah, former Lofa County Representative Clarence Kortu Massaquoi, former Margibi Rep. Ben A. Fofana and Angela Bush Cassel, were all nominated as Commissioners.
This prompted all five incumbent Commissioners of the LTA to respond. In a letter addressed to the President, the commissioners led by Chairperson Edwina Crump Zackpah said: "We write to draw your attention to a matter of considerable concern regarding our roles within the LTA. As you are aware, we currently serve under tenure within the organization, each of us having two-plus years remaining in our terms. However, it has recently come to our attention that new appointments have been made to the same position we occupy, notwithstanding our existing tenures."
They continued: "While we appreciate that such decisions are often made with careful deliberation and in the national interest, we believe there may have been a misunderstanding regarding the status of our tenures. As members of the board of commissioners of the LTA, we feel compelled to remind your excellency of our tenured status. Part Three, Section 9(3) of the Telecommunication Act of 2007, which established the LTA, explicitly prohibits the executive from replacing board members during their unexpired terms. The term of office for the commissioners shall be four years. The appointment of any commissioner may be renewed by the president for another term of four years. No member of the Commission shall serve for more than two terms."
FrontPage Africa has gathered that the Commissioners are now contemplating on seeking legal redress if the President goes ahead with the nomination.
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FPA has also gathered that the appointment of Prof. Alaric Tokpah as Governance Commission Chair by Boakai has offset the workings at the GC, and has left incumbent chairperson Garrison Yealue contemplating whether to launch a legal battle or quietly leave the Commission.
Lawmakers Weigh in
The situation has also dominated conversations among lawmakers on Capitol Hill, among them include one of the Unity Party Alliance's strong supporters, Senator Darius Dillon.
Dillon has admitted to public criticisms of 'some missteps' in appointments being made by the President.
"We note that there are some early missteps. We note those things, and we don't get angry. This Rescue Mission is not about a person; it is about a country," said Dillon during an evening appearance on OK FM on Monday.
He revealed that the President has been appointing people to positions in government, which should not have been the case in the first place, including tenured positions.
According to Dillon, the situation means that the Boakai administration has to go back to the drawing board to look at all of the Acts to know where the President can appoint, where he cannot appoint, and what alternatives exist.
Rep. Musa Hassan Bility (District #7, Nimba County) has also been vocal against the President's latest appointments.
Referencing Boakia's latest appointment of officials to tenured positions, Rep. Bility wrote on his Facebook page: "Liberians expect the very best from you. You see, Mr. President, like you I swore to uphold the Constitution of the Republic of Liberia. So, if these appointments are not withdrawn in time, I will be constrained to take the necessary actions to 'DEFEND AND UPHOLD' the laws. Mr. President, we condemned and criticized the past administration on this issue of tenure and we must ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated."
