Brewerville — The former president of the Liberia Council of Churches, Bishop Dr. Kortu Brown, calls on the Boakai administration and the people of Liberia not to turn Liberia's victory in 2023 into mourning.
Bishop urges the government to streamline its public messaging, noting that there are too many government spokespersons, who are confusing the public about what comes from the government.
Speaking over the weekend at the close of a "Greater Praise Week" at the New Water in the Desert Assembly in Brewerville, Montserrado County, stressed a need for harmonizing government messages.
"So far, the Minister of Information has been doing a good job. He addresses national issues responsibly and more coherently, and I want to say it in this public way. I think it is time the government harmonizes her messaging so that there's no confusion in the transmission and reception of what the government is saying to the citizens", he advises here.
Bishop Brown notes that the government is against the "first-time-it-is-happening" claim that every government likes to exploit, arguing that if something happens for the first time, the Liberian people will know it, like the war and economic crimes court decision by President Boakai.
He cautions Liberians to recognize the government's efforts to improve any sector of society and criticize when they go wrong.
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He commends the government's decision to establish the war and economic crimes court, describing it as a good step because, he says, "It will help to serve as a deterrence for Liberians who always threaten to bring war to the country if things don't go their way."
He says the court is not against anyone, and its establishment doesn't mean that the people they are calling to the court are already guilty.
'Former president Laurent Gbagbo from The Ivory Coast went to the ICC in The Hague and was found guiltless after 10 years".
"Joab was told, 'The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom. And for the whole army, the victory that day was turned into mourning," he points out, referencing 2 Samuel 19:1-2a
He spoke on a general theme: TO GOD BE THE GLORY - Unhindered, Unobstructed! The sub-theme: "Let's Sustain Our Victory," backed by text from 2nd Samuel Chapter 19, verses 1 and 2.
The outspoken Pentecostal cleric averred that God had given us the power to sustain our victory.
He recalls that during the 2023 Presidential and Legislative elections in Liberia, people feared the country would degenerate into violence, confusion, chaos, and even civil war.
However, he says Liberians prayed, and God delivered the country as the elections passed peacefully without any disturbances.
"I doubt if there's anything like a complete victory. You will always have to work towards sustaining your victory. Now, about six months after those peaceful elections and transfer of power, the whole governance process, the Bishop said, is becoming more and more challenging with a very noisy environment, a cracking 'rescue' mission, increasing homicide, intolerance, disagreements over fiscal accountability measures, incoherent public relations and a public display of bigotry, etc."
He says this has left many ordinary Liberians worried and confused about the future viability of the "rescue" mission, as there are just too many public disagreements amongst rescue actors. He cautions that if care is not taken, it will distract from the purpose of attaining state power. Like Joab in Bible times, Liberians can caution their political leaders against turning the victory won at the polls into mourning.
He argues that the foremost purpose of a government is to "solve problems," adding that the country is faced with many problems and that government officials need to focus on addressing serious issues, including hunger, poverty, ignorance, disease, disunity, etc.
Bishop Brown explains that it doesn't make sense for Government officials to spend their whole time just on unnecessary arguments without any results to show, adding that they must get to work and address problems of children going to school in many areas, meeting health needs and hunger, amongst others.
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He calls on President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to dismiss officials who spend all their time on social media while at work.
He observes that some ministry and agency officials spend their working time taking and posting pictures all day on Facebook.
"When will they do the government work?" He quips.
He calls on officials to use their Ministries and Agencies websites or Facebook pages to promote the work of the government rather than just posting pictures of themselves as if they don't have work to do.
Meanwhile, Bishop Brown says he expected President Boakai to bring together political leaders, including former President George Weah, former presidential candidate Alexander Cummings, and others, to help give direction to the country by now.
"When the people see their political leaders coming together, it will impact them and compel them to follow such examples, thereby reducing the unnecessary contentions in the country and sustaining the victory of the Liberian people from the 2023 presidential elections", he underscores. Editing by Jonathan Browne
