Monrovia – Esther Walker, Bong County new Superintendent, has worked for Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor for more than 27 years as a cook.
Report by Henry Karmo [email protected]
According to her, she began working for the Veep when she was the First Lady of Liberia in the late 1990s.
On Wednesday Madam Walker, who was nominated by President George Weah to be the Superintendent of Bong County, faced the Senate’s Joint Committees on Internal Affairs and Claims and Petition for confirmation to replace Superintendent Selena Polson Mappy.
It is speculated in some corners that her preferment by President Weah was being highly influenced by the Veep as an accommodation for her long time servant.
However, others believe that she was awarded by the President due to the role she played for the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) in the 2017 Presidential and Representatives Elections.
There are speculations that members of the county legislative caucus are divided over the nomination of the former Gbarnga City Mayor.
During the confirmation hearing, this is what she said when a senator raised the issue, including reconciliation between and among the Bong Legislative Caucus: “Honourable Senators, I am confident because all the lawmakers, including Senators, other than the new representatives, who were elected last year, I am like a mother to them. I campaigned for most of them including the Vice President.”
Madam Walker’s appointment drew mixed reactions from Bong citizens. Some said the superintendent position should not be based on political affiliation but on skills and experience. While others argue that she is qualified.
“I promise you, Bong County will be quiet because everyone will be accorded the necessary respect regardless of political affiliation,” she assured the Senate’s confirmation team.
Madam Walker is the first female City Mayor of Bong County and is currently the only nominee for Superintendent to face Senate Committee for confirmation.
In the same week that she was nominated, she promised, in an interview with this newspaper’s county reporter that she would ensure that the county’s social development funds be used for their intended purposes.
She also promised to finish incomplete projects she inherited including the pavement of streets in Gbarnga City.
“We have a lot of unfinished projects in the county and under my leadership, as Superintendent, I will make sure that these projects are completed,” she said.
Walker, a 1980 graduate of the Booker Washington Institute in Kakata, Margibi County, came to prominence when former President Charles Taylor appointed her as Gbarnga’s first female Mayor.
She has been a confidante of Veep Howard-Taylor since 2005 when the Vice President announced her candidacy for the county’s senatorial seat.
The Veep acknowledged Madam Walker’s support during an intercessory service held after the CDC had won the 2017 runoff elections.
“I want to use this medium to thank Madam Esther Walker for her selfless contributions to my political sojourn since 2005,’’ Howard-Taylor said. “She has not only been a friend to me but a truly worthy person who I can rely on for anything.”