Monrovia – Many Liberians have expressed early disappointment in President George Weah’s decision to retain some government officials as first members of his cabinet.
Report by Edwin G. Genoway, Jr. – [email protected]
Recent appointments by President Weah have sparked huge debate among Liberians with many rejecting some of the names being nominated by their new Liberian leader.
Some are also concern about the records of the appointees and how they would perform.
They told FrontPageAfrica that they want the President to withdraw the nomination of some officials.
Popular among the names being rejected includes, Education Minister George Werner, Information Minister Eugene Nagbe, and Foreign Affairs Minister Milton Gbehzohngar Findley.
They believe maintaining these officials prove that former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is still in charge of the government.
For the appointment of Mary Broh, Director of the General Services Agency (GSA), she remains the favorite of many people who have expressed critical views of other nominations.
Many said her performance in the Sirleaf administration should continue in the new administration. Broh is hailed for her “straight forwardness, hard work and passion.”
They have called on President Weah to move Broh to the Ministry of Labor or the police to help “cleanup those sector as she has done at the passport department and at the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC)”.
Information Minister Len Eugene Nagbe and Education Minister George Werner are among the most criticized appointees in the Weah’s led government.
Their critics said maintaining the pair shows that President Weah is not prepared to bring change to Liberia.
“How can you maintain a man like George Werner, who in our mind, damaged the education sector in our country, look at his failed policies, look at the fake NGO he brought calling themselves Bridge.”
“Our kids still being used as breadwinner and this brother because he and his former boss Madam Sirleaf have shares in Bridge so President Weah wants to maintain him, it’s unacceptable,” said Jerry Yarsiah of the University of Liberia.
Peter Brownell asserts that President Weah has started “disappointing Liberia so soon by maintaining those individuals”.
“I think this is an early disappointment for President Weah to look at people like Gbehzohngar Findley who failed as Senate Pro Temp and later became Ellen Johnson Sirleaf bag who she used to fight her Vice President Joseph Boakai to make him (Findley) Foreign Minister? Its painful my brother,” he said.
Added Janet Ducean: “It is frustrating to hear that Eugene Nagbe, George Werner and Gbehzohngar Findley are appointed by Weah, we said those things during the campaign that President Sirleaf supported President Weah because she wants her real people to remain on board and Liberians are seeing it for themselves today, all of Ellen’s confidant she used to fight for her are the people President Weah is maintaining today, that has validated claims.”
Edward Sirleaf of the Science College at the University of Liberia says the likes of Findley, Werner and Nagbe are not the only qualified people in Liberia.
“Those guys have served already, and they have played their part; why can’t they step aside and give other qualified Liberians the chance to work too.”
“President Weah shouldn’t allow President Sirleaf to pull him by the nose and her people to still be in government,” he said.
For Samuel Johnson, a resident of Monrovia, it is necessary to keep some of the old good officials who worked in the Ellen Johnson’s government.
“Among all of the old guys being named by our President, only Mary Broh I can knock my chest for that she’s corruption free and she’s hard working, I don’t have problem for her staying and work, but for the names like George Werner, Eugene Nagbe, and Gbehzohngar Findley, let those guys go and rest because they have not shown us any good impact to make them stay,” he said.