Monrovia – As President George Weah considers more appointments for ministries and agencies in his administration, a group of Coalition for Democratic Change partisans terming themselves as a transitional team are beginning to demand takeover.
Report by Al-Varney Rogers [email protected]
The CDC transitional team members have been reportedly asking officials to leave their offices whether tenure positions or not.
On Wednesday January 24, they stormed the office of the Liberia Intellectual Property Office (LIPO) and demanded the director to leave, demanding that they were taking over.
Ernest Bruce, LIPO Board Chairman, said he received a call that the group had gone at the office to take over without communication, claiming they are on the CDC transitional team.
“When new President took over it was issued that everybody should stay away, and the HR should takeover, so I stay home, I receive several calls from one of my Deputy that Mr. Clifford Robinson came at the office with a group of CDCians that they are going to take over tomorrow, but I asked him whether they have letter to that effect and they said no,” Bruce said.
Bruce said the Registrar General is highest-ranking employee of the entity and according to President Weah’s mandate, he should steer the affairs of the entity until a new head is name.
“The civil servant, who is Mr. Prince Decker, and he should be the next in line and Clifford said no and that it is not how it works and that he was going to tell head of the transitional team,” Bruce said.
Similar incidents reportedly occurred at the Ministry of Justice when the Minister designate along with his entourage demanded that the outgoing minister turnover the office.
The Liberia Revenue Authority Commissioner General, Elfreda Tamba, who is serving a tenure position, was also reportedly asked to turnover her post.
At the Ministry of Health, FrontPageAfrica has gathered that work activities are stalled.
County Health Officers, who are awaiting regular supply, are not getting medical items needed to run hospitals and clinics across the country.
Another group of CDC partisans went at the Ministry of Commerce but met stiff resistance from employees there who were also claiming to be CDCians.
The delay in appointing government officials has partially shut down functions of ministries and agencies.
In rural Liberia, all the superintendents and their assistants have left the county thus stalling activities in the counties.
With the ongoing allege purge by the purported CDC transitional team, tenure position holders are worried about maintaining their current jobs.
The law provides that a President may dismiss a public official having any security of tenure only for cause as provided by law.
President Weah named his first set of cabinet members on Monday following his induction, but there have bee no new appointments.
The President mandated that all other ministries and public corporations should be supervised by the director of human resource of those entities until further notice.
Many calls placed to some CDC stewards including the youth wing chair, Jefferson Koijee, and vice chairman for operations, Mulbah Morlu including the chairman, Nathaniel McGill for reaction proved futile.