“Which one of the names you are hearing around that is not stainless? Which Presidential candidate that you have heard is not stainless? George Weah has not declared, I have not heard Senator Weah say he is running for President. Up to this point I do not see anybody that can put their hands up and say I have not been involved in some shady deals” – Gbehzongar Findley, former Senate Pro Temp
Monrovia – Former Senate Pro Temp, Gbehzongar Findley was one of the powerful politicians in Liberia until his surprise defeat to Jonathan Kaipay of the opposition Liberty Party in the 2014 special Senatorial election.
Findley, at the time an independent candidate was always on good par with the ruling Unity Party, something that was visible during the special Senatorial election when President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf openly declared support for his candidacy and the Unity Party failed to field a candidate in Grand Bassa County during the electoral process in a bid to woo support for Findley.
Some blamed the defeat of Findley on his sour political relationship with Cllr. Charles W. Brumskine political leader of the Liberty party who is dubbed the political God Father of Grand Bassa County. During the campaign for the Senatorial election, Cllr. Brumskine campaigned for his party candidate, Liberty Party something Findley has said was obvious because Cllr. Brumskine could not shun his party candidate for another candidate.
Since his defeat Findley has maintained that he remains a political force in the body politics of Grand Bassa County and Liberia as a whole and on Monday reechoed his stance in Liberian politics when he appeared on a local radio talk show-the Bumper Show on state radio, ELBC.
Speaking on wide range of political issues in Liberia, Findley challenged Presidential hopefuls that none have a clean record, free of corruption stain, cautioning that anyone candidate should be demonized by others.
Specifically responding to question on whether critics of Vice President Joseph Boakai are right to say that the Vice President who has accepted a petition from the people of Lofa to contest the pending 2017 election should take some of the blame for the failure of the Liberian Senate, a body over which he presides, Findley declared that none of the other candidates have clean records.
“Are they stainless? Are they clean? Are they clear? Are their records clean? Can we not question their records? Then, let them give us their bank accounts from the time they were in government let them show the transfers. Let’s not beat around the bush. If I decide to run for President of this country I will open my bank accounts to see the transfers that went out of this country and the transfers that came into my accounts. Both my personal and company account, than we will know who is who, let them do that”, said former Senator Findley.
On the question of the record of Montserrado County Senator George Weah who is serving government for the first time as Senator after his election in 2014, Findley said the Senator has not declared his intention to contest the 2017 Presidential election and as such until that is done, all other individuals expressing desire for the top post cannot boast of stainless records.
In an open challenge to the many Presidential hopefuls some of whom are already openly known to be preparing to contest the Presidency, Findley said “Which one of the names you are hearing around that is not stainless? Which Presidential candidate that you have heard is not stainless? George Weah has not declared, I have not heard Senator Weah say he is running for President.. Up to this point I do not see anybody that can put their hands up and say I have not been involved in some shady deals.”
He cautioned that critics of Vice President Boakai should stop accusing the Vice President of any wrongdoing at the Liberian Senate where Boakai is constitutionally the President of the Liberian Senate.
Said Findley: “Let’s not play around the bush to try to demonize an individual. We are in this country we have all worked and that at some point in time may have necessarily, knowingly done something wrong, perhaps mismanaged, perhaps made a mistake but for somebody to come and say this person took bribe, I worked on many of these concessions, they cannot put it on Vice President Boakai, there is no way they can do that. They cannot say he presided over the Senate. They cannot do that. He only read reports, he never called the Senate to say one day I want this contract, let’s stop”.
Beef with Brumskine
Since Findley’s defeat in 2014, there is a widely held perception that there is an existing beef between him and Cllr. Brumskine and Findley admitted that there has been tension between the two spanning several years beginning 2006.
“I think the issue of Brumskine and Findley is a Bassa issue. We met at Harry Greaves funeral and we said hello. Since 2006 there has been tension between Brumskine and myself and he may not admit it but I believe there has been tension. We both come from the same county, he is my God brother, over the last nine years there has been tension. There are things the party believed should be done in Bassa and I believed the opposite. We have different political ideology”, Findley revealed.
With much talk of an opposition merger to oust the ruling party from power, Findley is supporting the call for a unified opposition but ruled out support for Cllr. Brumskine even though indicating he has not decided who to support in 2017 as consultations are still ongoing.
“It will make a lot of sense. The ruling party will also get stronger by forming merger with other opposition political parties. It is possible to have opposition merger but I have not taken my time to really analyze them”, he added.
He expressed unwillingness to support a possible Boakai, Brumskine ticket while showing some support for a possible Boakai, Weah ticket. Said Findley “Boakai, Brumskine I do not think it will be a good ticket.” According to him he is not looking at a Presidential candidate but a team comprising the candidate and the vice and their platform before pledging his support.
On his personal political ambition amid speculations that he might contest as a vice Presidential candidate, Findley said he is in the mixed of somewhere and will leave it with the people of Grand Bassa county to decide his next political move.
“I think there are lots of dialogues going on, I am in the mixed somewhere. All of them is possible, Vice President, President, there are lots of consultations going on right now”, he furthered. Findley noted that election is about popularity and numbers and any candidate wanting to become President should have all of these available.
“Election is about numbers, you need the popularity, funding and later we can talk about capability. How do you get to Sinoe, Lofa and other places to campaign? He says it is too early to support a candidate noting that his support will not go an individual but a team.
Misconceptions
Findley says people have misconceptions about the workings of the legislators specifically regarding the ratification of concessions before admitting that his defeat came as a surprise.
“Losing does not mean you are not going to be engaged with the community, well, I think it was a little bid surprise, I did not expect to lose there were some little elements of surprise. There was more political movement than just Bassa, I took up issues that some of the citizens disagreed with me”, said Findley. He averred that some of the misconceptions are that of concession agreements signed with oil companies.
“These concessions, some of these people have not read it, the situation that country was in when the concessions were passed. Oil blocks, we leased the oil blocks, we did not sell them, we leased acres to companies to come and look for oil, if they find the oil the resources from there will be shared between the companies and the people of Liberia”, Findley narrated.
After his defeat, there were speculations that he was tipped to be appointed Managing Director of the National Port Authority but that did not materialize as he is currently serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Liberia Airport Authority.