Monrovia – Representative Fonati Koffa of Grand Kru County says he will intensify appeal to authorities of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) and the Liberian National Police (LNP) to increase the presence security officers in the county.
Report by Henry Karmo, [email protected]
According to the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) Lawmaker, who just returned from the county, the deployment of security officers is necessary to help if not eliminate the illegal crossing of Nigerians and Ghanaians into Liberia to conduct illicit mining of minerals.
He told reporter during a press conference that due to the porosity of Liberia’s border in that county people from different background and nationality crossed into the country, especially into Grand Kru County to do illegal business.
The Grand Kru County lawmaker said his Easter Holiday Tour uncovered several issues but security and boarder porosity are the most urgent especially the illegal crossing of foreigners who are raping the forest off its minerals for their personal benefits.
“The most urgent problem in Grand Kru is illegal mining we have foreigners coming in at different points which are not boarder points and invading the county bringing in dragging machine an digging gold out of our waters and likely to cause environmental damage.
“The influx of foreigners has overwhelmed the capacity for local officials to control. Since this is foreigners invading our borders where there is no immigration, we think a request to the President to order the military into those areas will be constitutionally recognizable,” Koffa said.
Meanwhile, Representative Koffa disclosed that assessment team is already in the district to lay the grounds work for the kick start of his housing project.
This project will provide 10 homes for people in need every year for the next six years, he said.
Koffa, who is one of the key proponent of the dual citizenship and land ownership bill, is hopeful that upon return of lawmakers from the Easter break the bill will be brought from committee room to plenary for discussion and further actions.
A permissible campaign to recall the Citizenship and Land Ownership Resolutions from committees’ room has intensified in the Legislature with a credible political will of the Resolutions at the edge of passage.
Besides the heat-up in the Legislature, the controversy has also deepened among the student populace in the form of ‘intellectual debates.’
The resolutions are among four that have been in committees’ room for over 30 days, since February 8, 2018 — the 8th day sitting — and the proposition has sparked intense debates across the country.
The Resolution on the Property Amendment was forwarded to the House’s Joint Committee on Judiciary, Claims & Petition; Lands, Mines & Energy; and Ways, Means, Finance & Development Planning; while the Resolutions on Citizenship Amendment, Qualification I Amendment and Qualification II Amendment were sent to the Joint Committee on Judiciary, Claims & Petitions and Ways, Means, Finance & Development Planning. They were to report after two weeks but the resolutions are delayed.
The House’s Rules and Procedures provides for bills, which spent over 30 days in committee room to be recalled or discharged for discussion and subsequent passage, if a simple majority of Members of the House of Representatives affixed their signatures to a ‘Discharge Petition.’