Monrovia — Foreign Affairs Minster Dee Maxwell Kemayan Chair of the Joint Presidential Transitional Team subcommittee on Foreign Affairs for the outgoing administration, has blasted those jumbling the President’s Executive Order on turnover notes to an audit process, urging them to be patient for the appropriate time for audit.
At the Joint Presidential Transitional Team subcommittee on Foreign Affairs and International Relations meeting on Wednesday, December 27, Minister Kemayan noted that turnover notes are not an audit process as being misconstrued by some individuals in the public.
Although he noted that an audit is not wrong, Minister Kemayan said those wishing for an audit should be patient.
“There is a need to disabuse the minds of people who are mixing the transition process for an audit. This is not an audit process and there is no fear for audit, in less those who do not understand the nature of the audit,” Minister Kemayan averred.
“Audit is not a wrong thing and something that someone in
the administration should be afraid of and in fact, we know the price we paid and continue to pay for our uncompromising principle concerning reform, transparency, and accountability at this ministry, so we don’t have a problem with audit, but wait for the audit.”
He also clarified that the JPTT Meeting here is in line with Executive Order 123 of President Weah.
According to him, the ongoing discussion is a process designed by the will and description of President George Mannah Weah and the mandate is a transition, as such President Weah remains committed to the said mandate.
He encourages members of the Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs and International Relations not to lose focus on the objective of the Executive Order which he believes is clear and effective for the transition.
Kemayan said: “The transition remains clear concerning a directive from President Weah about the preparation of turnover notes.”
“We like to make this clear with emphasis because it’s sometimes misconstrued out there.”
He further maintained that the Executive order is very clear about turnover notes from the outgoing administration, turning over to the incoming administration through respective principles, geared at ensuring that whatever is received is authentic and not something faked.
Kemayan was also perturbed over what he noted was misinformation about the President issuing an Executive Order, when President Weah was yet to do so, describing it as being unhealthy for the transitional process.
Kemayan feared that a similar thing was being spewed in the public concerning the audit process when the executive order spoke directly to turnover notes.
“Turnover notes with official communication signed by the outgoing administration to the incoming president will be done to the incoming president, from the outgoing president and the incoming will then decide what to do with it,” he added.
He assured members of the committee, representing the incoming administration that the outgoing administration would present legitimate turnover notes.
However, Kemayan said while that process is ongoing, it is equally important to get involved with strategic engagements with committee members.
Minister Kemayan then noted that following Wednesday, December 27 meeting with members, their engagement with focus on individual sector agencies and ministries, where those who are representing agencies and ministries from the incoming end will have direct engagement with those from the outgoing end.
Nevertheless, he emphasized the need for the engagement to be constructive, since the transitional process will remain irreversible and constrictive.
For his part, Dr. Augustine Konneh, Chair on the JPTT Sector on Foreign Affairs and International Relations from the incoming administration said the certification of the president and Vice elect was a historic moment since the incoming of the new administration is an exemplary mixture of old and new generational eras.
According to Dr. Konneh, their coming to the meeting is intended to make Liberia one of the best nations in the world, and those from the incoming end, have come with an open mind.
Dr. Konneh explained that despite those in the outgoing administration might not like what they say, regarding transparency, however, there is a focus they have to come up with an objective that will meet what the incoming leadership intends to achieve.
Therefore, he sees the engagement as being necessary but stresses that the incoming leadership wants a success story, gaps, status, and situation so that they can be able to effectively find a remedy that will help Liberians, and create an opportunity for both teams to make history.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, December 27 meeting resolved to use the questionnaire surveys to enhance the strategic engagement of the sector by the incoming and outgoing government.
In furtherance of that decision, the questionnaire of the survey will formerly be made available by the Head of the JPTT, Jordan Sulonteh, to all ministries and agencies making up the Foreign Affairs and International Relations Sector.
They also resolved that ahead of that process, they will continue to move on with sector-to-sector engagements.
The Committee further resolved that the head of the JPTT Secretariat would send a letter, introducing the heads of various subcommittees to both the incoming and outgoing administrations among other recommendations.
Minister Kemayan lauded the committee for the level of coordination so far since their engagement reassuring President Weah’s commitment to the transitional process.