Capitol Hill, Monrovia – President George Weah has submitted a bill before the Legislature that is seeking to amend certain portions of the act establishing the Liberia Maritime Authority (LMA) by removing tenure positions to grant him full authority over the institution.
The bill is titled “An act to Amend Sub-sections (1), (4) and (4) of section 7 of an act to Provide for the Establishment of the Liberia Maritime Authority relating to the Appointment and Tenure of the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the Liberia Maritime Authority.”
Sub-section (1) of Section 7 of the current law states that “the Board of Directors shall recommend for the President’s approval a Commissioner who shall be the Chief Executive Officer and who shall have general managing direction of the Authority, superintendence of ships registered under the laws of the Republic of Liberia, and responsibility for the enforcement and administration of the provisions of the Liberia Maritime Law and Regulations or any other maritime related laws.”
“Therefore, in an effort to readjust the administrative structure of the Liberia Maritime Authority to effectively and efficiently manage the affairs of the Authority. This bill amends the statutory provisions relating to the appointment and tenure of the Commissioners and Commissioners of the Liberia Maritime Authority.”
– President George Weah Writes Legislature
Subsection 4 empowers “the Commissioner to recommend to the President for appointment of, subject to the approval by the Board of Directors of the Authority, the Deputy Commissioners of the Authority to administer the principal divisions of the authority and to assist the Commissioner in the performance of his duties as set forth in this Act and the Liberian Maritime Law. The Commissioner may recommend to the President, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, the removal of a Deputy Commissioner.”
It also states that the “Commissioner of the Maritime Authority and the Deputy Commissioners of the Maritime Authority shall have tenures of five (5) years in order to ensure and preserve consistency in the leadership, maintain continuity of purpose, increase the capacity in the industry, and preserve the national and international relevance and very competitive nature of the maritime program. The tenure of the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioners shall be renewable for only one additional four-year period upon recommendation of the Board to the President for approval. No further renewal shall be permitted or allowed beyond nine years.”
In the communication accompanying the bill, the President told the lawmakers that Article 56(a) of the Constitution provides that all officials of the government appointed by the President, including the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of the Liberia Maritime Authority, shall hold office at the pleasure of the President, and that tenure positions, except where they generate conflict with other provisions of the Constitution, are manifestations of the presidential prerogatives as affirmed and ascribed in statue.
“Therefore, in an effort to readjust the administrative structure of the Liberia Maritime Authority to effectively and efficiently manage the affairs of the Authority. This bill amends the statutory provisions relating to the appointment and tenure of the Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners of the Liberia Maritime Authority,” the President said in his letter.
Meanwhile, following the reading of the communication accompanying the bill, the plenary of the House, acting on a motion proffered by Rep. Alex Grant (District #3, Grand Gedeh County) called on Speaker Bhofal Chambers to constitute specialized committee to review and report next week Tuesday.
Since his ascendancy the presidency, President Weah has deemed the establishment of tenured positions at several government agency as stumbling block in the discharged of his constitutional duties as President of Liberia.
The submission of the bill on Thursday marked the second attempt of the President to cancel tenure positions awarded to agencies of government.
In the first year of his presidency, the President submitted before the 54th Legislature a bill calling for the cancellation of tenure positions within the Executive Branch of Government but it was not passed by the Legislature.
The bill entitled “An Act Prohibiting the Tenure of Public Officials within the Executive Branch of Government” was read in open plenary on October 30, 2018 but debates over the bill were held behind closed doors.
In the preamble of the bill, the President stated that the status of tenured personnel of the Liberian Government would impede and obstruct the development agenda of the President.
Although the bill did not outline how tenure position might obstruct the development agenda of the President, it gives the president full powers over the Executive Branch of Government.
It consisted of four sections, the first read: “Except as otherwise provided in the constitution of the Republic of Liberia, all statutory provisions of laws providing for tenure of office, terms of office, tenure, or anything that provides security of tenure, of all public officials appointed by the President under the Executive Branch of Government are hereby repealed.
Section two: “The President shall have and exercise all the powers necessary and convenient for the effective administration of the Executive Branch and all the institutions under its control, and to this end, all appointed officials thereof shall hold office at the will and pleasure of the president.”
Section Three added: “That the law supersedes all other statutory provisions regarding tenure office under the Executive Branch of Government; while Section Four calls for the law to take effect immediately upon publication into hand bills”.