Monrovia – Amid reports of disenchantment and acrimonious relationships among and between members of the House of Representatives of the 54th Legislature, a Liberian clergyman, Foday E. Karpeh, has called on lawmakers to uphold the dignity and sanctity of that august body.
Reported by Gerald C. Koinyeneh 00231880881540 / 00231777769531 [email protected]
Reverend Karpeh admonished the lawmakers that if they want to build a strong, independent and balanced Legislature, then they should have respect for each other and uphold the independence of the Legislature.
“If we are to build a strong Legislature, we must uphold the dignity and sanctity of this House; we must do that,” he admonished.
The clergyman made the call when he served as one of the keynote speakers at a one-day legislative retreat convened by the House of Representatives on Sunday, October 28 in Monrovia.
Speaking further, he called on the lawmakers to uphold the independence of the House of Representatives, while keeping in perspective the coordinating nature of the three branches of government and adhering to the doctrine of balance, noting “If we want to build a strong legislature and sustain the peace that we all have fought for over the years, we must realize that we must keep our independence.”
Prior to the retreat, there have been series of claims and counterclaims among some members of the House of Representatives in the wake of Speaker Bhofal Chambers’ assertions during a press conference recently that the Legislature will not be subjected to probe by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that is aiding the Liberian government with investigation of the reported missing L$16 billion.
During his press conference, Speaker Chambers said, “The issue of investigation or prosecution lies with the Executive, and the term of reference has been
developed by people given the task to do so. Without knowing the details, the TOR [Terms of Reference] would be the scope of the printing of excess money because the five billion authorized by the legislature is what concerns us.”
He added: “The House Representatives is the fulcrum of democracy. Any other institution cannot invite this legislature; this legislature is under constitutional obligation to call anybody for questioning.
The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) told us there is no missing money so how the transaction and authorization were done in my view will be the point of investigation.”
Chambers: “The people from the FBI know contemporary Democracy; they know contemporary constitution. They will never think of inviting the House of Representatives for an investigation doing so will be a failure on their part,” he said at the press conference.
The Speaker’s declaration, however, did not go down well with some lawmakers as they distanced themselves from his statements; noting that his expressed contentions did not meet the approval of the entire body.
The lawmakers accused Chambers of using the Office of the Speaker to launch a stinking attack on former officials of government, and to paint a controversial picture of defiance and non-cooperation by the 54th National Legislature regarding the ongoing investigation on the alleged missing L$16 billion saga.
“These unilateral and personalized comments emanating from the Honorable Speaker is a lone statement and position that do not represent the condensed decision of the House’s Plenary and the leadership of the House,” the lawmakers said in a statement.
“As members of the 54th National Legislature, we welcome the investigation on the current 16 billion Liberian dollars, and remain cooperative to ensuring a logical conclusion in the interest of the Liberian people.”
According to the lawmakers, because of the integrity of the 54th National Legislature matters any or all members of the Legislature who for any reason are to be subject to investigation should comply with extent provided for in the law, and in the interest of the Liberian people, while warning the Speaker to refrain from use of the House’s platform in “launching his attacks on the former officials of government”.
They warned, “Doing so will sway the debate in a non-productive manner to the detriment of the Liberian people.”
Lawmakers, who rejected the Speaker’s statement concerning the ongoing investigation included, Francis Saidy Dopoh, Representative, District #3 River Gee County, Thomas Goshua Representative, District #5 Grand Bassa County, Dowoin T. Gleekia Representative, District #6 Nimba County, Richard N. Koon Representative, District #11 Montserrado County, Hanson S. Kiazolu Representative, District #1 Montserrado County, Yekeh Y. Kolubah Representative, District #10 Montserrado.
Following their statement, some lawmakers loyal to the Speaker, including Montserrado District 8 Representatives, Moses Acarous Gray, termed his colleagues who were opposed to the Speaker’s stance on the investigation as gangster lawmakers.
Perhaps, sensing the division among the lawmakers, the clergyman chose not to mince his words when said, “If we don’t have ethical boundary and respect for each other, we cannot build a strong legislature and we cannot sustain the peace. If we are not respecting each other at the first branch of government, the people will not respect each other down there. And there will be chaos.”
Speaking on the theme, “Building Strong Legislature to Maintain the Peace,” Rev. Karpeh, who is also the Senior Pastor of the Life Center Church, called on the lawmakers to encourage productivity and proficiency in the discharge of their legislative duties and insist on staff competence, while welfare and benefit must be consistent with productivity.
House sets to Reconvene amid ‘Healthy’ Discussion
Meanwhile, House Speaker Chambers has announced that the House of Representatives is set to reconvene today, Monday, October 29, beginning with the leadership to be followed by the session on Tuesday.
Speaking to the press at the end of their close-door deliberations, the Speaker described their discussions as healthy and noted that they resolved their differences and are now ready to do the people’s work.
Said the Speaker: “We did have a healthy discussion to see how the activities at the House can be enhanced qualitatively. We all had our views to see how the 54th Legislature, specifically the House of Representatives can be second to none. We want to say that with the dissatisfactions, all has been done to ensure that our service will be in the best interest of the people of Liberia.”
Earlier, the Chairman of the organizing Committee, Rep. Johnson Gwaikolo (Nimba District #9) stated that the retreat was called by the Speaker and the leadership of the House to reflect “our performance, and perhaps realign our thoughts and actions to champion national progress.”