Monrovia – Human rights lawyer, Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe, a longtime critic of the Unity Party (UP) led Government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has again descended on the President for statement attributed to her by the media that Liberians are lazy, un-appreciative and lack ethics at work places and asked that the President apologize to the people.
Report by Kennedy L. Yangian [email protected]
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is reported to have made the statement to the media upon her return to the country from Kigali, Rwanda where she had gone for a state visit a week ago.
Media reports quoted President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as rating newly independent Rwanda higher than Liberia standing now at 169 years of age in terms of development, adding that Rwanda has made gains in development in the last 20 years when she visited the country as former executive of the World Bank assigned in Africa
The President was quoted in the media report also as saying that both Rwanda and Ethiopia where she also visited have developed due to the work, sacrifice and love that the citizens of these two countries have shown, leading to the development of their respective countries.
Many Liberians appearing on talk shows at various radio stations and intellectual forums have criticized the President for her statement, indicating that the statement was a payback disgrace to Liberians for the immense support accorded to elect her as President in the country’s two post-war elections.
One of the latest Liberian to come out openly to criticize the President is human rights lawyer Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe who says that the statement was a shock to him due to the appalling living condition of Liberians in the last two terms of the Unity Party (UP) led Government of Madam Sirleaf.
Cllr. Gongloe indicated in an interview with reporters on the ground of the Temple of Justice Friday that those two countries that President Sirleaf referred to as developed comes from the vision and good leadership abilities of their respective leaders.
“Paul Kigame has taken power in Rwanda with the motivation to transform his country. What President Ellen Johnson is telling the Liberian people is that in the last 12 years of her administration she was not able to transform her country like Paul Kigame” said Cllr. Gongloe
Cllr. Gongloe also said the President’s statement indicates that she is not a transformer and that she is acknowledging failure in her 12 years administration of the country.
On the question of what responsible for the country’s under-development, Cllr. Gongloe indicated that bad leadership is responsible for Liberia’s under-development saying all Liberians should be aware of that.
On the upcoming 2017 election, Cllr. Gongloe stated that in the wake of the country’s bad leadership syndrome, Liberians going to election next year should be aware of people he referred to as political investors who will only come during elections with money to induce the voters and have nothing to offer in return when elected.
According to Cllr. Gongloe, in the 2005 Presidential election he went around the country to campaign for Madam Sirleaf but sees things differently and this time around he will not follow the same path but rather he will continue his advocacy to ensure that Liberians elect the leader that will seek the welfare of the country and its people.