Paynesville – Two leading civil society organizations, NAYMOTE Partners for Democratic Development and the Institute for Research and Democratic Development (IREDD) have condemned the Liberian Legislature for secretly enacting an act allowing them to work for only six months within a calendar year.
The Liberian Legislature last month secretly passed into law, “An Act to Repeal and Act to Amend Section 1 of an Act Fixing Day for the Annual Adjournment of the Legislature of the Republic of Liberia. And to establish in lieu thereof An Act Setting the Calendar of Adjournment for the Legislature.”
According to the Act, there will be three adjournments and recess periods, also known as constituency break. “The first constituency visit/break shall commence on the third Friday of March of each year and end on the second Friday of May of each year; the second constituency break shall commence on the third Friday of July of each year and end on the third Friday of October of each year.”
While the third constituency visit shall commence on the second Friday of December of each year and end on Friday immediately preceding the second working Monday of January of each year to satisfy the new Public Financial Management (PFM) Law which sets the budget year from January 1 to December 30; replacing July 1 to June 30.
In a press statement issued on Monday, the organizations, through their respective heads said, these new schedules of three adjournments in a single calendar year, violate the Constitution of Liberia.
Article 32 (a) of the Liberian Constitution states, “The Legislature shall assemble in regular session once a year on the second working Monday in January.”
“While lawmakers are paid to work for 12 months, with these new changes, they will work for six months every year. Sadly, this will undermine the governance process, and we, therefore, call for reconsideration of these changes,” the CSOs said in the statement read by the Executive Director of IREDD, Matthias M. Yeanay, flanked by Eddie Jarwolo, NAYMOTE’s Executive Director.
The group continued: “The Legislature cannot do what the Constitution didn’t mandate them to do until it’s done through a constitutional referendum. It has been noticed that members of the legislature have taken upon themselves to regularly violate the Liberian Constitution based on self-interest, changing electoral dates, postponing national census, and their total lack of accountability and responsiveness to the Liberian people. Poor leadership has engulfed the Legislature, heralding themselves into champions of bad governance.”
The 54th Legislature has come under staunch criticisms since its inception in 2018 for frequently conducting most of its activities, including passing bills and ratifying concession agreements behind closed doors. It has also been criticized for not subjecting itself to audit. These sentiments were echoed by the CSOs.
“To date, there are no voting records of lawmakers, no website to monitor or track members’ activities, and coupled with their inherent failure to audit what is considered the nation’s “First Branch of Government.” It has become imperative to remind Liberians of some of these national vices that led to the country’s fratricidal civil upheavals, where thousands were brutally maimed and killed. It is time for the Liberian legislature to ensure adequate representation, oversight, and lawmaking to improve governance and strengthen better leadership through prudent decision-making, instead of undermining the constitution for their self-aggrandizements.”
The CSOs said in the midst of increased hardship leading to next year’s presidential and legislative election, increased number of unexplained deaths, rapes, lack of basic social services including water and electricity, massive corruption, and the national airport being in constant darkness, couple with citizens surviving at the mercy of a dehumanizing electricity-shedding, elected officials are using national resources to flagrantly violate the Constitution and undermine the peace and security of the state.
The groups noted that, while the country is confronted with all of these critical national concerns, the majority of lawmakers seeking re-election have embarked upon serious political campaigns ahead of the set dates by the Electoral Management Body (EMB); adding that this is frustratingly closing the civic space for growth and national development.
They recounted that the “flagrant disregard of the Constitution and marginalization of the citizens by the few fortunate so-called elites are key contributing factors to Liberia’s civil unrest.”
They furthered: “The unilateral and illegal change of constitutions in Africa has triggered the increase of military takeovers because of poor leadership and bad governance, as we see in Liberia daily, where elected officials only care for themselves and not those who elected them.”
Further recounting events leading to Liberia’s devastating civil war including the April 14, 1979 Rice Riot and the April 12, 1980 coup when citizens’ demands for better leadership, good governance, and the provision of basic social services, the groups said these events led to a bloody national crisis.
“Those chaotic bloodlettings eventually culminated into the nearly 15 years of barbaric killings and massive destruction of lives and properties, of which the Liberian people witnessed one of the shortest but bloodiest wars on April 6, 1996. The Legislature must begin to soberly reflect and guide its actions against allowing itself to be used to plunge this country into another period of devastating conflict leading to full-fledged war,” they admonished.
They called on the electorates from the 15 counties to call on their lawmakers to, in the supreme interest of Liberia, take a break and retrospect on their responsibilities and functions; adding, “Failing to do so will have Liberia and Liberians continually brought to shame and humiliation by these leaders.”