MONROVIA – Members of the Liberian Senate have described as a “messy disgrace and disaster” that was totally out of order the conduct of the ceremony marking the inauguration of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and Vice President Jeremiah Koung at the ground of the Capitol Building in Monrovia.
By Obediah Johnson
The Capitol Building is the official seat of the Liberian Legislature.
The inauguration was greeted with mixed reactions following the unusual halt of the inaugural speech of President Boakai due to heat exhaustion. Guards of the elite Executive Protection Service (EPS) barricaded the Liberian Chief Executive and provided support by fanning him, prompting foreign dignitaries and others to express panic and concerns over the wellbeing of the President.
At least one person, visiting Liberia from the United States, was pronounced dead at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Sinkor, Monrovia, while several others fainted as a result of congestion at the venue of the event.
The incident prematurely ended the inauguration as foreign guests, including visiting Presidents hurriedly departed minutes after President Boakai left the venue.
But during the 3rd Day Sitting of the 1st Session of the Liberian Senate, Senators observed that the incident brought total “disgrace and embarrassment” to Liberia and its citizens.
They noted that Liberia as an aged-old country should not be struggling to host a national event. They, however, underscored the need for the training of legislative staffers in the areas of foreign relations and protocol.
Speaking during the session, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs Senator Abraham Darius Dillon said the inauguration was “completely disorganized.”
He said the entire protocol of the event was “messy.”
Senator Dillon observed that some invited guests (who he did not name) were taken off seats which they were previously assigned by protocol officers.
“The inauguration was completely out of order and disorganized. The protocol was just messy. It did not even demonstrate for a minute that Liberia is 176 years as though it was our first time experiencing or going to an inaugural program. It was a disaster and embarrassment; people couldn’t even find water under the sun to drink.”
“The protocol (officers) was just on the stage and they didn’t even know when to move from there. They (protocol officers) were all inside the cameras. On the main podium, the President of Liberia, the outgoing President couldn’t even have space to sit down straight-everybody just on the platform.”
He pointed out that the entire Capitol Building was flooded with people, including disabled Liberians, due to the poor workings of the protocol.
Senator Dillon, however, blamed the incident on the failure of the National Legislature to take charge of protocol during these national events.
He observed that the planning and protocol of the deliverance of State of the Nation Address (SONA) and inauguration of the President and Vice President remain the functions of the National Legislature.
He justified that Representatives and Senators must assemble in a Joint Legislative Session, in keeping with the country’s constitution, to inaugurate a new President and Vice President, unless the case where a seated President vacates the presidency and the VP is administered the oath of office to take charge.
Senator Dillon further observed that most often, guests attending the SONA or inauguration are invited by the Speaker of the House of Representatives for formality, but the listing of those guests invited are normally sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make a determination.
He questioned the rationale behind the issuance of invitations to members of both the House of Representatives and the Liberian Senate by House Speaker Fonati Koffa to attend the just ended inauguration.
No chanting battle cries
He said the grounds of the Capitol Building should not be a place of pleasantries and the chanting of party slogans or battle cries during the deliverance
“If we do not take cease of this matter, we will always experience what we experienced yesterday. The deliverance of the Annual Message by the President should not make the Capitol Building to look like a campaign ground. This is not a place to do all that cheering and (political) party thing. We have to be organized and do it differently.”
Senator Dillon stressed that those invited to the SONA should sit and listen attentively during the Joint Session convened by the Legislature, instead of serving as cheering squad during the event.
He maintained that the security of the President should be the responsibility of the Executive branch, but the deliverance of the SONA remains a legislative function.
He said members of the National Legislature should take full charge of protocol for the ensuing SONA so that they can be held liable if things go wrong.
President Boakai will deliver is first SONA to the people of Liberia, through the National Legislature on Monday, January 29.
No seats for lawmakers
“One o’clock that morning (on the day of the inauguration), the Secretary of the Senate called me and he was in a big argument with a Foreign Ministry staff who had come and decided that they do not have seats for legislators”, Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe of Bomi County recalled.
According to him, Protocol Officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs surprisingly changed the sitting arrangement of lawmakers.
He pointed out that though he came on the scene hours later to help address the situation, the staffs from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “had no regard for the Legislature.”
“When I called them back at eight o’clock in the morning, they said they had gone to the Ministerial Complex to look for chairs for the Legislature and they had changed all the arrangements.”
Poor inaugural committee
Senator Snowe observed that the selection of Madam Miatta Fahnbulleh to head the inaugural committee by President Boakai was very “poor.”
He claimed that the poor relationship and lack of cooperation between Madam Fahnbulleh and the Director of the General Services Agency (GSA) Mary Broh also contributed to the poor planning of the national event.
“The Chair of the inaugural committee Madam Miatta Fahnbulleh publicly insulted Madam Mary Broh here. And so, the two of them were not even speaking.”
Senator Snowe, however, stressed the need for Liberians to forgo their differences and collectively work together whenever they are place in various positions to execute national events or programs.
Not knowing names of guests
He further observed that the Protocol did not mention the names of foreign and international guests who were invited to the inauguration.
“When foreign guests coming we hear ‘we now recognize the President of Ghana-he doesn’t have a name?”
He added that the Protocol also flopped by taking the Japanese Delegation which was being accompanied by Liberia’s Ambassador to Japan, to the inauguration, to be the Chinese delegation.
“It was just embarrassing yesterday. And the thing about it, we had inauguration on this very ground 18 years ago. The 18 inauguration was even better than this one. The one yesterday should have been the best.”
He said though it is prudent for coordination among the three branches of the Liberian government, inauguration and SONA should be coordinated beginning with the National Legislature, noting that, “you cannot coordinate our functions.”
Security intrusion
Senator Wellington Geevon Smith of Rivercess County stated: “the issue of organization is a very serious thing. I will like to suggest that we start the organization from our level.”
He observed that the intruding of security guards into discussions being held by Senators is causing serious embarrassment.
“Every Senator here has a personal security. If Senators are moving together, your please tell your personal security to move from between us. Sometimes you see personal security of a Senator stopping another Senator and they want to get in between. It is wrong.”
For his part, River Gee County Senator Jonathan Sogbie, called on his colleagues to make use of the time available to adequately plan for the SONA to safe Liberia from another “international embarrassment.”
He said lawmakers should not be restricted from executing their functions by accepting invitations during national events, especially the SONA and inauguration.
Capacity building
Also speaking, Gbarpolu County Senator Amara Konneh said the latest incident should serve as a wakeup call for building the capacity of legislative staffers.
He said the Senate must invest in the capacity of staffers if they must perform to their expectations.
This, he said, should be discussed at the upcoming retreat of the Senate.
“To solve this problem, how do we go from here to here? I was so embarrassed as a Liberian yesterday to be honest. We have to make sure our staffers do the work that they supposed to do.”
Senator Konneh, however, admitted to the separation of powers in the governance system of the nation, but mentioned that there are national occasions that must normally bring all branches together to bring proud to the country and its people.
“Yesterday, the Nigerian delegation and some lawmakers were standing up,” Senator Dabah Varpilah of Grand Cape Mount County observed.
She noted that people with vast experience should be hired to implement national programs or events.
Share blame
Margibi County Senator Emmanuel Nuquay urged his colleagues to avoid squarely shifting blame on the security for the blunders at the inauguration.
According to him, members of the Executive did not prevent legislators from exercising their duties and as such, lawmakers cannot exempt themselves from the negative happenings at the event.
He underscored the need for the Senate to work with the House of Representatives to avoid a reoccurrence of the incident ahead of the SONA.
“Our security should be paramount. But we didn’t take our security seriously. It was a disgrace,” Senator Gbenzohngar Findely of Grand Bassa County stated.
He, however, called for the names of Senators to be placed in their respective seats during the SONA and other national events to avoid embarrassment.
“Senators should not be looking for seats. Not one Senator should be taken for granted; and I will not be taken for granted.”
Meanwhile, Senate Pro-Tempore Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence has vowed to liaise with House Speaker Koffa to find a way forward to prevent the negative happenings which characterized the inauguration ahead of the deliverance of the SONA.
She stressed that the Chairs of the relevant committees of the Senate, including Executive, Foreign Affairs, Ways, Means and Finance, National Defense and Security would work along with their colleagues at the House and designated representatives from President Boakai to properly plan the event.
“The President does not have a cabinet yet, but we have the authority to make it (SONA) works. I think the Legislature can do that. I will reach out to the Speaker and we ask our Chairs to come together and start the planning of the budget along with the various departments.”
The issue of planning and executing SONA and inauguration has been an unresolved aged-old issue between the executive and legislative branches of the Liberian government.
Several thousands of United States dollars are most often allotted to each of these programs through budgetary allocations, but those allocations continue to be questioned.
Citizens continue to complain that huge allocations towards pleasantries and merrymaking during these national events in the midst of extreme poverty and hardship are not necessary in a country where vast majority of citizens go to bed on empty stomach and live below US$1 a day.
The management of the funds allocated to these national events has not been regularly entrusted to the National Legislature which has consistently been accused of corruption.