New Kru Town – President George Manneh Weah has been taken to task for violating several provisions of the revised by-laws of the Municipal Borough of New Kru Town over his recent appointment of a new Governor of the Borough.
It can be recalled that on October 30, President Weah appointed Mr. Tarpeh D. Carter as Governor of the Borough. According to an Executive Mansion release, Mr. Carter replaces Madam Alice Weah with immediate effect.
But the appointment is not going down well with scores of residents in the Borough, including the Nominating Council headed by Mr. Teah Dixon.
“The appointment of Mr. Carter did not go the right way. The by-laws call for the Council to forward a name for endorsement by the President and the President violated this. We are waiting for our Representative to come so we can address the matter,” he stated.
Council unaware of new appointment
The appointment of Mr. Carter came as astonishment to the council.
Speaking in a telephone interview with FrontPageAfrica on Tuesday, the Chairman of the Nominating Council, Teah Dixon disclosed that the Liberian Chief Executive latest’s action is a flagrant disregard to the revised by-laws of the Borough.
According to him, the Nominating Council has the authority to select and forward the name of a Governor to the office of the President for appointment.
He recalled that in 2018, the Council selected one Patna Nagbe as the new Governor of the Borough, but due to bureaucratic tendencies surrounding the Presidency, officials of the Council were unable to meet with the President to submit the name of the nominee.
Mr. Dixon pointed out that officials of the Council sent numerous communications and made follow-ups to meet with the President, but their efforts didn’t yield fruitful results.
The Law
The Revised By-Laws of the Borough of New Kru Town, a copy which is in the possession of FPA, was approved by former President William V. S. Tubman, on November 30, 1948 during the Governorship of Thomas B. Botoe.
The Revised by-Laws repealed the Act passed by the National Legislature in 1916.
Section two (2) of the Revised By-Laws established six (6) nominating districts in accordance with the number of the principal tribes living within the Borough of New Kru Town.
The tribes include: Krah, Gbaetar, Jloh, Kwao, Matroe and Pahn.
The Chairmen of the various tribes serve as Councilmen to the Governor, while each tribe is represented by a Chairman on the Nominating Council.
Among other things, Section seven (7) of the Revised By-Laws states that: “ the Chairman of the six (6) Nominating Districts are the policy making body of the Borough, who together with the elders of the Borough shall also be responsible for the selection and recommendation of Governor.”
According to Section eight (8), “no Governor, under no condition or circumstances, shall be appointed by the President or any government official without the will, knowledge, and consent of the Chairmen and elders of the six (6) Nominating Districts, who are the policy making body of the Borough and whose authority shall the Governor be subjected to.”
Citizens’ reactions
Meanwhile, Augustine Nagbe, who is the former President of the Federation of Borough Youth in district 16, Montserrado County, said the President’s action has the proclivity of stirring conflict in the Borough.
“The President latest appointment is a complete violation of the Act that created the Borough. The President does not have the authority to do so unilaterally. The President needs to cease the opportunity to withdraw Carter’s appointment,” he noted.
Lawmaker Blamed for the situation
Nagbe maintained that President Weah was ill-advised by Representative Dixon Seeboe, who is also an Executive Committee member of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).
“I think that the President was ill-advised particularly when it comes to the issues of the Borough. Representative Dixon Seeboe should be the one to guide the President on the issue of the Act. Perhaps the President has not laid his eyes on, or peruse the Act,” Nagbe lamented.
Trending Samuel Doe’s path
The former Youth President added that the consistent violations of the Liberian constitution and other international laws and regulations by the Weah led-government are resemblance of the era of ex-Liberian President Samuel Kanyan Doe.
“In most instances, politicians can never be bold-to look at the face of the President and tell him don’t do this, don’t do this. It happened during the regime of former President Doe. Those that were around him were all sycophants,” he noted.
“They couldn’t look at President Doe and say he was violating human rights, unlawful or unconstitutional acts. Today, where is Doe? He is dead and gone. And I think that President Weah is being ill-advised and he needs to come back to status quo ante and act in line with the constitution and the Act that created the Borough. This is about us holding our heritage.”
Nagbe Teah, another resident of the Borough of New Kru Town, urged the Liberian leader to “go back to the drawing board, recall Carter and accept a nomination from the Council.”
Age-Old Governor’s Legitimacy Wahala
There has been a long lasting battle for Governor’s legitimacy in the Borough of New Kru Town. In May 2018, the Nominating Council warned the public against doing business with Governor Alice Weah (now replaced).
In a statement issued under the signatures of Assistant Secretary Clayton Tarpeh, and Chairman Stephen Sarweh, the group at the time disclosed that since January 23, 2018 the tenure of Madam Weah as governor of the Borough had expired.
The group alleged that Madam Weah was imposing herself as the legitimate administrator of the borough, something which runs contrary to a presidential mandate pronounced in the country.
According to the group, Madam Weah’s alleged behavior at the time defied a mandate from President Weah, that all presidential appointees should consider themselves resign, is also an affront to the Eight Nominating Districts in the Borough.
Meanwhile, the group further nominated Madam Patna Nagbe as the new Governor of the Borough of New Kru Town in keeping with its by-laws and constitution.
Outgoing Governor Weah reacted on May 21, 2019 in a press statement challenging the decision of the Council.
In the statement issued, Madam Weah clarified that though President Weah requested heads of Human Resource Departments at various governmental entities to steer the affairs at their various institutions until their new bosses are appointed in 2018, the mandate at the time did not extend to the Borough.
The release pointed out that the Borough does not consist of a Human Resource Officer, and as such, Governor Weah continues to hold office to the will and pleasure of President Weah in keeping with Part Three of the Revised By-Laws of the Borough of New Kru Town.
About the Borough
The Borough of Kru Town (now New Kru Town) was enacted by the Liberian Legislature in January 1916 as a location for the settlement of members of the Kru ethnic group that originated from South-Eastern Liberia particularly, Sinoe and Maryland Counties and the Territories of Sasstown and Grandcess (Now Grand Kru County).
The Borough is bounded by the Mesurado River, Stockton Creek, St Paul River and the Atlantic Ocean. It begins from Bong Mines Bridge to the St. Paul Bridge. The Borough comprises of 25 communities and have a population of over 75,000 inhabitants.