The Editor,
On Friday, May 1, 2015, “President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has with immediate effect, relieved the following persons from their posts at the Liberia National Police (LNP).
They include: 1. Abraham Kromah, as Deputy Director of Police for Operations…”
On Friday, 16th September 2016, “President Sirleaf named…Col. Abraham K. Kromah as Deputy Inspector General for Operations.”
On his exit, “In an apologetic tone, Col. Kromah lifted his hand and said he was sorry for all I he had done to the Liberian people during his tenure of service.”
What will Abraham Kromah say upon his return? Will he lift his hand and say “I am happy to be back to harass, abuse, and assault the Liberian people.”?
Are we that thin in our rule of law human resources that we cannot find anyone else to execute the responsibilities of that position or is it that Madam Sirleaf and her kitchen cabinet are so limited in their understanding of how to recruit for high level positions?
Is it an issue of trusting only very few persons to the exclusion of other competent Liberians or is it that Madam SIrleaf is in – “I don’t give a damn about anything anyone, Liberians or the international community”?
We are in very critical times. For Madam Sirleaf to make such a redundant appointment speaks volumes of her desperation to have a stooge who will simply execute her bidding. Abraham is a friend and I believe a professional but is he that limited in exploring other opportunities or he is only fascinated by the power and impunity that comes with the position?
I know we will hear that her appointees serve at the “will and pleasure” of the president. Let’s just make the correction that they serve at the “pleasure” of the president per Article 56a of the Liberian Constitution.
The president is really defining the word pleasure in her appointments and firings. By definition, pleasure means “a feeling of happiness, enjoyment, or satisfaction.”
Pleasure is a momentary feeling and it derives from some external action. What are the pleasurable things that are happening for the president to make some of these appointments?
Specifically, what is pleasurable about Abraham Kromah today that he is being rewarded with a re-appointment that was not pleasurable 16 months ago when the president sacked him?
The country is being short-changed by the President’s appointments and her tendency to reward the same people over and over again. The president is answerable to the people of
iberia and it is only appropriate that she provides an explanation of why she fired Kromah and what is driving her decision to rehire him. Maybe she needs to admit she made an error and Abraham was the greatest 102 ever or maybe she needs to admit that he was screwing up on the job and she needed to go in a new direction.
However, given the current political and maybe security climate, she needs hands on reckless and abusive Police Director of Operations to cope with the situation. Madam Sirleaf, please come clean and explain to your people why you are reappointing a previously dismissed officer.
Isaac Vah Tukpah, Contributing Writer
[email protected]