Liberia: Top Ruling Party Member Cautions CDC-Government’s Officials Likely to Face Prosecution over Corruption If Party Faces Defeat

MONROVIA – An influential member of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Dr. Lester Tenny has warned officials of the Weah-led government to be true to the President in telling him to do right things.

Dr. Tenny, in a live phone-in interview on a local station in Monrovia recently, cautioned his party’s government to make the proper use of the remaining time by addressing some of its lapses if it is to be re-elected comes 2023.

He warned if the CDC-Government does not retain state power, there will be a mass prosecution of current public officials who are being accused of corruption by the new administration.

“We need to be honest with ourselves. We need to be honest with our President because he is the standard bearer of our party,” he said.

“We need to stop pretending. This mystical illusion where we keep pretending that all is well will embarrass all of us after election because if we are not careful, power will slip from our hands. But it is not the slipping of power that matters, it is the consequences of not retaining power. Because if we don’t retain power, there is going to be a major manhunt of people who are being perceived of being corrupt, people who are on record of being corrupt, and people who are being accused of being corrupt.”

“The new Government is not going to have a magic wand to change the situation in Liberia. They are going to shift their agenda to prosecution. So, I think we still have some time to check on some of the things we have not done.” 

The CDC, made of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the National Patriotic Party (NPP), and the Liberian People’s Democratic Party (LPDP) swept to state power in 2017, winning 14 of Liberia’s 15 counties.

Called the “Grand Coalition,” the party promised to bring about “much-needed change” to its party’s faithful and to all Liberians. 

However, Dr. Lester Tenny emphatically stated that the government has not done enough in implementing its promises to their faithful partisans and the Liberian people; and it was now time to make use of their remaining time in Government.

President Weah and his officials, mostly members of his inner circle continue to come under staunch criticism for amassing “questionable wealth” since their ascendancy to power.

Although, they have continuously said they are innocent, President Weah’s closest aide, the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Nathaniel McGill told a group of rural women that although the government is not corrupt, but he sees nothing wrong with public officials stealing public money to give it back to the citizens to impact their lives.

“There are people saying oh, the government people stealing the money, even if I were stealing the money and giving it to the Liberian people, that’s not go thing I did? Because at least I am not stealing and carrying it in Europe,” he contended.

He further said during the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf-led Government, public officials amassed wealth just as current government officials, but the difference between the two administrations is, unlike the past government, officials of this administration are giving their wealth back to the people.