Henry Karmo [email protected]
Monrovia – Representative Thomas Fallah, who is serving his third term in the Capitol as Representative after his first election 2005, says if the ruling Congress for Democratic Change selects him, he would work to regain the lost Montserrado County seat.
Fallah (CD-District #5 Montserrado County) has turned out to be the most outstanding amongst the many choices of the ruling party to challenge Senator Abraham Darius Dillon of the opposition Collaborating Political Parties.
Arguably, he is one of the few lawmakers Liberia has had with record of winning three successive elections. His wealth of experience as a legislator is also unquestionable.
According to him, he is not desiring to venture into becoming a Senator, despite his experience in legislative politics. In an exclusive interview with FrontPageAfrica, he claims that he still enjoys the confidence of his colleagues in the House of Representatives.
“We have a gullible society where people will want to play politics without asking for the details. Running for the Senate is not something we are opting for to be honest because being elected in Montserrado three times is nothing ordinary – it’s only by the mercy of God and I am grateful for that,” he said.
“My Party has been very supportive and there is no way I can disrespect the CDC but in terms of personal decision it is not one of these decisions I will want to take because I still enjoy the confidence of my colleagues in the House of Representatives but every football team will need a good striker that will make the difference.”
However, the CDC lawmaker added that if his party “deems it necessary” to put him on its ticket to help redeem the lost Montserrado County’s seat, he will consider it.
“…The governing Party actually needs this election and if they say using Thomas Fallah can make us win, who am I to refuse. In our party, we believe in party discipline, [so] I will surrender everything I am,” he said.
Rep. Fallah admits reclaiming Montserrado from the opposition is a serious task, but he thinks his advantage of legislative politics as one of the longest serving lawmakers could play out at his advantage.
“I am the most senior elder in the legislature giving my record of three successive election victories – where I have worked with three groups of lawmakers from 2005 up to present,” he said.
When asked how he managed to win three successive elections with an opposition party, he said he understands the issues of the county, especially the local leadership.
“I think we can provide a better solution, but we need to get the blessing from our Party than we can make or case. There is no opposition political party that has demonstrated supremacy in Montserrado County, so we still have a base,” he said.
“Montserrado County cuts across party line, [so] we need a candidate that will cut across; a candidate that is appeasing to even people who don’t believe in the CDC government and I think I am that candidate.”
While in opposition during the 12 years of the Unity Party regime, Fallah claims that he had to lay low on some issues to have some of his development projects carried out in his district.
He named the construction of the SKD Boulevard Road, the Police Academy road, and many other roads in Paynesville that were brought to the district through collaborative efforts.
“We had to tune down the rhetoric. We went into negotiation with the Ellen Government to see how the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration could do some development in our district especially the connection of roads. We worked with the ruling establishment at the time without much tension, without much noise,” he recalled, adding that it was through his engagement with the regime at the time that several homes were connected to the LEC power grid and the Paynesville City Corporation was given budgetary allotment.
Additionally, Rep. Fallah has seen the construction of a high school in the Nezo community – T-Five Academy. The school has a rapidly developed and is offering computer literacy and basic knowledge in nursing, amongst other.
Representative Fallah is currently constructing a twin structure university in the 72nd community, which is being funded by him based on loans he has taken from commercial banks.