Monrovia – Politics and the 2017 general and presidential elections is said to be threatening the current draft 2016/2017 national budget with reports that the Executive branch of government is expressing fear that House of Representatives Speaker J. Alex Tyler might use his power at the National Legislature to raise money for his newly found political party, the Liberia People Democratic Party (LPDP), something believed to be some of the reasons behind plot to oust the Speaker.
Multiple sources have hinted that there is an ongoing beef over the current draft 2016/2017 national budget with fears that Speaker Alex Tyler, a ranking member of the newly found Liberia People Democratic Party who appointed the party Chairman Representative Moses Kollie as head of the Ways, Means and Finance Committee of the House of Representative might use the budget to raise campaign money with the Executive Wednesday threatening its officials against budget manipulations
Speaker Tyler is an official of the LPDP, a party that has already shown its seriousness to push for the Presidency in 2017, showcasing its financial power by purchasing and parading over 14 brand four wheel pickups.
After the formation of the party, the Speaker appointed the Chairman of the new party, Lofa County District#5 Representative Moses L. Kollie as head of the Ways, Means and Finance Committee of the House of Representatives, the committee responsible for reviewing and analyzing the national budget before making recommendations to the plenary for passage.
A joint committee of the Ways, Means and Finance from both the House of Representatives and the Liberian Senate normally reviews the budget to ensure that the two bodies are already abreast of the budget for fast passage into law.
Article 34 (d) of the 1986 constitution gives the Legislature the power to make appropriations for the fiscal governance of the country.
It is provided in Article 34 (d) The Legislature shall have the power: d)to levy taxes, duties, imports, exercise and other revenues, to borrow money, issue currency, mint coins, and to make appropriations for the fiscal governance of the Republic, subject to the following qualifications: (ii) no monies shall be drawn from the treasure except in consequence of appropriations made by legislative enactment and upon warrant of the President; and no coin shall be minted or national currency issued except by the expressed authority of the Legislature. An annual statement and account of the expenditure of all public monies shall be submitted by the office of the President to the Legislature and published once a year…”.
During budget debates, heads of line miniseries and agencies in most instances fail to properly provide budget performance reports and it was reported sometimes ago that heads of some agencies who push for increment in their budgets are made to allegedly agree deals with some key lawmakers to increase their budgets in exchange for kickbacks after the passage of the budget.
Warning against budget manipulations
While the 2016/2017 draft budget is currently at the Legislature, the Cabinet Wednesday issued a statement following a cabinet meeting pointing to this long held allegation of budget manipulations between some officials of the Executive and the Legislature, when Cabinet threatened its officials against budget manipulation.
In a statement following a cabinet meeting, an Executive Mansion release quoted the Cabinet “Cabinet, has carefully reviewed the status updates on key benchmarks in the areas of roads, ports, water & sanitation, education as well as Task Force performance covering agriculture and agro-processing and manufacturing and business support; threatened punitive action against any member of the executive involved in budget manipulation and mandated a vigorous and aggressive Sector Ministers-led Town Hall meeting education and information-dissemination campaigns”.
The Executive Mansion is yet to provide explanation for the warning to officials of the Executive branch of government against budget manipulation, a warning coming at a time the draft budget before the National Legislature.
There is no other instances during the nearly eleven years tenure of President Sirleaf that cabinet had issued such warning to officials of the executive branch of government, raising suspicions that something is afoot with the current draft budget.
Before the cabinet threat against Executive officials concerning the budget on Wednesday, a key legislative source told FPA that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has threatened that she will send the budget back in the instance of unsatisfactory allotments.
“This budget will face problem, the President has said she will look at this year budget with serious attention and she will send the budget back to the Legislature when she is not satisfied with any allotment or when it is not clear to her”, the source FrontPageAfrica.
Political budget
The 2016/2017 budget is predicted to be a political instrument rather than financial as financing of political activities for the pending 2017 general and presidential election is hugely tied to the budget.
The private sector is dormant and the country is heavily reliant on the national budget to stimulate economic activities and it is where many politicians rely for money to carry out their political activities.
Some presidential hopefuls including Vice President Joseph Boakai of the ruling Unity Party, George M. Weah of the Congress for Democratic Change, Speaker Tyler of the LPDP are all high ranking members of the current regime.
Out of these individuals, Speaker Tyler has more direct influence over the national budget after appointing his party Chairman, Representative Kollie as the head of the Ways, Means and Finance Committee of the House of Representatives.
Tyler’s opponent fear that he might use his influence as head of the National Legislature through the budget in raising finances for his political party, a fear sources have hinted is already known to President Sirleaf.
It is already predicted that by early 2017, normal government operations might be at a standstill as individuals contesting political offices will be busy with political campaigning in an election that has already been described as critical by international organizations including the Carter Center.
Presidential hopefuls including Cllr. Charles Brumskine, Dr. Mills Jones, Vice President Boakai, and Alexander Cummings are now moving across the country, making their presence felt in the various counties in what is seen as early preparations for the 2017 election.
For public officials desirous of contesting legislative positions, their fate is hanging on a challenge against the constitutionality of a provision in the Code of Conduct Law filed before the Supreme Court by Bong County Superintendent Selina Polson Mappy.
A provision in the Code provides for presidential appointees desirous of contesting elected positions to resign two years prior to the election in which they wish to contest.
Section 5.1 states: “All Officials appointed by the President of the Republic of Liberia shall not: a) engage in political activities, canvass or contest for elected offices; b) use Government facilities, equipment or resources in support of partisan or political activities; c) serve on a campaign team of any political party, or the campaign of any independent candidate”.
The succeeding section, 5.2 also states “ 5.2 Wherein, any person in the category stated in section 5.1 herein above, desires to canvass or contest for an elective public position, the following shall apply; a) Any Minister, Deputy Minister, Director-General, Managing Director and Superintendent appointed by the President pursuant to article 56 (a) of the Constitution and a Managing Director appointed by a Board of Directors, who desires to contest for public elective office shall resign said post at least two (2) years prior to the date of such public elections; b) Any other official appointed by the President who holds a tenured position and desires to contest for public elective office shall resign said post three (3) years prior to the date of such public elections; c) However, in the case of impeachment, death, resignation or disability of an elected official, any official listed above, desirous of canvassing or contesting to fill such position must resign said position within thirty days following the declaration by the National Elections Commission of the vacancy”.
Superintendent Mappy’s lawyer, Cllr. T. Nagbalee Warner has already described the provision of the Code as discriminatory but his statement was resisted by the State. Should the Supreme Court rule in favor of the petitioner, it will open the floodgate for officials of the executive wishing to contest to go on with their political activities and could also likely turn the 2016/2017 budget into big source of campaign financing for these officials.
Tyler’s removal plot
For several weeks now there has been reports of attempts by some lawmakers to oust Speaker Tyler and Montserrado County Representative Edwin Snowe, during a heated party meeting vowed that he will ensure that the speaker is removed.
Representative Snowe was recorded saying “I will move him! Is it now that he knows government can kill people or President can give money to lawmaker?
FPA has gathered that the Speaker Tyler’s removal plot is gaining momentum with several lawmakers in support and many have already signed a resolution meant to remove the speaker.
One legislative source hinted that Speaker Tyler’s removal is also tied to fear that he might use the budget to fund campaign for his political party and the attempts to remove him have intensified in recent days.
“I think Tyler will go because the issue is more than the indictment against him, there are other issues including the budget for which many people want him out”, the source hinted FPA.
Whatever way the attempts to remove the speaker go amid reports of the budget raising beef between the Executive and the Legislature as further shown by the strong threat by the cabinet to officials of the Executive, there are genuine fears amongst many that the current 2016/2017 budget will largely be used for political activities rather than development as politicians fight to continue in power.