Monrovia – Ahead of the pending Presidential and Legislative Elections scheduled for October this year, the Inspector General of the Liberia Police Gregory Coleman has assured women aspiring for legislative seats of full Police protection during their campaign process.

IGP Coleman said the Liberia National Police is under full obligation to provide an enabling environment that will encourage women participation in the pending elections, describing them as an important contributor to the current peace the country is experiencing.

Coleman said the Police will not favor any group of people over another, but will provide equal opportunity for all people including women who are intending to participate in the electoral process.

According to an LNP statement, the Police chief admonished the women to be peaceful during the process of elections, adding that the upcoming election is very crucial to the survival of the country’s emerging democracy.

He encouraged them to alert the Police on issues of insecurity that they may encounter during the electoral period, stressing that they will deal with anyone that will want to create an atmosphere of insecurity for women.  

“We will do all we can to protect you, but we also ask you to support our move of promoting peaceful elections, which is good for our country”, the Inspector General of Police indicated.

The Liberian Police Chief made the statement over the weekend in Gbarnga, Bong County where he met with over one hundred women who are aspiring for legislative seats and their campaign managers.

The training of the women is being done by the National Movement for Transparent Elections.

At the same time, the Liberia National Police has held discussions with citizens of Bong, Nimba, and, Lofa Counties as part of its nationwide tour geared towards promoting peaceful elections in 2017.

The citizens of the three counties expressed their willingness to support the LNP in promoting peaceful elections, stating that the pending election is historical and crucial to Liberia.

The Bong, Lofa, and Nimba inhabitants called on the Police leadership to increase the number of manpower in their respective counties ahead of the elections.

They said the lack of adequate logistics for local Police officers is bothering the smooth operations of the Police, and want the Police leadership consider addressing the issues confronting the counties ahead of the elections.

For his part, Col. Coleman informed the locals of the three counties of the need to uphold the rule of law during the elections, as the upcoming elections was important for the future of the country.

He said the “Yes To Peace, No To Violence” initiative undertaken by the Police is intended to build the confidence of the public in the LNP.

He called on the citizens to support the initiative being promoted by the Liberia National Police, indicating that the move by the Police is intended to take the Police to the people for better cooperation and understanding.

He called on the locals to report any form of Police misconduct that they may experience while interacting with officers assigned in their respective counties.

 “You are encouraged to report any form of misconduct   on the part of officers to the Professional Standards Division of the Liberia Police in your county, and I can assure you that appropriate action will be taken against any officer that will be found liable,” Col. Coleman said.

The Police-citizens dialogue was attended by local officials in the three counties.

The officials reminded the citizens of the role they have to play in promoting the transition process that must be void of violence.

They promised their fullest commitment in working with the Police to promote violence free elections in 2017.

IN AN INTERVIEW with the Inspector General-designate of the Liberian National Police (LNP) Col. Gregory “Buster” Coleman over the weekend, he outlined limited funding as the most challenging constraint the Police were faced with.

“The Ministry of Finance gave us a budget ceiling of about US$15.9 million, which cannot even cover a lot of our medium line items,” Coleman told FrontPage Africa in that exclusive interview.

NEARLY THE ENTIRE POLICE budget—89 percent (US$14 million)—goes for personnel salaries alone, Coleman added. Only US$1.7 million goes for goods and services (uniform, logistics and repairs, for instance), while only US$500 and US$200 are allotted to the purchase of medical items and toiletries, respectively.

“WE’RE ASKING GOVERNMENT for US$13.266 million and we’ve got zero Dollars as per request, so there will be logistical constraints,” Coleman lamented. “Policing in the world over, things are always lacking, even in the great United States…We are going to justify the need for more logistics on the performance with the limited that we have right now.”

COLEMAN SOUNDED very buoyant in that interview but the fact is that you don’t expect anything less diplomatic from an appointed official when his confirmation is still on going. You cannot sit on someone’s shoulder and tell him his arm stinks, the adage goes.

WE KNOW THAT IT IS a cliché that the Police make a futile, annual appeal to the Government of Liberia for increased budgetary allotment but this time around is very much unlike, perhaps, anytime in the history of our country. For the first time more than a decade, Liberian security operatives are shouldering the security responsibilities of Liberia, still recovering from the ashes of the civil war, still grappling with the same things that precipitated the war. These are extraordinary times and the country is once more at a crossroads.

BEFORE THE BEING handed back security responsibilities, bulk of the public criticized the move, expressing mistrust over the local security personnel and the nightmare of relapsing back into the conflict and self-destruction. The fear was that not only that the Police was faced with logistical challenges but also that the personnel could not be trusted. It was a portion but a significance outburst of the public lack of confidence in the governance process of the country.

HOWEVER, THE SYSTEM is working pretty much into that public conception. There are too many implications involved amid logistical constraints our Police force faces. We get it all mixed up when we try not to prioritize our Police force when we should in the first place.

PRESIDENT ELLEN JOHNSON Sirleaf said recently that turning over to another civilian government will be the greatest democratic achievement to ever be made by Liberia. This further emphasizes the need for the process that will lead toward this democratic transition. This means rallying the support of the general public, getting political parties collaborate at peace and tolerance fronts and, among others, the state of state security apparatus, especially the Police.

COLEMAN SEEMS to mean business and his effort will validate his fervency to seeing a more secured and peaceful environment leading towards the elections. His achievement just in less than a month is stunning: chasing and dislodging street gangs as well as taking armed robbery head-on. The infamous Turtle Base, here the Christian Gospel songs was remixed into criminal chants has been dismantled. Zogo—drugged pickpockets and way-wards—look like something of the past. It is highly likely that the American States Department report will not contain these hijackers this year.

IT HAS NOT STOPPED THERE. The Police are not working harder than ever before to enforce the Vehicle and Traffic Laws of Liberia, deterring violations by issuing tickets—some 175 of them in the last two weeks. And Coleman told us in that interview that the Police themselves are bracing to respect the laws by putting into place a mechanism that guides against the misuse of emergency and siren. Even motorcyclists are part of this plan as well as the community via the community Police forum.

WE CANNOT BE TOTALLY convinced that good things are coming or the Police but we are certainly cognizant of the things that we have heard and seen the Police achieve of lat. It is important that we support the effort of the Police under the watch of Coleman and his revived deputy, Abraham Kromah to fight crimes in these difficult times.

Monrovia – Article 90 B of the Liberian constitution prohibits government employees demanding and receiving fees for services rendered in line with the performance of their duties, a provision that is being used to criticize Grand Kru County Senator Peter Coleman for receiving money from the John F. Kennedy Hospital.

The issue has also been debated in the past with government officials who are serving as members of Board of Directors on public corporations and at other government entities with former Labor and Public Works Minister Samuel K. Woods returning board fees paid to him while serving in government, challenging other government officials to do the same.

The debate has been renewed with revelations that Senator Coleman who is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health received payments from the JFK. But Senator Coleman, one of the officials of government named in the JFK syndicate says he received professional fees not kickback.

In a statement from the Grand Kru County senator, his office says its attention has been drawn to allegations made by Mr. Henry P. Costa on the Costa Show about Senator Coleman receiving “Kickbacks” from the John F. Kennedy Medical center for which he is reneging on carrying out his oversight responsibility at that institution.

According to the Senator’s office contained in a statement the allegation is false, misleading, unfounded, lack of proof, and is intended to diminish the good reputation of the senator.

The senator office said: “Mr. Costa needs to know that besides been a legislator, Dr. Coleman is a trained and qualified Surgeon and has been a Professor of Surgery at the A. M. Dogliotti College of Medicine/University of Liberia for more than 25 years. He is also a fellow of the West African college of Surgeons as well as a Professor at the Liberia Post-Graduate College of Surgeons”.

According to Senator Coleman’s office, the Senator has been involved with the training of young doctors who have the desire of acquiring surgical skills.

“Dr. Coleman has been involved with the training of young Doctors who are desirous of acquiring surgical skills for more than 20 years. He is also a part- time Consultant Surgeon in the Department of Surgery of the JFKMC (involved with training of young doctors and performing major operations), for which the JFKMC provides a “simple honorarium’, of US$900 on a monthly basis. This amount does not represent any “kickback” as alleged by Mr. Costa but is given as a token of appreciation for his professional services to the institution.”

The Grand Kru Lawmaker office further stated that the payment is based on a professional Services Contract signed between the JFKMC and Dr. Coleman copies which he says are available.

“The Senator sees this as part of his patriotic duty to serve the Liberian people and will continue to be involved with the training of young doctors, with his knowledge, skills and Experience. In terms of the issues at JFKMC, both Committees on Health of the Legislature have been deeply involved with finding solutions to the multiple problems that concern JFKMC,” he said.

He referenced actions by nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals who petitioned the Legislature and had go-slow actions, to highlight issues at the hospital that led both committees on Health at the Legislature to engage the Board of Directors of JFKMC as well as the Senior Management Team about these issues on many occasions.

The statement from the lawmaker also claimed that one of the fundamental short-comings of the JFKMC was the 1972 Act creating the JFK Act that gives all powers to the President of Liberia to appoint the Board of Director as well as top management team of the hospital something Senator Coleman says is making the institution to be influenced by political manipulations, unlike other Universities / Referral Hospitals in the region and around the world.

He stressed that there is an urgent need to depoliticize the JFKMC and make it a highly professional institution void of political manipulations.

“ln consonance with the Liberian constitution, it is the Executive Branch of Government that is Responsible for the Administrative functions and operation of the hospital”, the office of Senator Coleman stated.

“The Legislative Branch can only highlight the issues, but it will be the Executive Branch that must execute the needed reforms.

A similar situation arose when Liberian took up issues with the Ministry of Health during the tenure of Dr. Gwenigale, which almost led to a constitutional crisis between the Executive Branch and the Liberian Senate,” the statement added.

During the disagreement between the senate and the Health Ministry in 2015 President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf invoked Article 50 of the Liberian Constitution and the Senate had to back down.

The office of the senator noted that the legislature pushed certain issues up to a certain level but in respect of the separation of powers, there is point where its oversight stops.

As it relates to the ongoing investigations on financial malpractices at the JFKMC, Senator Coleman said, both Committees have had multiple hearings to fast-track the ongoing investigation.

“The Office of the Senator Dr. Peter S. Coleman would like to remind Mr. Costa to kindly ascertain the facts before the dissemination of misleading information. Reputable media institutions would have double-checked with this office before accusing somebody of wrong doing,” the statement said.

Many of us who are professionals and that are part of this government will continue to provide service to our country given the scarcity of professionals in many sectors.

My professional service the JFKMC has saved the Government of Liberia of thousands of dollars because if any expatriate had been recruited, it would cost the GOL not less than Ten Thousand United States (USS10, 000.00) a month