MONROVIA – The Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Professor Wilson Tarpeh says from conversations during the sideline meeting at the COP 26 Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, between the Liberian delegation and development partners, Liberia is poised to benefit from its vast and untouched forests that is contributing towards combating climate change globally.

Liberia’s delegation to the COP 26 headed by President George Weah was composed of public, private, local non-governmental organizations, international non-governmental organizations, academia, youth, students and the media.

President Weah’s address to the COP 26 stated the fact that many of the highest carbon stock forests in Liberia contain essential natural capital and ecosystem service benefits; benefits which have so far eluded the country as a developing nation.

“Our economy needs to develop, and we want to do so sustainably. We want to continue to maintain our forest and ecosystem endowments, and our incredible biodiversity, as we embrace climate-smart approaches to agriculture and mining, which are our economic mainstays,” President Weah said.

He added: “We are therefore looking forward to constructive engagements with all interested parties in this regard. The impending United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) will provide yet another opportunity to generate more ambitious climate actions and commitments.”

Speaking at the Ministry of Information Special Press Tuesday, November 23, 2021, the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency told journalists that Liberia was recognized as having almost half of the Upper Guinea Forest, one of the three major forests in the world.

According to Mr. Tarpeh, during the COP 26 Conference, development partners were ambitious in mitigating and adapting actions to ensure that Liberia addresses global climate change at the national level.

According to the Executive Director Tarpeh, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Partnership commended the EPA for its exemplary role played in bringing all the major implementing partners together during the development of the updating or revision of Liberia’s NDC and for the completion and submission of Liberia’s revised NDC to the UN Climate Change Secretariat.

“The NDC Partnership assured Liberia of her technical and financial support in setting up an NDC Implementation Unit at the EPA,” he said.

The EPA Executive Director stressed that the NDC partnership has indicated that the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and the Central Bank of Liberia are to be beneficiaries of its support in assisting to set up a functional climate change desk at the Central Bank of Liberia.

Also, at the sideline meeting, the Liberia delegation met with Gustavo A.B.  da Fonseca, the Director of Program of the Global Environment Facility(GEF) and other executives.

Mr. Tarpeh said during the meeting, Mr. Fonseca briefed the EPA Executive on the roles and responsibilities of GEF Operational Focal Point.

“He extended thanks and appreciation to the EPA for being a reliable delivery partner in the execution of GEF’s Activities at the national level and reaffirmed,” he said.

EPA Executive Director added: “Mr. Gutavo also informed me that Liberia was allotted under GEF 7 Star Country Allocation the amount of US$6.13 Million Dollars for intervention into the following focal areas.”

The impacted areas, the EPA boss said would be ranging from food systems, land use and restoration. Mr. Tarpeh also disclosed that an amount of US$10 Million was promised by the UNDP to enhance the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities in Sinoe County, the Southeastern part of Liberia.

“GEF’s commits herself in working with the EPA during the new replenishment period GEF 8 (2023- 2026) and informs that the EPA will be invited to the GEF Assembly next year 2022 when the new star allocation will be announced,” he said.

Monrovia – This year’s Midterm Senatorial elections is more than just a race pitting the incumbent Abraham Darius Dillon against whoever the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change put up as a challenger.  With a population of more than one million likely voters, this is as good as it gets for a vote-rich county that has undoubtedly become the hotbed gauging point of politics in Liberia.

Analysis by Rodney D. Sieh, rodney.sieh@frontpageafricaonline.com

It is here that in 1985, when the brutal dictator Samuel Doe was planning his controversial elections, aides made it clear that it would difficult to convince Liberians and the international community that a fiery Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a rising political icon in her day, lost the county.

Although Sirleaf won her seat as Senator, she refused to accept the results as she and her Liberian Action Party took the protest route.

It was also here that George Weah solidified his electability with a lopsided victory in the 2014 elections that took him to the Senate. And it was here that Mr. Dillon, backed by the three-party coalition – Liberty Party, All Liberian Party, Unity Party and the Alternative National Congress(ANC), scored an equally lopsided victory over Paulita Wie en route to winning his senate seat.

Why Montserrado Matters

This is why Montserrado is important. The ruling party must win here in the upcoming elections, if it has any chances of retaining the presidency in 2023 – and they know it. So, when Jamima Wolokollie went rogue on the party last week, from one station after the next airing dirty laundry against her boss, the knee-jerk reaction, according to party insiders was to push for her dismissal first, and her ouster from the party.

In doing so however, the party may have underestimated the damage. The fallout from Madam Wolokollie’s allegations against her boss, Professor Wilson Tarpeh has been enormous.

The dismissed and expelled partisan accused Minister Tarpeh of plotting a “well-organized crime” that involved a loan scheme for female marketers of the CDC and has challenged the government or the party to take her to court over allegations that she initiated a dubious loan scheme within the party. “I’m defying you to do so. I dare anyone of you to take me to court for a well-organized crime that has no truth. I am challenging you little liars to be more responsible and take me to the law,” she wrote in her Facebook post last Thursday.

Madam Wolokollie went further to state: “I will not take the responsibility for my boss, concerning this loan. He has a clear understanding of how he gave this loan out and Mulbah Morlu knows it”.

According to Madam Wolokillie, Minister Tarpeh “has the money” but has remain silent – an allegation FrontPageAfrica could not independently verify. Several calls placed to Minister Tarpeh seeking a response to the damning allegations have proven futile. “You are accusing me of this matter is very important to my families, friends and I cannot account for money I did not see or touched.  Anyone within our society can attests to this. I have been accused in the most ridiculous and misleading way to the people of Liberia,” she said.

In her own way, Wolokollie, a founding member of the party has paid her dues.

Besides campaigning for the party to win state power, she had been working in the  various districts mobilizing the women base of the party through her Liberians in Support of Democratic Change group. “LSDC  Liberians in support for Democratic Change  is ready to implement the President’s agenda and tell the people of Liberia about  his  achievements. Information dissemination is also  on our  plate big time. We have started  and will continue until  2023,” she posted on her Facebook page in January.

‘Founding Member’ Standing Her Ground

Now out of favor and on her own, Wolokollie has taken the gloves off, taking the party to task over her dismissal and expulsion, she says was politically motivated and a result of jittery men within the ruling CDC who, she says, are always afraid of strong women and has accused the party of sexism and tribalism. “I’m not going to take it to be serious because I wasn’t consulted. They only wrote the document and sent it to the various stations, and they put it on. That’s what it is. So, I’m still a founding member of the mighty Congress for Democratic Change,” she told the VOA’s Daybreak Africa last Friday.

She describes her expulsion over extortion and corruption charges as “a pure lie.  “He’s not saying the truth. You know, most times when you find strong women in Africa, the men tend to get jittery and hysterical, and I want to believe that the men in the party very, very, very hysterical, but all of those allegations are not true.  I said to them if this is what you think about me, take to court, but I will not, I will not accept you getting on the  international media or local me and then tarnishing my good reputation that I have built over the years, and everybody who knows Jamima Wolokolie knows that she stands for something, and she does not just fall for anything, and never in my have I been involved in corruption or all of the allegations that he made against me. Those are all false and misleading.” 

Instead Wolokollie says, her dismissal was due to her stance on exposing the wrongs in the ruling coalition.  “They are so many, but I will just name just a few. Most times when they have the primary and you happen to win the primary, normally they will tell you to step aside and let somebody else is going to take your place and then go for the election.  And said to them this totally wrong. We have to stop that. We cannot continue to do the things that we did years ago. We have to stop it. If someone wins the primary, let that person be able to go and run for that vacancy; you are not going to be the person to be choosing who will go and who will not go. That’s not democracy. Democracy must be practiced at the highest level, and if we cannot do that, then what do you call that. And somebody has to speak out. Everybody is afraid to talk because CDC, our party is a party is a party that everybody is afraid to say what is going on, and it is too much in the party. Our chairman is from Lofa County, He’s Lorma. Then you have Fallah, who is being supported by the chairman. He’s Kissi; then you have Jefferson Koijee who is also Kissi as being supported by Mulbah Moulu. I see tribalism right there.”

A Major Distraction for CDC

Madam Wolokollie says politicking has a lot to do with what has transpire with her over the past few days. “When I declared that I wanted to run, they asked me not to run. Some members within the party told that, do not run because we have already chosen Thomas Fallah, and it’s Fallah that we are going to carry. But I said, no.  My president is the chief feminist of Liberia and he has always said that he wanted more women in the Senate and in the House of Representative. So, I was encouraged to throw my hat in the race because you have one woman in the Senate, who is Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence. All of them are men. So, I said to myself, I know I can win the senate seat. So, I’m going to run, and they asked me to step aside, I told them, no.  I will still go, and that made them very angry. They said that why did I come to say that I am going to continue; I disobeyed the party. So, they expelled me from the party. They didn’t expel me because I’m corrupt. Everybody knows who Jamima Wolokolie is and what she stands. I have never been in corruption before and will never be in it.”

Political watchers say, the politics of the unfolding development regarding Wolokollie, has at least for now become a distraction for the ruling party, looking to unseat a popular Senator Dillon. While it is uncertain what impact Madam Wolokollie would have on the Midterm, some say she could chip away at the party’s women base and many disenchanted partisans, who like her have been alienated and left in the cold.

Regarding her own political future, Wolokollie remains upbeat. “I’m going to be discussing with my political advisors, and I also have to go back to the organization – Liberians in support for Democratic Change, the largest auxiliary within the CDC. I have to go back to my people and discuss with them, and whatever they tell me to do, I shall obey.”                                                                     

For now she says, she wants to be left alone and has accused the administration of haunting and stalking her. “I have accepted all of your decisions without any regret. This situation started June 30, 2020 and continue up to yesterday July 1, if anything happens to me, I want the world to know that people from CDC should be held responsible.”

Monrovia – When Abraham Darius Dillon won his way into the Senate with an emphatic victory over Paulita Wie last August, he not only defied immense odds in doing so but with the backing of the four-party coalition – his Liberty Party, All Liberian Party, Alternative National Congress and the former ruling Unity Party, also tore the institutional fabric of George Weah’s Coalition for Democratic Change apart.

Analysis by Rodney D. Sieh, rodney.sieh@frontpageafricaonline.com

Dillon secured a total of 102,549 votes representing 55.74 percent while his closest rival Wie, obtained 63,971 votes representing 34.77 percent.

The last time anyone scored such a lopsided victory for Montserrado was Weah, when he contested in 2014, winning the county seat that includes the capital, Monrovia, with 78% of the vote, defeating Robert Sirleaf, the son of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who received 11% of the vote tally

The popularity of the self-proclaimed “Light” of the Senate continues to rise with many including the ruling CDC quietly fearing that he may be unbeatable.

That has not stop the CDC from working toward regaining lost grounds.

Over the past few weeks, multiple sources within the party acknowledged to FrontPageAfrica that the threat of Mr. Dillon’s invincibility is real which is why serious vetting is ongoing to find not just a suitable but a winnable candidate.

Among those reportedly being considered are Montserrado County District No. 5 Representative, Thomas Fallah, Rep. Acarous Moses Gray(District No. 8, Montserrado), Assistant Gender Minister Mamensie Kabba, former Deputy Internal Affairs Minister Paulita Wie, who ran against Dillon last August, Rep. Munah Pelham Youngblood(Montserrado County, District No. 9), Professor Wilson Tarpeh, Minister of Commerce and Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Koijee.

Until Mr. Dillon’s victory, the CDC had since 2005, dominated Montserrado’s senatorial elections with the party’s candidates scoring important victories.

Montserrado is composed of Seventeen districts and as of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 1,118,241, making it the most populous county in Liberia.] The area of the county measures 1,912.7 square kilometres (738.5 sq mi), the smallest in the country.

Created in 1847 at the foundation of the country, the county is the oldest in Liberia. Montserrado’s County Superintendent is Nyenekon Beauty Snoh-Barcon.  The county is bordered by Bomi County to the west, Bong County to the north, and Margibi County to the east. The southern part of Montserrado lies on the Atlantic Coast.

FrontPageAfrica now takes a look at those under consideration and weighs their chances of standing up to the challenge of making Mr. Dillon a short-term Senator.

MARY BROH

One of the few holdovers from the Sirleaf presidency, Broh, who endured strong criticisms when the CDC was in the opposition, has suddenly become its surprising star.

When the Weah administration was struggling to deal with the deadly Coronavirus pandemic, it called on Broh, who performed a similar role during the deadly Ebola virus epidemic in 2014.

President George Weah appointed Broh as the National Response Coordinator for the Executive Committee on Coronavirus (ECOC) in Liberia, tasked with providing supervision toward a single set of national strategic objectives for defeating the Coronavirus disease. Broh, who is also the Director General of the General Services Agency(GSA), has also been coordinating the National COVID-19 multi-sectorial response plan, in coordination with the United Nations (UN), donor partners, Ministry of Health and National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL).

Broh, a former mayor of Monrovia, first served the Liberian government in March 2006 as the Special Projects Coordinator for President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s executive staff. In 2007, she was promoted to direct the Passport Bureau in a successful attempt to curtail and eliminate corruption and bribery within the division. In 2008, Broh became the Deputy Director of the National Port Authority. In February 2009, she was selected to serve as Acting Mayor of Monrovia in place of the previous mayor, Ophelia Hoff Saytumah, in the President’s effort to legitimize the MCC’s administrative and financial management. Although Broh was seated in February 2009 by appointment, rather than by the usual democratic election process, she was not officially confirmed by the Liberian Senate. 

Broh has worked to clean up the capital city with measures that include citywide litter reduction campaigns aimed to increase public awareness of litter, sanitation, and overall public health. In October 2009, she implemented the revised City Ordinance No. 1, originally established by the MCC in 1975 to address public health, sanitation, and street vendors. The revision sought to address issues that have accumulated in the capital over the last two decades such as overflowing and unsanitary trash, makeshift structures and unregulated street vendors who sell foodstuffs to locals and tourists alike.

POTENTIAL OBSTACLE: The unconventional Broh is still haunted by her controversial flogging of market women and street sellers when the current players where in the opposition. A lot of CDCians still hold it against her.

REP. THOMAS FALLAH

A member of House of Representatives, representing District No. 5, Montserrado County, since 2006, Rep. Fallah could be the most difficult challenge for Senator Dillon. Prior to his election to the national Legislature, Fallah served as Administrative Assistant in the Bureau of Afro- Asian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to his time at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was General Coordinator of the Pit-Sawyers’ Association and Forest Products Dealers of Liberia. He also served as Chairman, Light Brothers’ Wood Association. He is a graduate of the A. M. E. University with a degree in Management.

Rep. Fallah has served on several committees in the house including the committee on Youth & Sports
Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry Public Utilities, Planning and Economic Affairs.

Fallah has undertaken numerous projects in his district and the ruling party is keen to capitalize on his Lofa roots to score votes from amongst Lofains residing in Montserrado.

POTENTIAL OBSTACLE: While the lawmaker appears to be  shoe-in to go against Dillon, he may fall prey to the incumbency fatigue and Dillon’s message of shining a light in the Senate. A county impressed with Senator Dillon’s quest to exposed ills in the upper house may not be ready, at least not yet to give the county back to the CDC.

REP. ACAROUS MOSES GRAY

A member of the House of Representatives since 2012, representing Montserrado County District No. 8, Rep. Gray has been in the trenches of the party for years and one of its strongest voices.

He won re-election 2018 despite facing a crowded field of opponents. He has served on several  committees in the lower house, including Chair on Governance and Government Reform, member,  Youth and Sports; Public Utilities, Executive and Maritime.

Rep. Gray has been one of the few ruling party lawmakers to openly supported benefits cuts for all 73 members of the House of Representatives to help salvage the economy.

In recent months, Rep. Gray has not hidden his criticisms of Senator Dillon, who he says, is desperate to return to the senate in the October midterm senatorial election.

POTENTIAL OBSTACLE: Gray, along with party chair Morlu has expressed some concerns over some decisions and actions of President Weah. The pair have reportedly been in the president’s dog house but there appears to have been some attempts to make amends on both sides.

MAMENSIE KABBA

Currently an assistant minister at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection Services, Kabbah was one of fiery women of the CDC, during the party’s opposition days, whose regular calls to radio talk shows, trumpeting the party’s agenda propelled her to heroine status within the party.

Prior to her entry into government, Kabba was deeply involved in advocating for the rights of poor and struggling Liberians.

As a member of the Center for the Exchange of Intellectual Opinions, Kabba used her platform to advocate for women and was as strong voice calling for the intervention into the alleged trafficking of Liberian girls to Lebanon as well as demanding the Liberian government bring justice to the victims of sexual abuse.

While some party stalwarts see Kabba as one of the party’s strong heroines, others say she still has time to grow before given the opportunity to contest.

POTENTIAL OBSTACLE: A recent online magazine recently asked: “Where is yesterday’s Mamensie Kabba? Kabba, like many of the CDC’s youth are finding it hard duplicating their opposition play as members of government.

JEFFERSON KOIJEE

Koijee, the current mayor of the capital city of Liberia Monrovia is the firebrand former youth leader of the party. Once a fierce critic of former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf  during the CDC’s opposition days, Koijee’s stock has slowly deteriorated not so much to his own doing but the change of scenery from opposition to incumbency and the expectations that follow.

His  transition from opposition youth activism to head of the city government came at a costly debacle for Koijee who boasts  of being the first mayor to be confirmed by the Senate since the end of the civil war.  

Despite his struggles, Koijee still commands the respect of the party’s youths. As the former  National Youth Chairman for the Revolutionary National Youth League of the CDC, Mr. Koijee’s stint as County Coordinator, Montserrado for the Federation of Liberian Youth, the umbrella organization for all youth groupings gives him the leverage needed to play the role of a kingmaker, if he decides against making a strong case to contest and convince the party that he is the right candidate to go against Dillon.

POTENTIAL OBSTACLE: Koijee may have fallen prey to the incumbency meltdown and poor performance and perception of the ruling CDC in the county. While he still has control of some of the party’s die-hard youths, he may not have the crossover appeal as Rep. Fallah, who party insiders say is more likely to get the nod.

MUNAH PELHAM YOUNGBLOOD

A member of the lower house since 2006, Rep. Youngblood, a former Protocol Specialist, Actress and  Administrator has served on several  committees, including  Co-Chair-Women Legislative Caucus Member – Foreign Affairs; Banking and Currency; Youths and Sports; Public Utilities; Gender and Child Development and Joint Legislative Modernization

No stranger to controversy, Rep. Youngblood who is still recovering from a long illness has not shied away from taking on Senator Dillon. In February, following a string of attacks on the Senator in which she referred to him as a “rat” and “protest Senator”, Rep. Youngblood, who spent almost the entire 2019 on sick leave in the United States where she was battling a protracted illness, has also thrown pointed jabs at Sentor Dillon’s level of education.

She told a CDC gathering last year, that she, the ‘cat was back’ to chase the rat that has been gallivanting in Monsterado County. “All the Muppets that were dancing to Tom and Jerry musing please note that the cat is here. When I see you where you not supposed to be, I am the cat, I have returned and I will eat you raw,” she taunted. “I am sending out an open point on behalf of the tripartite arrangement, the Coalition for Democratic Change, a conglomeration of political parties that are ruling this country that we are getting ready for you. And for me, I am not getting ready, I am ready.”

Youngblood later told reporters at her Capitol Hill office she would not ruling out contesting the Montserrado Senatorial Seat. “If the people of Montserrado ask me to do [contest], I will listen to them. If my constituents want me to contest, I will listen to them. I will talk with my family and my strategic team, and we will get back to the public. I come from a political institution,” she responded when asked if she will contest in 2020.

POTENTIAL OBSTACLE: Rep. Youngblood’s health is still a concern for many who are unsure she will be able to face off with Senator Dillon down the stretch of what promises to be a grueling campaign.

WILSON TARPEH

Professor Tarpeh  is one of the party’s seasoned and experience elders. A financial expert and administrator with over thirty-six (36) years of executive level experience in both private and public sectors, at home and abroad, Tarpeh has served as President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Agricultural & Cooperative Development Bank (ACDB), Executive Director of the African Development Bank Group, Minister of Finance, Executive Director of the Financial Sector Reform Secretariat, Office of the President of Liberia; Managing Director of the Atlantic Finance Corporation (AFC), Executive Vice President for Africa, DNR Investment Group. Prof. Tarpeh also consulted with the ADB, the United Nations Development Program, the European Union, United States Treasury, and the Government of Mozambique, among many.

He is a former Dean of the Graduate School of Business, and Vice President for Fiscal Affairs & Finance, respectively, University of Liberia, where he also teaches Accounting and Finance. He served on many corporate Boards of Directors, both in the public and private sectors. Until his appointment as Minister of Commerce and Industry, Prof. Tarpeh served as lead Counsel in the TARGUS Law Group, a high end law firm concentrating in corporate law.

Professor Tarpeh holds a Bachelors of Law (LLB) from the Louise Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia; a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance from the I. University of Pennsylvania; a Master of Science (M.S.) in Accounting from the University of New Haven, New Haven Connecticut, USA; and a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree (BBA) in Management from the University of Liberia.

Professor Tarpeh also attended a number of Executive Management Development Programs, including the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Fuqua School of Business, Duke University and the Italian Institute of financial Management, in Milan Italy.

POTENTIAL OBSTACLE: Tarpeh’s handling of the gasoline crisis earlier this year and the uncertainty over the controversial stimulus package could make him an easy prey for the tough-talking Senator. Also, some party stalwarts are unsure Tarpeh can pull it off against Dillon but see him as a strong voice who can go toe-to-toe with the Senator on the issues.

POTENTIAL OBSTACLE: Koijee may be a victim of the incumbent’s  curse. A strong run would largely depend on how quickly the ruling party can turn things around.

PAULITA WIE

The daughter of one of Liberia’s finest broadcast journalists, the late Paul Allen Wie was seen as the ideal candidate to defeat Dillon last year. But even after a dismal showing, the party, for a long time after flirting with the idea of prepping her up for a rematch.

POTENTIAL OBSTACLE: A ruling party looking to regain its footing in what was once its stronghold, appear to be unwilling to give Wie another shot.

The challenge for ruling party is that Montserrado has never really been an incumbent county. Even during the days of Samuel Doe, in the November 1985 elections, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf emerged victorious. Weah and the CDC dominated the county, as members of the opposition during the two terms of Sirleaf’s presidency. Now in the driver’s seat as the incumbent, the party faces an uphill task in recapturing the county.

For Dillon, who has been on the heels of the party and trumpeting his message of change, it doesn’t matter who the ruling party put up, he believes he has the upper hand.

“Your who put me there, have I disappointed you?”, the Senator, appearing with Alexander Cummings, head of the Coalition of Political Parties(CPP), asked a small meeting in Gbenba Town at the weekend. “CDC says they force to take the seat, your agree? We have to take over the Senate and change the country.”

The Senator explained that his presence is key to restoring hope for Liberia. “Let me tell you why we need light at the Capitol Building and in the country. When the place is dark for long that’s when people can do anything they please. If we don’t change the Senate, the country cannot change. The senate alone can change this country. With the Senate standing up for the people, anything the legislators want do, the Senate will block it, if the Senate fighting for you, anything the President want do, the Senate can stop it.”

It is a message, political watchers say, could prove pivotal for the ruling party in pursuit of regaining its footing in a county with enormous implications for the rest of Liberia. Many agree that the upcoming Senatorial Mid Term election is a litmus test not just for the CDC-led government but the opposition as well. A strong showing by the opposition could send a clear message to the establishment that its popularity is on the rocks. If the ruling party is successful in ousting Dillon, it could further embolden the incumbent’s strength.

For the foreseeable future, there appear to be cracks on both sides of the political divide. The Weah administration is struggling to resolve unsettling divisions within the country and boggled down by a dismal economy that could prove to be a major decider in whether or not the party has what it takes to unseat Dillon. On the other hand, the CPP and the opposition appear to be divided over how to proceed with some preferring a selective process to choose candidate against the preferred Voter Perception Survey. Whichever way it turns, the Mid Term elections later this year will offer a glimpse of what’s to come in 2023.

Response to a statement issued by the Movement For Economic Empowerment (MOVEE) on Monday, August 15, 2016

Two weeks ago, I appeared on the Truth Breakfast Show (TBS) 96.1 FM to discuss the state of Liberian economy in general and the operations of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), in the light of the pending introduction of the new currency notes and the declining value of the Liberian dollar.

In the interview, I stated that poor policy coordination and disjointed economic management was one of the major factors contributing to the economic decline. I also stated that the Central Bank’s loan scheme which provided loans to borrowers outside the established framework was in violation of the 1999 Central Bank Act (Section 5 © and Section 41 (1) (e).

In July 2012, I told a Senate hearings on the CBL loan scheme that the Central Bank does did not have the infrastructure of a commercial bank to examine such loans. The loan scheme was nothing short of a romantic financing.

I stated that because of the bad qualities of these loans, it would be difficult for the borrowers to repay the bank, a concern that President Ellen Johnson Sir leaf highlighted during her annual message to the legislature on January 26, 2016. In essence, I did not say anything new here.

President Sirleaf is not the first to raise concerns about the CBL loan scheme (L$640 Million). In September 2015, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, during a visit to Liberia said the loan scheme and foreign exchange operations of the Central Bank will have negative consequences. The IMF reiterated these concerns in subsequent visits.

In 2015, the African Development Bank (ADB) also raised the issue in its Africa Economic Outlook. The ADB said the loan scheme was inappropriate and bore adverse consequences for the economy in general and the banking system in particular.

The ADB called the Central Bank a “reputational risk’’ because the loans which were given under the guise poverty alleviation and the foreign exchange operations that were done under the guise of stabilizing the exchange rate.

On Monday, August 15, 2016, the Movement for Economic Empowerment (MOVEE) responded to my comments in a 13-page statement that was published in several newspapers and radio stations.

 Instead of sticking to the issues, MOVEE tried to discredit my professional expertise and intergrity. The personal attacks against me are baseless, irresponsible, childish and grossly unprofessional. Why would Dr. Mills Jones stoop so low as to attack me personally instead of addressing the issues? I simply provided my expert knowledge of the economy as I saw it.  I made no personal attack on Dr. Jones.

Though the statement was signed and read by MOVEE’s chair, but as a lawyer, I hold Dr. Jones responsible under the doctrine of respondent superior for the careless and unfounded attack on my professional integrity. But I won’t stoop to that level. My grandmother taught me to be humble and courteous to people, even if I disagree with them or they insult me.

The MOVEE statement questioned my credibility in society, my academic rank at the University of Liberia and essentially called me a liar. Dr. Jones and his surrogates failed to provide any evidence to support their claims. I refuse to give credence to such baseless claims because they have no bearing on the issues that I discussed on the state of the Liberian economy. I do not need to defend my service to this country and abroad because my accomplishments are well-documented.

I find it hypocritical that Dr. Jones would now criticize the government that gave him the opportunity to serve as governor of the Central Bank, a position he would not have held if it wasn’t for the President.

MOVEE also claimed that I defamed Dr. Jones because of politics, envy and hatred. That is so far from the truth. MOVEE is no threat me nor to the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the party to which I belong.

As far as I am concerned, MOVEE is a kitchen filled with a lot of food in the midst of abject poverty.  People will therefore go there to eat whether or not they know or like the cook/provider. As the late President Sekou Toure of Guinea said “A hungry child does not care to know where its bread comes from.’’

At an appropriate time, the voters will make it plain/decide.

I do not harbor hatred or grudge against anyone. Only an insecure, ignorant, arrogant and intolerant person will interpret my statements on the state of the nation’s economy to be hatred and jealousy.

MOVEE in its statement suggested that I was envious of Dr. Jones because I’ve always seen myself as the “honorable governor’’ of the Central Bank, a position that continues to slip from my reach. I’m not one to brag about my credentials, but let me set the record straight.

Several years ago, when the government of Liberia advertised the position for Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia, I applied and I believe Dr. Jones also did.  A five-member panel headed by former planning and economic affairs Minister Amelia Ward, representatives of the IMF, the World Bank, United States Treasury and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), was constituted to vet the applicants.

After several months of intense interviews, the panel submitted a list of four names ranked in order of priority based on overall performance. I came first and Dr. Jones and others were below me. The President decided to appoint Dr. Jones.

Before Dr. Jones was appointed to the post, President   Sirleaf called me for a meeting. She thanked me for my performance, but told me that she preferred Dr. Jones, and will reach out to me for another position. I thanked the President for her courtesy, and promised my availability whenever my services were needed. 

How can I be envious of Dr. Jones when I know his preference was purely political and not based on competence? As far as I was concerned, I had been validated by the world’s leading financial authorities /institutions that carry the seal of approval on these matters.

Rather than attacking me personally, Dr. Jones should address himself to the messy economic situation in which our country finds itself. I do not deal with pettiness. I’m prepared to debate Dr. Jones on these and financial related issues anytime and anyplace.

Professor Wilson K. Tarpeh, Contributing Writer,
professortarpeh12@gmail.com