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"Liberia
is relatively safe," says Pres. Sirleaf
Thursday,
May 24, 2007
By Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh
Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf was in Atlanta on Sunday, this time to
address the 2007 graduating class of Spelman College,
exactly a year after her last visit shortly after she
was elected president of Liberia.
President
Sirleaf also met with the Liberian Association of
Metropolitan Atlanta (LAMA), in a packed auditorium at
the Four Season’s Hotel, the same venue where she
met with the Liberian Community during her 2006 visit.
Pres. Sirleaf meets with Liberian Community in
Atlanta
Always calm and prepared, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
displayed the charm that endeared her to both her
supporters and detractors, and carefully narrated her
government’s achievements item by item as Liberians
and her throngs of supporters listened attentively, at
times applauding her every utterance on a busy day
that showcased the president’s knowledge of the
issues that plagued the country.
The president told the Liberian Community and
friends of Liberia that her government has made some
progress in its development agenda, its poverty
reduction strategy program, peace and security
revitalization and that basic services has been
restored, the army dismantled, while the former
Schefflin military barrack has been renamed after the
former minister and Unity Party founder Edward Beyan
Kesselly. She told her audience about the first nine
officers that were commissioned, and vowed that by
2009, the nation should have a 2,000-person army ready
to “protect the territorial integrity of Liberia.”
“Liberia is relatively safe”, she said,
however, “there are some incidences of lawlessness
and some difficulties.” This is in response to a
question from an anxious 14-year old who was concerned
about safety and good schools in Liberia. Ms. Sirleaf
also calmed the anxiety of her audience by telling
them about the returned of the former American
Cooperative (International) School on the Liberian
soil. “There is a vision for cultural exchange,”
the president added and noted that the plan for
repositioning cultural exchange with the U.S. is
important.
President Sirleaf told her audience that the
Police Force and the Special Security Services (SSS)
are going through “rigorous training” and that the
U.S. provided her government with five advisors to
assist in the process, while there is a slow reduction
in the 13,000 UN Peacekeeping force.
Ms. Sirleaf acknowledged that her government
has cancelled 80 contracts, renegotiated some
agreements and enacted new forestry laws, while the UN
sanction of forestry has been lifted. She spoke of
Liberia’s $3b debt, its multilateral and bilateral
debts and said progress has been made in the
cancellation of the bilateral debt, while it would
take 12-18 months to relieve the country of the
multilateral debt. The president touched on the “Bob
Johnson Initiative” in reference to the $30m
commitment made by the former Black Entertainment
Network’s (BET) founder to assist Liberian
businesses.
President Sirleaf said the Monrovia-Buchanan
Highway is being paved, electricity is being expanded
to hospitals in the second phase of the emergency
power project, the World Bank is committed to
rebuilding the (Vai Town or Waterside) bridge, and
that pipe-borne water is available.
She spoke of the restructuring of the civil
service, and revealed that 17,000 ghost names have
been removed from the payroll. Compensation for civil
service is low at $30, but beginning in July, the pay
will be increased to $50, she said.
The president said her government is working to
put in place a merit system for civil servants, is
working to rehabilitate the school system, and is also
working to provide scholarships for young girls, while
her US visit is geared to raise $350,000 for the
educational advocacy group “LET” to assist
Liberian schools.
The president spoke of her personal pet
project, the “Sirleaf Market Women’s Funds, which
is a “personal interest” founded to improve
markets; is also making progress on the Clinton Health
Initiative, and that government will give back housing
to owners who lived in them for so many years in
response to a question posed by a concerned Liberian
about government’s attempt to evict residents.
The community president Sue Yancy Williams
thanked President Sirleaf for “restoring dignity”
to the nation and also thanked her for “improving
the quality of life for its citizens.” The community
leader thanked the Carter Center and Liberia’s
international partners for assisting Liberia in these
critical times. President Sue Yancy-Williams revealed
that the Liberian Association of Metropolitan
Association (LAMA) has launched a scholarship program
to help deserving students at the University of
Liberia.
Meanwhile, Wilfred Harris, President and CEO of
the Liberian American Partnership spoke of the need to
“identify and pursue resources to help Liberians”,
and said that his group was in the process of sending
22,000-25,000 books together with computers and other
supplies to Liberia.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a popular
figure with star-like appeal and can “put Liberia on
the map” as she once noted during her visit here
last year. Whether that appeal has been translated
into practical results to help ordinary Liberians is
yet to be seen, because it appears her sunny optimism
about events in Liberia contradicts what is actually
happening on the ground.
That’s because phone calls from Liberia,
especially from hungry and desperate relatives are
pouring in non-stop into the homes of family members
on this end for financial help. Those relatives are
crying for financial assistance to buy a (salmon) cup
of rice to eat, or are seeking financial help to send
a child to school, because as they often say, “it is
not easy” and that “things are very hard in
Liberia.”
A question and answer period followed after the
president’s presentation. During the question and
answer period, Master of Ceremony, Jerry Mwagbe
distributed pieces of paper in advance and encouraged
the audience to write down whatever question he or she
wanted to ask the president.
Mr. Mwagbe and Minister of Information Laurence
Bropleh carefully sifted through the various
questions; screened the questions before reading a
particular question Bropleh and Mwagbe wanted
President Sirleaf to hear before answering. An
unsolicited disclaimer from Mwagbe told the audience
“this is not censorship, but about time,” and that
he did his thing (censoring) because the president had
a long day.
If time was a factor and the president had a
long day, why did Mwagbe asked the audience to submit
questions in advance for the president in the first
place? Meanwhile, Jerry Mwagbe specifically referenced
a visit he recently made to Liberia where he observed
press freedom in practice, as if the audience
solicited his personal opinion about press freedom in
Liberia.
Anyway, how can this man lecture his audience
so warmly about press freedom in Liberia, when he
screened and couldn’t even allow questions from his
audience to reach the ears of the visiting president?
The program was a success in terms of the huge
attendance. However, organizers need to do better the
next time to have a spacious ballroom capable of
holding a crowd.
The Carter Center and Georgia Institute of
Technology sponsored the program with their generous
financial assistance, and worked with the Liberian
Association of Metropolitan Atlanta (LAMA) in getting
the ballroom where the meeting was held.
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