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Presidential
candidate visits LAMA, brought message of hope
Wednesday,
August 16, 2006
By Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh
Candidate
Emmanuel S. Wettee, who is running in a contentious
race against Emmanuel Toe, to be president of the
Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA),
visited metro Atlanta on August 13, as a guest of the
Liberian Association of Metropolitan Atlanta (LAMA),
during its regular monthly meeting held at the
Bethel-Atlanta World Church.
ULAA's presidential candidate Emmanuel S. Wettee
Confident, poised and projecting an image of
the leader he wants to be, Wettee went line-by-line
explaining his platform and a laundry list of programs
he says he wants to implement after he's elected and
sworn in as president.
The presidential candidate spoke of the need to
encourage Liberian-born doctors and nurses who are
planning to take their vacation, to visit Liberia and
provide medical care for their people. He promised to
make social program of this kind a crucial part of his
administration, and will also “create an effective
apparatus for social service provision union wide.”
Among other things, Wettee wants to do is to “continue
the Union advocacy role both in the US and Liberia,”
and wants to “continue the Union image building
process.”
Candidate Wettee, who sounded like a salesman made a passionate pitch about his
programs, and pushed himself, the product, to a
skeptical but receptive metro Atlanta Liberian
community once a staunch supporter of ULAA, but is now
on the far end, confused and frustrated about the
direction of the national association.
“I will bring leadership to the Union,” he
told his audience,” and went on to say that he
don’t want the Union to be only political, but an
association that will be responsive to the social
needs of our people doing the little things that
bring results.”
Wettee distributed a copy of an article from the
African Journal USA newspaper, about the successful
surgery of the Siamese twins from Liberia, who came to
the United States for that complicated but successful
surgery. “I am proud of the effort, and I am also
proud to be a part of the team that made the surgery
possible.”
The presidential candidate also distributed a
copy of a letter from the Director General of the
World Health Organization, dated January 18, 1995,
thanking LICI, the organization in Columbus, Ohio, he
led as president, for their financial contribution of
$800.00 “for improving the health of the women and
children in Liberia.”
“I am proud of my leadership and my effort in
securing and donating the funds to the United Nations.
That’s the kind of leadership I want to bring to
ULAA,” Wettee said.
During the question and answer period, the
presidential candidate became both a diplomat and a
campaigner, by putting to ease an embarrassing issue
regarding ULAA’s debt to the Liberian Association of
Metropolitan Atlanta (LAMA).
LAMA’s Vice President Jerry Mwagbe, who was
furious about the delay in refunding the money asked the presidential candidate about
ULAA’s indebtedness to LAMA, and was echoed by
LAMA’s former President Robert Garguah, both of whom
wanted to know when will ULAA pay LAMA its share of
the money (10%), the host chapter supposed to have
received from the national body after the national
convention was held in Atlanta in 2001.
According to the duo, former ULAA president
Mydea Reeves Karpeh was supposed to have given back to
the host Atlanta chapter $220,00 of the $2,020.00 made
during the 2001 convention, as is customary after a
national convention is held.
Since the convention ended years ago, Wettee
was reminded, LAMA has not received a penny from ULAA,
which has become a thorny issue at most LAMA
meetings, especially when the chapter is asked to
support ULAA’s programs, or send in its annual due.
When Mr. Wettee was peppered about his
knowledge of the issue, and was pointedly asked when
would ULAA take care of its financial obligation to
LAMA, the presidential candidate responded without
hesitation by telling his audience how he will make
sure “the matter is resolved once I am elected
president.”
However, days after the community meeting was
held, Mr. Garguah called The Liberian Dialogue to
correct the original figure presented earlier to Mr.
Wettee. Reading from the original documents signed by
another former president, Mabel Green, and approved by
Ms. Reeves-Karpeh, Mr. Garguah read to me an amount of
$3,525.45; 10% of which, $352.55 supposedly is owed
LAMA.
Emmanuel
Wettee, the politician he is paid his
“monthly dues” of $20.00 to LAMA during the
meeting, and left an impression as the man to beat.
His visit paid off when LAMA’s leadership agreed to
send a delegation to the elections in Philadelphia,
scheduled for September.
After the meeting adjourned, candidate Wettee
met with few members of LAMA outside of the building
to shake hands, network and to know them personally.
I don’t know if it was done by design, but
Mr. Wettee brought with him from Ohio cooked food:
Check rice and fried fish, which was distributed to
some Liberians who hung around to chat with the
candidate.
An unidentified campaign staffer accompanied
candidate Wettee on his trip to Georgia.
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