By: Jallah D.Massah – jallahmassah@gmail.com
IPNews-Monrovia-Liberia-8Novemeber 2018: At-least Twenty five members of the lower House of Representatives have unanimously voted in favor of recent controversial bill send President George Manneh Weah seeking to eliminate ‘tenure positions withing the governance system of Liberia, is now being received by the House of Representatives and forwarded to the Joint Committee on Judiciary, Good Governance and Government Reform of both house of the Liberian Legislature to report on Tuesday, November 16, 2018.
In the statement to Speaker Bhofal Chambers, President George Weah stated that the legislative actions taken in past years have provided a huge security on the statute of tenure in amending or establishing several agencies or corporations of government, apparently to limit executive interference and provide the statutory provisions of tenures granted officials in light of ‘ independence of appointed officials of various entities.
“However, after careful review of the costs and benefits of security of tenure, it has become necessary that the statutory provisions of tenures granted officials of government be removed by appropriate legislation,” the President wrote.
“Honorable Speaker, security of tenure for certain appointed officials of government would likely impede, obstruct or affect adversely the development agenda of the President. Moreover, it is our considered opinion that the firmer of the Constitution of Liberia were farsighted and resolved when they included ‘other government officials’ in Article 56 to those who would hold other offices of government. Additionally, Article 50 of the 1986 Constitution clearly and exclusively invested the power for public appointments at the pleasure of the President, which understandably signals that as ‘Head of State and Government, all policies are driven by the President, who has the ultimate responsibility of governance,” President Weah asserted in the communication.
The President further added: “Honorable Speaker, as an example, while not taking anything away from tenured position, the ministers of Finance, Defense and Justice are powerful positions, holding the fiscal, defense and security areas of government respectively. Yet, these positions are equally significant or even more so than most tenured positions, but they hold offices at the ‘will and pleasure of the President. Therefore, l request your usual kind and timely consideration to enact into law this important legislation that will create a momentum to work towards the development of our nations.”
Some members of the House of Representatives who requested anonymity, argues that Article 50 of the 1986 Constitution clearly and exclusively vests the President the executive power and authority of the Liberian State.
They also argued that the ‘Legislators allocating such powers to the Presidency and any attempt to begin combining both Article 56 of the Liberian Constitution and the renew quest to eliminate tenure positions would imposed upon the President the unrestricted power to preside and administer the Republic of Liberia without any hindrance as sovereign Head of State, Head of Government and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia.
Article 50 of the 1986 Constitution states: “The Executive Power of the Republic shall be vested in the President who shall be the Head of State, Head of Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia.
“The president shall be elected by universal adult suffrage of registered voters in the Republic and shall hold office for a term of six years commencing at noon on the third working Monday in January of the year immediately following the elections. No person shall serve as President, for more than two terms.” The constitutional provision read.
As for Article 56 (a) which sates: “All cabinet ministers, deputy and assistant cabinet ministers, ambassadors, ministers and consuls, superintendents of counties and other government officials, both military and civilian, appointed by the President pursuant to this Constitution shall hold their offices at the pleasure of the President.”
This means the heads of the General Auditing Commission (GAC), the Liberia Anti Corruption Commission (LACC), the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) and other institutions created by means of legislative enactments and appointed by the former President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, are covered under the constitutional phrase of “…and other government officials, both military and civilian…” and can only be removed through an act of legislation.
