IPNEWS-Monrovia: When President George Weah announced on Tuesday, August 16, 2022 that the three recently sanctioned officials of his administration – Presidential Affairs Minister Nathaniel McGill, Solicitor General Sayma Syrennius Cephus and National Port Authority Managing Director, Bill Twehway – were suspended for time indefinite, he instructed that their respective deputies take charge and they should turn over all state-owned properties assigned to them pending the resolution of their dilemma.
Suspended Minister McGill is the President’s Chief of Staff, who are usually referred to in the West as “The President’s Gatekeepers”. The President’s Chief of Staff wields tremendous power in Liberia; he decides who is allowed to see the president, negotiates with the National Legislature to push the president’s agenda, and most crucially, enjoys unparalleled access to leaders of the free world when they come to visit his boss in Liberia.
Some residents of Gbarnga thronged to the mansion of Mr. McGill at the Iron Gate community to see him, while an assigned EPS officer stands on guard
The Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs (Office of the Chief of Staff) is responsible for directing, managing and overseeing all policy development, daily operations, and staff activities for the President. This office coordinates and communicates with all departments and agencies of the Administration.
The Minister of State (Chief of Staff) is the most senior political appointee in the Executive Mansion, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs is the most senior cabinet minister in the government, and is popularly known as “The Doyen of Cabinet” The Chief of Staff position is widely recognized as one of great power and influence, owing to daily contact with the president of Liberia and control of the Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Liberia.
Mr. McGill’s civil vehicle and Rep. Cole’s black vehicle in the compound of the suspended Minister in Gbarnga, that is still under construction
And so, when the now suspended Minister of State (Chief of Staff of the President’s Office) Nathaniel McGill and three other government officials were designated by the United States Treasury Department, many Liberians at home and abroad had mix reactions. For Liberians who feel the brunt of the tough economic situation in the country, the targeted sanctions are necessary and will serve as deterrent, while supporters of the ruling establishment blamed the opposition for the targeted sanctions against the three ruling CDC government officials.
What is Nathaniel McGill’s Sin?
This is what the United States Treasury disclosed to the world was Minister McGill’s sin that let to targeted sanction being imposed on him:
“Nathaniel McGill (McGill) is Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Chief of Staff to President George Weah. During his tenure in government, McGill has bribed business owners, received bribes from potential investors, and accepted kickbacks for steering contracts to companies in which he has an interest. McGill has manipulated public procurement processes in order to award multi-million-dollar contracts to companies in which he has ownership, including by abusing emergency procurement processes to rig contract bids. McGill is credibly accused of involvement in a wide range of other corrupt schemes including soliciting bribes from government office seekers and misappropriating government assets for his personal gain. He has used government funds allocated to other Liberian government institutions to run his own projects, made off-the-books payments in cash to senior government leaders, and organized warlords to threaten political rivals. McGill has received an unjustified stipend from various Liberian government institutions and used his position to prevent his misappropriation from being discovered. McGill regularly distributes thousands of dollars in undocumented cash to other government officials for government and non-government activities.
McGill is being designated for being a foreign person who is a current government official who is responsible for or complicit in, or who has directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery.”
Following the imposition of the US targeted sanctions against Minister McGill, Twehway and Cephus, President Weah, apparently under immense pressure not to get in trouble with the US government, immediately announced the suspension of the three officials for time indefinite.
Suspended Minister McGill Surfaces in Gbarnga with Assigned EPS officer
What happens when someone is suspended from work? A suspension is when you remain employed but are asked to not attend your place of work, or engage in any work at all (such as working from home). There are two main types of suspension: suspension for medical or health and safety reasons; suspension as part of a disciplinary procedure (investigation).
Suspended Minister McGill (center) flanked by Rep. J. Marvin Cole (left0 and Assistant Information Minister David B. Kolleh (right)
What does it mean when an employee is suspended? Suspension from work without pay (unpaid suspension) is a disciplinary measure taken by employers typically for employee misconduct, such as theft, unsafe work behavior, or company policy violations.
In the case of the suspended Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Nathaniel McGill, and the other officials they were sanctioned by the Unites States Treasury Department for reported corruption, which automatically triggered their suspension by President George Weah.
As a suspended Minister, McGill is expected to stay away from work and all Government of Liberia’s privileges accorded him as the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs are curtailed pending the clearing of his name from the corruption saga.
Suspended Minister McGill rides in a GOL-plated vehicle in Gbarnga
And so on Saturday, August 20, 2022, residents of Gbarnga in Bong County thronged to the construction site where the mansion of the suspended Minister of State is located in Gbarnga, around the Iron Gate community, when news broke out he was in the county. According to reports, McGill had gone to Gbarnga to attend a funeral of a prominent lady who was a member of the Lutheran Church of Liberia to pay his respects.
At the ongoing construction site of Minister McGill’s mansion, residents of Gbarnga who had gathered there were stunned to see a uniformed officer of the Executive Protection Service assigned with the suspended McGill. There were also three other plain cloths security but it could not be determined whether they were assigned EPS officers since they were dressed in mufti. McGill’s visit on Saturday in Gbarnga was screamed live on FrontPage Africa TV page, thus sparking public reaction why a suspended Minister of Government is still being accorded executive privilege?
The suspended Minister was also seen flanked by Bong County Representative J. Marvin Cole and Assistant Minister of Information, David B. Kolleh, while he was seen riding a while Nissan jeep with a state-owned green license plate.
Social Media Reaction
As the FrontPage Africa video went viral, Liberians started to react with mixed reactions. One poster writes: “Liberia is going nowhere! One of the men that brought disgrace to the Office of the President and Liberia in general, McGill is parading himself in Bong with media outlets & state security protections. It is an affront to the Liberian public.”
One Christian Sampson posted: “Indeed…it’s disheartening to see young people selling their future. This guy shouldn’t be moving around at the expense of tax payers.”
Another poster writes: “The Liberian people are a representation of their governance system. This shouldn’t surprise you at all.”
Is the Government Joking with Minister McGill’s Targeted Sanction and Suspension?
The million dollars question on the lips and minds of Liberians is whether the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government is serious about the suspension imposed on Minister McGill and this two colleagues pending their clearing of their names from the corruption saga.
During the course of the week, several civil society organizations, political parties, human rights and pro-democracy groups chided the Government of Liberia, as well as President George Weah for what they termed ‘cosmetic suspension’ and called for dismissal of the three officials due to the gravity of the allegations brought against them by the United States Treasury Department.
Renowned human rights lawyer, and now politician and presumptive standard bearer of the Liberia People’s Party (LPP), Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe called for the dismissal of the three designated officials, while former presidential candidate, Liberia’s Ambassador to the United States and United Nations, as well as former Finance Minister, Nathaniel Barnes called on Liberians to take lead for U.S. targeted sanctions against corrupt Liberian government and public officials.
Meanwhile, political commentators and pundits say the ball is in the court of President Weah to harness the political will and courage to ensure those three officials of his government who have been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department are fully kept outside of the government circles as they go through their sanction period, whether they seek redress or not, but a clear line of demarcation must be drawn between they and the Government.
