We promised, “No business as usual.” What are you hiding? What is there to hide when governance should be about openness, accountability, and transparency?

The government is becoming more reactive than proactive mainly because of how it handles Public Relations (PR). Almost everyone is randomly speaking because he/she wants to prove that he/she is working. There’s no centralized system of communication; no control and no coordination at all. Everyone is just speaking to prove a point. This is NOT governance. It’s hurting/harming the government even more. Governance is not about self-gratification or self-glory. It’s about collective win.

Here are three PR blunders/gaffes just in May 2024 alone which could have been easily avoided/prevented:

1) The Yellow Machine

The announcement of the 285 yellow machines by the Minister of State without portfolio was premature. There was no need to share AI-generated videos and pictures of yellow earth-moving machines without a formally transparent and open agreement/MOU (e.g. procurement, loan, grant, or aid) being reached, announced, and displayed between the Liberian Government, the Sany Group, and the so-called Guma Group. The government should not have waited for people to ask, “Where is the money coming from to fund this project and what agreement has been reached?”

Before announcing this project, a detailed press statement should have been done with full disclosure of everything. Minister Bility should not have been the one to make this announcement. A “US$25 million” project is no small feat. Like I said, this is a big win for Pres. Joe Boakai if the DEAL is not shady and if the machines will ever be brought to Liberia as promised. MICAT should have properly coordinated with MPW, MFDP, and MOA for a formal announcement upon the arrival of the yellow machines to Liberia and not before. To have made a formal announcement without full disclosure and without the machines being on the ground was a PR blunder. What if the machines do not come? Then it means that the government has created a huge trust issue/gap for itself. Credibility crisis and mistrust will eventually begin to set in. The People will become more skeptical about and critical of the government. This could have been avoided.

Since an open government was promised in 2023, the government must be able to tell the people through what arrangements were such a huge project secured/procured. Where’s the money coming from? Is it from the budget? Is it a freewill/gift? What’s the total cost of this project? Were PPCC guidelines and legislative requirements followed if it’s a project that required procurement or a pre-financing? Did the government conduct any need-based or feasibility study before rolling out this project? What research outcomes/analyses in the short-run or the long-run informed their decision to invest in this project? How will the machines be maintained, fueled, etc.? Who pays for this? Do we have trained operators and are they Liberian operators? How will they be paid? How did we arrive at 19 machines for each county when county sizes, populations, and needs vary?

I am asking as an activist. The government cannot ignore these important questions. The more it tries to ignore them, the more the PR blunder/woe adds up. Don’t leave the public in suspense. Don’t allow the public and the opposition politicians to speculate. It’s dangerous. It harms/hurts the government more than you can imagine. Be proactive, and not reactive. This requires a centralized system of communication through control and coordination. Again, there was no need to share AI-generated videos and pictures. There was no need for Minister Bility to do this. Furthermore, governance is openness, honesty, transparency, and accountability.

2) The Cabinet Retreat

The maiden Cabinet Retreat intended to assess progress and challenges was a great move. It should be held often to evaluate performance, review priority areas, inspire hope, and set new goals based on competing priorities. After the retreat, the Liberian people are still concerned about what was achieved from the retreat. A retreat is never intended just to take pictures; Oops!! Was there any secretariat appointed to record minutes/notes of key policy decisions and contentious issues? Was there any resolution from the retreat? Which specific sectors were looked at? What new priorities/plans did the president and his cabinet pitch/announce?

Simply put, what was the outcome of the retreat? Again the public is left in suspense. This is another PR blunder. This information gap needs to be bridged with urgency. By now, the outcome of the retreat pertinent to key policy decisions/contentious issues, whether in detailed or summarized form, should be published on the website of the Executive Mansion. The Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Sylvester Grigsby, should have coordinated this with a specialized/appointed Retreat Secretariat. Hope this mistake is corrected for the next retreat.

3) The President’s Visit to the USA

Whenever the President travels on a business/investment trip, people expect economic and diplomatic returns/gains. The Presidential Press Bureau is obligated to give a full report in this regard upon the President’s return either a summarized version or a detailed version stating what benefits the president’s business trip brought to Liberia. This was never done even though the president made some gains including a partnership agreement with Georgia Tech Institute to provide M.Sc. education in Computer Science for faculty at the University of Liberia. Remember, the foreign trip is funded with public money. So, the people deserve to know what was accomplished or achieved. The government seems too SLOW in communicating its achievements, and this is hurting it so much. Poor PR could adversely affect this government if caution isn’t taken. For instance, they waited for NAYMOTE to release its report before running to have a press conference to react. Be proactive and not reactive.

Critics and opposition politicians are capitalizing on this weakness to create false flags, fake news, and propaganda. Another PR blunder is to allow the president to sit with an official of another country with only that country’s flag and not Liberia’s flag. Both flags should be up in ALL formal/bilateral meetings. You cannot call it a formal meeting/bilateral engagement with only one flag. We must always insist that our flag is represented if you want to call it a “formal meeting”. For God’s sake, Liberia is a sovereign nation too. We can relegate our national dignity, pride, and sovereignty simply because we want to beg for aid. No.

As a government, you cannot be asking why people are concerned about where the money is coming from. People have every right to ask the hard questions. There’s nothing wrong with that. If it was right to ask the hard questions under GMW, it’s also right to ask the hard questions now. We will ask the hard questions because we demand an OPEN GOVERNMENT. The government is neither a society bush nor a private enterprise. We promised CHANGE, and CHANGE is not business as usual.

That’s why they have pushed some of us far away from Pres. Joe Boakai. Because we dare not to keep silent about these truths. We love Liberia and the People of Liberia far more than anyone’s selfish interests. Our loyalty belongs to Liberia .

Let’s work on these things as a government. Have a wonderful Monday.

Activist Martin K. N. Kollie writes…