Former President Sirleaf’s Legacy in domino effect?

Earlier this year, former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf stepped down as Africa’s first democratically elected female leader after a two-term presidency to usher in Liberia’s football icon turned politician George Weah as her successor. The election was marred by controversies and allegations of malpractices by contending parties to which the Supreme Court of Liberia found non-egregious. In 2006, Madam Sirleaf took over a country recovering from over a decade of civil war that racked a death toll of over 250,000, a nearly empty  fiscal reserve, poor infrastructure, lack of basic services, non-existent electricity, exuberant young population some of whom were former combatants still in possession of firearms and  mounting of other challenges. Little did she know her country would later come to deal with Ebola and over 4000 of her compatriots, the highest in the region of affected countries, would pay a hefty price with their lives.

She would later work to restore electricity, connect counties through roads, rebuild bridges, restore pipe bone water in some communities, create a civil service that attracts some of Liberia’s best, restructured the police and army and bring dignity to the security sector and improve the education and health sectors. While she worked hard to restore, resuscitate, rebuild, and build many sectors, she also upheld the fight for women’s political and economic empowerment and has inspired many women across Liberia and beyond. Initiatives such as the Sirleaf Market Women Fund, the Economic Empowerment Program for Adolescent Girls & Young Women, the Adolescent Girls Division of the Ministry of Gender, Children & Social Protection and many more were all anchored during her leadership.

Despite many visible achievements that I am unable to cover here, many pundits have questioned Madam Sirleaf’s legacy, including on the gender front, noting of her failure to appoint more women at higher levels of ministerial positions even though many women were appointed as deputy and assistant ministers, deputies of public corporations and associate justices of the Supreme Court .

Although women accounted for a smaller number of her kitchen cabinet in the executive branch,, her bravery and audacity to challenge barriers of women’s political participation and contest the country’s highest public office, winning twice, not only presents a break from the “old boys club” but a domino effect that has inspired many women to step on the stage when the opportunity presents itself.

While it may appear that fewer women are getting elected, this phenomenon can be explained. In 2005, Liberia had a special election with the suspension of the constitution. New electoral rules were adopted by the National Elections Commission. One of such rule was mandating political parties to ensure a minimum of 30% representation on their political party list to be presented. Parties were obliged as a result, 14% of women were elected to the legislature. In 2011 and 2017, the elections were constitutional and the 30% clause was not enforceable. Only 10.2% and 12.3% of women were elected respectively. However, in 2017, out of 785 registered candidates, 123 were women. This accounts for the highest in recent election history. This manifest that women are beating the odds and that the legacy of Madam Sirleaf is far from complete.

One woman who is taking a note or two from Madam Sirleaf’s manuscript is Cornelia Kruah Togba. Having completed coursework for Master of Arts degree in International Politics & Economics in the United Kingdom, she saw the need to step forward and contest for the representative seat in her district that was made vacant by the election to the Senate of her- soon to be- predecessor.

With the odds against her, she is leaning on the quest to provide a different kind of representation for the people of District #13 in Montserrado County, something they have not seen since 2005.

Being the youngest in the race with limited financial and logistical resources against her major contender who enjoys not only presidential endorsement from the ruling party, state logistics and personnel at his disposal, she faces an uphill battle.

While there are structural barriers prohibiting women’s political participation, resources and attaining political party endorsements remain a challenge.

District #13 is one of the highly populated districts with a majority of young people. Challenges of unemployment, infrastructure, health care, women’s empowerment, community voices, and ownership are a major concern. These are issues that high on Madam Kruah-Togba’s agenda. 

Just in the course of the campaign, with meager resources, she has embarked on unprecedented self-help initiatives to uplift her district. Initiatives such as paving feeder roads previously impassable, providing street lights in communities that are in darkness and many others.

As the most qualified candidate in the race, who has a well-developed legislative agenda, Madam Togba hopes to bring the needed change her district in particular and Liberia in general desire.

With her years of service in the government of Liberia at the Ministries of State, Public Works and most recently Education, she comes with an understanding of government’s bureaucracy and the work it entails to getting things done.

She was also a student leader at the Stella Maris Polytechnic working to ensure cordiality with the administration and the student body. Additionally, an organization she recently established, the Young Women Empowerment Network to contribute to Liberia’s human development sector is becoming a leading voice for women in public service. These are skills important in dealing with a diverse group of people to negotiate on behalf of the people of her constituency.  As the candidate of the Coalition of three key opposition parties including Unity Party, Liberty Party, and the Alternative National Congress, she is better placed to build a bipartisan approach to passing key bills for the country.

I have known Madam Kruah-Togba for little over 5 years now. We have shared friendship, professional relationship, and sisterhood. Most importantly, our both love and passion for Liberia is invincible. More than anything else, I believe she will better serve the people of District 13. She will deliver her promises and sure protect the interest of the people.

It is my hope that she will join forces with other members of the Women Legislative Caucus to pick up the pace on the rape bill that is near amendment, the Domestic Violence Act, the political representation bill and many others.

Cornelia is a member of the new generation of Liberia’s political actors and public servants who are poised with every fiber in their being to rewrite the country’s story that is often told pejoratively. Electing a young woman like herself who have lived and understands the challenges of her district will not only be beneficial to the people of her district, it will serve as an encouragement for young people who constitute the majority of the population and young women to step up and ensure an impactful domino effect.

*Domino effect is a chain of reaction that is produced when one event initiates a succession of similar events.

Looking Beyond Katie Meyler: The "More Than Me" Saga

It's a tough one!
Sometime in 2012, a very active, friendly and passionate woman came to my office. Then I worked as the Coordinator of the newly established Adolescent Girls Unit of the Ministry of Gender in Monrovia. The woman and an accompanying male would later introduce themselves as Katie Meyler and Macintosh Johnson. Their mission?
They came to talk to my team about More Than Me- an organization that has been working to pay tuition for vulnerable girls and were looking to establish a school for them in West Point. They needed my help since I was in the sector.
We had no reason to doubt the sincerity of their intention especially with a track record of already sponsoring girls in other schools. We requested them to get sectorial clearance and that required due diligence from the Ministry's department responsible as well as work with the Ministry of Education since that was the primary sector they were looking to. This was a routine for any organization interested in working with girls. We also handed them few important contacts to work with. Macintosh became the point person between the Ministry and attended majority of the Adolescent Girls Working Group meetings then. I later left the Unit at the beginning of 2014.
It saddens me reading the lengthy article and viewing the video of the serial rape and violation of the rights and dignity of those girls by someone who should protect them. It is indeed tough! It calls for outrage, screams, the why, the how, the how come and all the lingering questions necessary-- But at the tail of it all, after all the hashtags, after all the noise, after all the posts and media coverage- WHAT HAPPENS TO THE GIRLS?- A question that has no simple "checklisted" answer... Girls far beyond the parameters of More Than Me- GIRLS IN LIBERIA...

Liberia and the culture of Silence: It sucks
Nurse Mator knew long enough, with evidence too that Macintosh was abusing those girls. What did she do? NOTHING, NADA, FWEN! She was protecting her job? What did she do when the case came to light? She stayed with her job. When did she resign? 2017, that's just last year.
To you Michelle Spada- wherever you are- THANk YOU! You did well by reporting this to the police! Something that our own Liberian sister could not.
What did West Point (the community) do? They stood up behind Macintosh and isolated the brave girls who came forward!--If this is not sickening, I know not what it is!--Sadly, this is the Liberian story!

Our legal system is another challenge.
When the case went to court, 8 out of 12 jurors believed that the girls lied against Macintosh. He only needed one more to side with him and he would be a free man. REALLY? 8 JURORS? Now, this brings me a whole fresh memory- That will be for another day.
Macintosh died of AIDS-AIDS-AIDS! The girls?

This is not about Katie!
More Than Me needs to take responsibility but at several levels, many of us do too. WHERE ARE THE PARENTS? Nurse Mator, the legal system especially the prosecution team, the government and all.

We are noted to be an emotionally triggered society who do not follow through issues to the end. Please let us not fail those girls for the tenth time again. While More Than Me needs to be held accountable, at the center and end of it all, the interest of the girls must be our primary concern. Here are few recommendations

1. The ten girls need to be cared for every way possible (Psychologically, medically, physically, educationally etc.)
2. The current students at MTM who are sexually active need to be tested for HIV and provided the needed care. (Shutting down More Than Me would create more problem)
3. A thorough background check of all the current staff at MTM must be done.
4. Despite Macintosh is dead, any current or former staff who was part of the rape spree must be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice.
5. The government must ensure proper and regular monitoring of the school and other schools.
6. A total institutional restructuring needs to take place at MTM
7. The GIRLS must at all time be monitored and protected!

Now here is why I don't think shutting down MTM is a solution.

West Point and many slum communities in Liberia represent a bitter truth of the Liberian narrative.
Very poor families, densely populated community, poor sanitation, health care, poor infrastructure, high rate of unemployment but to name a few.
This is definitely not about a "white savior" mentality. Many local organizations are working in West Point and Liberia as a whole. Their efforts must be applauded. Liberia's problem is multilayered. It requires all hands on deck. Local and international partners. MTM has worked to transform the lives of some of those poor families. Inspiring those girls and giving them hope, a school, a meal, a healthcare that their families couldn't afford.
It was absolutely wrong what Macintosh did. The nurse and all those who were aware not to protect those girls is unthinkable.
The government, MTM, the community must address the root cause of the problem and wholesomely deal with it. Taking away what has become a family will not be in their best interest. Uprooting the nightmares, the predators, pedophiles, and everything that made that space uncomfortable will be the route to take.
Many lessons to be learned, many stories go untold. Hope this triggers a called to us all not settle rape and other SGBV against our girls the family way.

In all of this #ISTANDWITHTHEGIRLS

Open Letter to Mr. President-Elect & Madam VP-Elect

Dear Amb. George Weah- President-Elect & Madam Jewel Taylor- VP-Elect;
Like 2017, elections are now history.
It was a well-fought campaign and the majority of the voters selected you both. We did not support you because we believe your opponent was the better candidate. Unfortunately for us, the majority saw it differently. In every contestation, there must be a winner. As a growing democracy like ours, the loser must be gracious enough to see beyond the binary of winner and loser. The bigger picture is Liberia for which we all cherish so dearly. First time in our growing democracy, the defeated candidate called in to congratulate the winner and extended an olive branch. For our generation, it is a welcoming development. Congratulations to H. E Joseph Nyumah Boakai Vice President for setting the pace. As a Liberian, I owe it to my conscience, the young people who look up to us and generations after us to express congratulations to you and your team for the victory. This, in no way, means we do not stand for our held principles during the campaign period. We do now and will tomorrow. With that, let me offer you my cents.

You are inheriting a challenging country at a difficult time- a divided country, a broke government, a country in need of reconciliation like yesterday, an extractive industry based economy where market values of raw materials continue to drop, high unemployment rate, exuberant youthful population etc. We know the pressure will mount on businesses and taxpayers but you must be careful because the higher the tax, the higher the price of local -everyday commodities that families need. (Hope you are following the development in Iran) We know "friendly" governments may come in to support but they too have an interest. In the world of governance, there is no free lunch. Be careful about how wide you open your arms. We know, you may want to look to transnational corporations like the World Bank, the IMF, and others, but they too have conditionalities that adversely affect important sectors like education, healthcare etc Be careful of how you borrow. The exchange rate seems to be the stubborn child who refuses to climb down that ladder. Your financial team needs to study this carefully. Printing more banknotes is not a solution.

While the economic bit is very important, here are few areas you must think critically about:
1. Critical Voices and Dissent
For the most part, your party ran a campaign on hate and fought to silence critical voices for opinions different from yours. Anyone who disagreed with you or your party was insulted, abused and in some instances assaulted. As a party, you were at liberty to have a thin skin, but as president and VP, you must be prepared for dissenting views and opinions. You must grow a thick skin. You must protect freedom of expression and of the press as upheld by Madam Sirleaf. That is indeed a big shoe to fit..(lol..not size 10 1/2)
Remember only 55% of registered voters of the 2million plus voted. Out of that 38.5% did not vote for you. That's a good number of people who didn't believe you can. Not all of them will grill you fairly. Some grilling may be gruesome. Be prepared Mr. President-Elect

2. Managing Expectations
This is indeed a tough one. As listed above, the challenges are enormous. Your campaign promised Dubai out of Liberia and St. Paul and Minneapolis (Twin Cities) out of Monrovia. It was understandable because political campaign is about telling voters what they want to hear. In all you do, manage the expectation. How you do it will be difficult but do your best.

3. Information
One of the major challenges of this current government was information dissemination. This government achieved a lot given the envelope and timeframe. There were also difficult days. Failure to inform the public create information gaps. Make sure you fund the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism (MICAT).

Now, Madam Taylor, I was very critical of you during the campaign period. It wasn't because I didn't believe in your ability. It was because of the divisive stance you took on your Christianization campaign. Now that elections are over, I hope you do not see yourself as a Christian VP but VP for Liberia. As I stated earlier, our country is divided. Religious and ethnic divisions only inflame the situation. Our people are concern about the bread and butter issue. Hope you can apologize to the Liberian people in general and the Muslim population in particular.
Apparently, our people are tired of the Charles Taylor story. Our country is moving forward. They want Charles Taylor to be history already and to focus on other issues. Hope your campaign on bringing back the NPP Agenda doesn't resurface.
As VP, hope your justification for the mayhem Charles Taylor committed is not amplified. You are Liberia's VP and as such, everything that will be said and done will carry that tag.

Being the first Female Vice President and for all its symbolism, congratulations. As you know the fight for inclusion is an unending one. Hopefully, you will pick up where Madam President stopped. The rape bill that is near amendment, the Domestic Violence Act, the political representation bill and many others. Of course, I do not expect you as an individual to achieve all of this. Building a critical mass is important.
Please Madam VP-Elect, your campaign for salary increment for senators or top elected officials must remain in 2017.
Liberia needs policies for all and not few.

Elections are now over, we have returned our political ammunition in the warehouse for safekeeping. Your collective success is Liberia's success. The opposite is Liberia's burden.

We wish your team well.
God bless the motherland. Liberia first, Liberia last!
Think, Love and Build Liberia!

Kula V. Fofana
A Liberian Activist

I am not a Unity Party Partisan but I’m supporting Joseph N. Boakai for Liberia’s Presidency and I think you should think about it too. Here’s why

Kula V. Fofana- Liberian Activist

kvf2007@yahoo.com

October 8, 2017

In few minutes, election campaign activities will come to an end in Liberia. The country is expected to hold a third in a series of elections since the end of the civil war in 2003. This election will be recorded as a historic one as it will be the first time in more than 70 years that a democratically elected government will be turning power over to another democratically elected president.

Liberia story is not a unique one. The challenges are many. The war years left indelible scars that may take forever to heal. More than anything else, Liberians need an assurance of a secured nation. Security in this sense goes beyond tradition security. Human security is what is necessary for Liberia's transition. A 1994 United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report defines security as for people rather than territories, with development rather than arms. It further equates human security to economic security, food security, health security, environmental security, political security, community security, personal security etc. 

For Liberians, what matters is the economic viability for all and not the 1950s "growth without development" under President Tubman's leadership. 

In these elections, there are twenty presidential candidates in the race to replace H.E President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Each of these candidates has sold to you their platforms throughout the campaign period. Some did so explicitly while others did vaguely. Some used larger stages like debates while others thought there isn't value added to debates and boycotted. However you received the messages, some are meant to be given serious thoughts. Electronic and Print media were flooded with those messages. 

Yes, you have heard and seen a lot.  If you are a non-partisan like myself, it makes it challenging to pick a choice as elections are not of saints. It took me a long time to finally decide who to support in these elections. Though primarily it was due to the respect of the Code of Conduct. This also is in no violation of the Code as it protects respect of opinions of public officials. After several pondering, and in my opinion, the best choice for Liberia's transition is H.E Joseph N. Boakai, Vice President of the Republic of Liberia. 

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf ran a "transitional government" and we must all give her a standing ovation and due credit. Before 2006, Liberia was a total mess. The physical and mental shells of the guns and bullets were present everywhere. Education, health, infrastructure, social services were all non-existent.  The country's image internationally was bleak. Being a Liberia outside of Liberia drew pity and sorrow. She knew it was not going to be an easy task.She was the "Danielle" thrown in the Lion's den.  

The destruction of more than 14 years cannot be built in 12 years.

Under her leadership, Liberia has done amazingly in many areas and will do more with JNB at the helm. The last 12 years was a transition from our bitter past to a more sustained and prosperous nation. 

Looking ahead, we must own up to our challenges of reconciliation and corruption and JNB has promised to do just that. 

When he said and emphasized ROAD, ROAD, ROAD as a necessity for development, I couldn't help but nod in agreement. In 2010 as a research assistant on a project to study Liberian schools with the American Research Institute, we traveled across the country and saw how deplorable roads were. Again in 2012, as Co-Chairperson on Liberia's Vision 2030, I had the opportunity to travel to majority of the counties and saw how access to market was impeding growth and development. In 2009, on my way to Grand Bassa for a project, we had to sleep in our truck because the roads were damaged and impassable. I partly grew up in Caldwell. For the longest i could remember, Caldwell Road was a messy stretch. It took us hours from Samukai Camp to Caldwell Junction. When the road was paved, my elder sister decided to pay a visit to relatives in Samukai Camp. She drove less than 20 minutes and was in Lousiana very far from Samukai Camp. She had to be reminded by passersbys that she has passed the Camp and was redirected. Today, many of those stories have changed and others would change with JNB. 

Opportunity squandered and parked Race Car Anology

Many people like to make a mountain out of a molehill. When VP Boakai talked about squandering opportunity, he meant collectively as a government- including the legislature- there were many missed opportunities. Squandered may have been a harsh choice of word but the legislature and judiciary had a role as well in the governance.  His reference to a race car was not to blame in any way H.E Madam President but to state the limation within our constitution for the role of the VP.

He has been a loyal, down to earth, and humble Vice President with integrity and I believe his Presidency will do more and make Liberia work for us all in continuation of Madam President's legacy.

Think Liberia, Love Liberia, Build Liberia

Vote Wisely!