My Position on Calls for the President to resign. I cannot argue against the inherent free speech rights that are manifested by these calls. This is the democracy I imagined more than 40 years ago when I joined the struggle for rights and rice. I can understand the frustrations and circumstances that would cause some people to make the calls. But I cannot support calls for a president to resign when there are other tenets that can cause a change of government democratically, constitutionally and preserve continuity and democracy, especially in a budding democracy borne out of decades of strife. We are still mostly a fragile state as evidenced by the failure of our institutions during the present Ebola outbreak. The presidents resignation at this time would demonstrate that the body polity is fragile, unstable and Liberia has not risen above recent conflictuality. It would suggest that great schisms exist within the country along lines that would unnerve private finance capital and derail the modest, but insufficient economic revitalization of the past 11 years. It would signal to the international community that we cannot be trusted to be reliable contributors to a globalized economy and that we will always live on the margins of the comity of nations, thereby making us a perpetual basket case that would require the largesse of the donor community. Here is what the President can do, with the support of Liberians every where, if she is serious about bringing fast relief on Ebola and fashioning a post Ebola economic construct that is more responsive to the Liberian people, especially in empowering her people in order to build a resilient nation state, insured against ephemeral disease outbreaks that do not metamorphose into the calamity that Ebola has wrought:: The President must strive to revamp the bureaucracy even within the midst of the Ebola crisis by creating a broader based government undergirded by the foundation of meritocracy. She can begin by disbanding the current Ebola Task Force, and bringing in the best and the brightest Liberians, those apolitical as much as possible and others with differing political dispositions from anywhere the talents are to set up a task force that will be robust, compassionate, functional and give them clear strategic directions on what she requires within 90 days! The New Task Force can morph into a monitoring board, that will source international humanitarian assistance, bilateral support and deal with the regional issues within ECOWAS, in order to quickly remove the travel and movement bans against Liberians within the region and around the world. Liberia needs to be re-integrated within the global system in the quickest time frame possible or the effects from isolation will linger for years and even generations! The next thing the President can do is to form a broader based government. Most of her officials are clearly fatigued from years of service and really cannot provide any innovation and creativity in the governance process to serve the larger interest of the country. A broader based government will re-legitimize the Presidency, restore trust and reconnect the government to the people. It will also change the negative narrative within the domestic and international press and send a message to the Presidents international backers the she can create a more responsive government that will dilute the internal opposition and give her the space to work on tasks that can consolidate her legacy, while she prepares for a democratic change of government in 2018. This will calm the chorus calling for her to resign and reduce them to a cacophonous bunch. Lastly, in this regard, the President must be clear and articulate a post Ebola construct that empowers Liberians, builds a resilient society that provides adequate health care, educates its citizens, economically empowers them and promotes social cohesion. The President must take charge and the people must begin to see her resolve or else the calls for her resignation will grow over the next several days and weeks and could plunge the country into a political crisis with devastating consequences for the future of Liberia. And so it goes.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 22:38:41 +0000
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