New Castle, Delaware- Liberia’s Finance Minister Samuel Tweah has come under strong criticism from the Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA).
In a press statement on Wednesday, ALJA said Minister Tweah’s recent denial and characterization of the previous admission by the Minister of Information Cultural Affairs and Tourism(MICAT), Eugene Nagbe, that the Liberian government is conducting a probe into the reported missing 16 billion Liberian dollars as erroneous, is unfortunate.
ALJA said Minister Tweah’s denial and contradiction of earlier reports of missing containers possessing billion Liberian dollar banknotes; and his admonition to Liberians and the international community not to give credence to previous pronouncements made by the country’s official spokesman, has created more harm for the ongoing investigation than good.
The Americas based Liberian journalists said the Finance Minister’s condescending and arrogant assertion has eroded public confidence in the Liberian government and the ongoing reported missing money investigation.
Finance Minister Samuel Tweah
According to an ALJA press release issued on September 26, 2018, the Association said the Liberian government has the moral and legal obligations to explain factually to the citizens of the country and the world at large what happened to the reported missing money and what is being done to remedy the situation.
ALJA maintained no amount of contradictory and inflammatory statements evolving from Minister Tweah and others can undo what has become a public relations disaster for the country and the Coalition of Democratic Change (CDC) administration.
The Association noted that nearly two weeks ago, when Information Minister Nagbe granted news interviews to the Voice of America (VOA), Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS), and other local and international media outlets about the current financial crisis in the country, he did not speak from imagination; rather, he relayed to Liberians and the world at large what the CDC government wanted reported globally.
ALJA said Minister Tweah’s public condemnation of his colleague has now created a public image and credibility problem for him and the Liberian government.
“To pronounce that no one should listen to or give credence to what Minister Nagbe reported before regarding the missing money story and the actions being taken by the Liberian government in getting to the core of the problem, insinuates that he is a liar,” ALJA said bluntly.
Meanwhile, ALJA is calling on the Liberian government to ease the prevailing tension in the country regarding the reported missing money by taking concrete actions that would assure Liberians that it is committed to rendering justice in the matter by holding the perpetrators of the alleged crime accountable through punitive actions.
The Association said instead of repeatedly making conflicting statements about the validity of the missing money scandal and the ongoing investigation, President George Weah and officials of the Liberian government must coordinate and speak with unison on the matter. “The many gossips, hearsay, and rumors being broadcast by senior officials of the government are not healthy for the peace and stability of the country,” ALJA advised.