By Christopher Yarwoe in Buchanan, Liberia
Citizens in Liberia’s southern Grand Bassa County and other parts of the country are happy over the recent amendment of Liberia’s Budget Law, which is expected to boost citizens’ participation and ensure transparency.
Three Civil Society Organizations in Grand Bassa and Rivercess counties described the amendment in the 2018/2019 budget law is a victory for the citizens of Liberia.
The CSOs are the Grass Roots Agency for Social Services (GRASS) in Bassa, the Grand Bassa Peace Building Organization and the Citizens Development Association of Rivercess (CIDAR).
They said that the amendment shows a good footing for decentralization which will make the citizens to fully participate in development and the management of the County and Social Development Fund.
Nyankun Glassco, a resident of Biafra Community in Buchanan, said the amendment is a good step for decentralization.
Glassco said it will help the citizens to bring out their views for the management for the CSDF.
According to him, if the government continues to listen to them, it will help to bring out the potential of the citizens.
“As for me, I am impressed because the process will be highly democratic in which citizens will fully participate in the decision making and the management of the CSDF,” Eugene U. Tarr of the WATCO Camp Community in Buchanan told Magic FM.
Last month the legislature acted to amend Section 9 of the 2018-2019 Budget Law to ensure participatory governance in the management of the CSDF.
The amendment of the budget reform was done by the National Resource Management group comprising of eight civil society organizations with support from USAID – LAVI Liberia Accountability Voice.
The NRM Coalition members include – Institute for Research and Democratic Development (IREDD), Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), Citizens United to Promote Peace & Democracy in Liberia (CUPPADL), Platform for Dialogue and Peace (P4DP), Liberia Media Center (LMC), Development Education Network-Liberia (DEN-L), Rural Human Rights Activists Program (RHRAP), and NAYMOTE-Partners for Democratic Development.
The coalition proposed 17 proposals to the 54th Legislature and five were accepted to amend section nine of the budget law.
The Executive Director of the Institute for Research and Democratic Development (IREDD) Harold Aidoo described the process as a milestone achievement for policy reform of the budget law last month at a one day refresher training of the Liberia Media Budget Monitoring for Accountability (LMBMA) organized by Internews.
Mr. Aidoo said the amendment in the budget law will help to increase citizens’ participation, ensure transparency and management of the County and Social Development Fund in the fifteen counties of Liberia.
IREDD Executive Director also said that it will increase the level of participation of civil actors particularly Community Based Organizations and Civil Society Organizations to play an active role in monitoring the CSDF.
Before, the old law never had anything mentioned for the monitoring of the CSDF, Mr. Aidoo stated.
“It will allow us the civil society organizations to be able to monitor how these projects are being implemented and what has been some of the issues as far as these projects are concern”, IREDD Executive Director said.
Mr. Ojue Williams, Executive Director of the Citizens Development Association of Rivercess (CIDAR), told Magic FM that the amendment gives CSOs greater responsibility to monitor the CSDF.
“This amendment plays a greater portion for CSOs now,” Mr. Williams said. “It has a heavy load on CSOs now. To have this document effective and efficient, it lies on the back of CSOs. It will be good that we start with education,” he explained.
Mr. Harry Zondoe, the Coordinator of the Grand Bassa Peace Building Organization, said that civil society should educate the citizens so that they can understand the amendment made in the budget law. “What I see there is that the task before the civil society organizations is for us to create awareness to the public let them understand exactly the amendment that has been made in the budget law,” Mr. Zondoe said.
The amendment states that civil society organizations, preferably community based, shall play a more proactive monitoring role at the county sittings and ensure that the projects identified and other issues resolved are properly implemented.
“At their own cost, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) shall monitor the implementation of the CDF and SDF projects,” the amended version adds.
Before this amendment, the old law never had anything mentioned for monitoring of these CSDF projects by CSOs/CBOs.
IREDD Boss thinks that this is important because it will help to ensure that CSDF ultimately benefits the population that the money intended for.
He applauded the 54th Legislature for the number of changes made so far in the budget law which is geared towards ensuring that adequate and sustainable reforms are achieved in the management of the County and Social Development Funds.
Samuel Wilson, Program Officer of GRASS, said he is happy that in the amended law the Removal of a PMC member shall require two-thirds of the County Council.
The old law states that members of the PMC shall be removed for cause to be determined by two-thirds members of the Legislative Caucus.
“It happened in 2014 when the 53rd legislative caucus dismissed the entire PMC leadership by a vote of two – third majority,” GRASS Program Officer told Magic FM.
They were: Madam Elizabeth Barwon former – Chair, James Smith – Comptroller, and Madam Dehsaywren Colnoe – Treasurer.
Magic FM gathered from Senator Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence that under her leadership as former Chair of the caucus, Barwon forged the signatures of 42 accredited delegates on February 27, 2014 that the Seventh County Development Council Sitting for 2014/2015 was held in Neekren Statutory District.
Senator Lawrence said the caucus refused to sign the resolution when the PMC presented it to them in March 2014 at the Capitol Building in Monrovia because Barwon admitted that there was no sitting held that year.
According to the Senator, former Superintendent Etweda Cooper in 2014 also admitted to the 53rd lawmakers that the sitting was not held.
“The PMC and the former Superintendent prepared a six (6) page document asking for our approval but we refused,” Senator Lawrence stated. “The resolution was fake and criminal in nature for forging the signatures of previous delegates of the 2013/2014 county sitting. They lied on the delegates from the various districts and forged their signatures,” the Senator said.
Barwon said the resolution was not done with dubious intent. She said the purpose was to get the county money and keep it in the escrow account because the county money stays at the Ministry of Finance when the budget year elapses.
“The document was done in good faith”, the former PMC Chair said. “Since there was no county sitting because of the Ebola crisis and projects were agreed upon, we decided to take the names of the accredited delegates and attached it to the resolution of 2014 / 2015 and submit it to the Legislative Caucus but we did not get their approval,” Barwon stated.
Madam Cooper, former Superintendent who served from 2012 and turned over to former Superintendent Levi Demmah on February 16, 2016 at that time spoke through Eddie Williams, County Information Officer.
Williams said because of the challenge of national government disbursing CSDF to the county, they decided that the caucus, county administration and stakeholders could meet separately and then attached signatories and it becomes a resolution.
He said, if not, the way government was loaded on budget cash fall during that fiscal period, it would have become a problem for Grand Bassa to get its CSDF.
The County Information Officer said it was based on that background the county administration did a draft suggestion and used Neekren Statutory District as an example and restated previous projects that they have resolved from the 2013 / 2014 Gorblee County Sitting in Electoral District # 4 and submitted to the past caucus.
But, “we did not get their approval,” the County Information Officer said.
According to the document provided by the then 53rd Legislative Caucus, the previous projects that were agreed upon in the 2013 / 2014 sitting and brought forward by the PMC and County Administration to 2014 / 2015 were: the Grand Bassa Community College, High School Construction, Scholarship program, Doris Williams Sports Stadium, completion of the Gorblee Health Center, Construction of hand pumps roads rehabilitation and maintenance of county equipment.
“If there will be a reason to remove the PMC, it will be the citizens now but not the lawmakers,” Wilson said. “The Legislative Caucus will not come and remove the PMC. You can’t mix politics with development. So you can see that the PMC will have security because they are elected by the citizens,” he stated.
In addition to the amended Section 9 of the 2018-2019 Budget Law, it states that allocation for administrative cost of the PMC for overhead and other cost shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of funds allocated in the budget as CDF & SDF.
In the previous law, there was nothing mentioned for administrative cost for the PMC. According to Wilson, anybody could decide what they want for administrative cost.
“Today is in the law and they will have it but should not exceed 10%,” the GRASS Program Officer said.
Ojue Williams, Executive Director of Citizens Development Association of Rivercess (CIDAR), also said the 10% is not for the superintendent office.
“Because I experience way back that the percent derived at was shared between the PMC office and that of the Superintendent office in Rivercess County.”
Williams said that the Superintendent was requesting for administrative cost which is not correct.
He said the PMC will not be effective when they and the Superintendent office are sharing the same allotment.
The NRM coalition said that now the law mandates that the superintendent shall submit to the County Legislative Caucus, quarterly reports on the status of all ongoing and completed projects funded from the County Development Account.
According to Williams, the channel of reporting system in the old law was a challenge in Rivercess County.
The old law says the superintendent should submit report to the Minister of Internal Affairs.
“At that time,” Williams said “the caucus was asking the superintendent to make report to them but the superintendent said his immediate boss was the minister of Internal Affairs. “So, almost five years we never had county sitting in Rivercess County,” he stated.
The CIDAR Director said that reporting is not going to be by perception again. “Now the law is clear,” he stated, “that the superintendent must submit report to the caucus.”
The members of the caucus, he said, “we elected them.” “Therefore, they will be reflecting our views and aspiration in that report,” he added.
The amended version also mandates the superintendent and superintendent council to publicize widely the venue and where the county council will be held.
This would make the citizens to know when and where the county council will be held, IREDD Executive Director told journalists.
“In the past,” the IREDD Boss said, “the county council was not publicized.”
He said the NRM coalition main goal is to have a law that will deal strictly with the governance and management of the CSDF.