By Mark N. Mengonfia,mmenginfia@gmail.com
Some members of the House of Representatives have referred to the Liberian Minister of Finance, Samuel Tweah’s action against them as “belligerent or very disrespectful”, thus triggering calls for President George Weah to intervene.
For some time now, members of the House of Representatives have constantly complained over the Finance Minister’s unwillingness to work with them, the people’s direct Representative.
Recently, members of the House of Rep.wrote inviting the Minister of Foreign Affairs,Minister of Education and the Minister of Finance and Development Planning to respond to issues raised by Liberian scholarship students in Morocco.
Education Minister Ansu Sonii and Foreign Affairs Minister Gbehzohngar Milton Findley showed to respond to the request from the members of the House of Representatives unlike Minister Samuel Tweah, Liberia’s Minister for Finance and Development Planning who without any excuse deliberately excluded himself for the invitation.
Speaking in open plenary session before the start of the hearing of two ministries (Education and Foreign Affairs) recently, Nimba County District #8 lawmaker, Larry Yanquoi of described the finance Minister’s action as what he called ‘belligerent’. Other colleagues supported him.
He pledged with his colleagues to communicate with the Liberian President, George M. Weah declaring him as a non- governmental material and that a vote of non confidence be placed on him due to his “disrespectful” posture against them, the people’s direct representatives.
Minister Tweah is yet to react to the lawmakers’ characterization of him as “belligerent and disrespectful:.
Also speaking on the issue of the minister was Dixon W. Seiboe Montserrado County District #16 lawmaker who also informed his fellow lawmakers that the Minister action is not only towards the plenary but said that since the start of hearing in the 2019/2020 National Budget, the Finance Minister, who is the crafter of that national instrument has not one day appeared to any of the ongoing hearing.
The New Kru Town lawmaker, as he is popularly known by his colleagues, said “I think that the Chief Executive be written informing him about the disrespectful attitude of the Minister towards the people’s representatives.”
In front of President George Weah last Friday at the PUL Awards night, the keynote speaker, the opposition MPC leader, Mr. Simeon Freeman called on the Liberian leader to sack Minister Tweah amidst a range of controversies.
Not one lawmaker came in defense of the Minister who has been labeled as ” rude, disrespectful” my members of the House of Representatives.
Members of that body resolved to not write the chief executive as was requested by many of the lawmakers who spoke to the issue of the minister.
They agreed to not write President Weah to officially complain his minister, but to wait for a pending retreat with him ( Weah) anytime soon.
It is unclear that even if the lawmakers make their case with the Liberian President to have Minister Tweah dismissed or suspended as some has requested he will listen to them.
Since the alleged misappropriation of the 25 USD mob up exercise my Minister Tweah and his team at the Ministry of finance, there have been public out cry requesting that he ( Tweah) be dismissed, because he lacks the ability to help Liberia recover from the current economic problems the country is faced with.
But President Weah has so far refused to do anything about the mounting calls to replace him, something that has created miss feelings amongst executive of government and Liberians in general.