Says Bishop Gardea Johnson
PHOTO: Rev. Joseph Gardea Johnson, Bishop Baptist Restoration Ministries International
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
On the eve of the opening of the 6th session of the 54th Legislature in Liberia, the Bishop of the Baptist Restoration Ministries has described the national legislature as one of the most notoriously corrupt institutions in Liberia and he wants the whole batch of representatives and senators voted out in the 2023 elections.
In nine-months-time, Liberians will be going to the polls for legislative and presidential elections, when all of the country 73 representative slots will be up for grabs, while half of the 30 Senators will see their seats being challenged at the polls.
Bishop Joseph Gardea Johnson, who is former Vice President of the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention, said the current batch of lawmakers is largely responsible for the harsh socio-economic situation that the Liberian people are experiencing in the country.
Speaking at a news conference at his office in Monrovia’s Congo Town suburb recently, the Restoration Baptist Ministries International Bishop said he has embarked on campaigning against the re-election of these lawmakers in this year’s election.
Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor is a long-time member of his church. The VP presides over the Senate as she constitutionally serves as president of the Senate.
According to Bishop Johnson, Liberians need to be changing their leaders until they can find the rightful persons with the credulity, honesty, integrity and be corruption free to occupy these positions.
Commenting on characteristics of future elected officials, Bishop Johnson said he does not give some of the opposition political parties his face because they have surrounded themselves recycled criminals.
“By the opposition surrounding themselves with criminals is an indication that they will do the worse,” he said; adding: “giving them state power is like putting rats in care of cats.”
Asked about coalition, he replied that if the officials of the government are repeating the evil for which they were campaigning against; that means they are committing the worse of evils.
Commenting on the impact of the harsh social economic situation in the Liberia, Bishop Johnson said: “the level of poverty in this country is more than severe.”
“People are poor and it heaths me and I am feeling bad about that; it is not supposed to be so, because the citizens are the greatest asserts any country can have.”
According to him, if the people are economically strengthened, they will be able to build this country because they do not have to depend on others to build their country for them.
“How can Liberians in the employ of the government or concession company afford to buy their cars or build their houses when his or her earnings cannot make them to do such?” he asked.
“As a result of poor salary structures,” he went on,” the poorness passes on from one generation to another and as for those who are not employed, their children resolve to all sorts of means to make ants to survive.”
He blamed leaders from a cross-spectrum of Liberian society for not upholding laws protecting jobs and some sector of the businesses for Liberians.
Officials negotiated Western Cluster deal out of greed
Speaking on the controversial Western Cluster agreement, the Liberian Baptist cleric said most of the officials of the government only negotiated to satisfy themselves rather than the citizens.
“Why some officials of government should so wicked as this?” he asked; adding:” these are some of same things that they have been doing over the years to keep this country backward in development and citizens in object poverty.”
He proposed that there should a law that will prevent the National Elections Commission from registering people who are hooked by anti- graft institutions to contest any public offices until he or she can claim his or her name.
“We must not continue to allow NEC to register suspected criminals to contest for public offices in the country,” Bishop Johnson stressed; noting: “the current batch of lawmakers, some of whom are suspected of war crimes, corruption and hooked by anti-graft institutions were forced them on the people.”
Gov’t blamed for prevalence of ritualistic killings
On the issue of ritualistic killings, the Bishop of the Restoration Baptist Ministries blamed the government for not taking the issue of murder by starting with the setting up of a national committee purposely to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Harry Greaves, Odell Sherman and other mysterious deaths and drowning during the regime of former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
This would have sent a message that this government will not tolerate ritualistic killings or mysterious deaths in the country, said Bishop Gardea Johnson.
He stressed the need to over hall or sacks the entire forces at the Criminal Investigation Division of the Liberia National Police for their failure in the past to bring closure to investigation of some mysterious deaths over the years.
Bishop Johnson added that this step is necessary because of their failure to bring an end or closure to some of these killings and mysterious deaths and it will sanitize the Criminal Investigation Division to as to strengthen the department and make more robust.
Founded a little over eleven years ago, the Baptist Restoration Baptist Ministries has 12 other churches with about nine members in terms of congregation.
Bishop Johnson is known to be practical and holistic on social economic and political arena due to his out spoken on national issues, fearless and critical on ills in the Liberian society.
Originally, Bishop Johnson was a pastor with the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention and rose to become a member of the national executive committee of the Liberia Council of Churches; but he left to establish the Baptist Restoration Baptist Ministries.
He was ordained Bishop a little over nine months ago and the church is involved in establishing education centers for poor people children, feeding the old, assisting with medication by paying hospital bills and empowered many female through loans.