PHOTO: Rep. Edwin Snowe (Left) and Mr. Sam Jackson (Right)—They advised Taylor, now they’re advising Weah
By Isaac W. Jackson, Jr.
Former Liberia’s Permanent Maritime Representative Liberian Permanent Mission
The International Maritime Organization (IMO),London, United Kingdom
Now, it is a known fact throughout Liberia and well beyond that the CDC government is sinking; in that, the only people who are defending it, are men notorious for their moral depravities.
Hence, we need to unite and rid our dear country of Weah and his bunch of thieves. Because, they are damaging the image, economic and social fabric of our country on a massive scale!
The disgracefully sickening argument that President Weah’s suspension of the three American-identified criminals is praiseworthy cannot stand the light of scrutiny. The factual point is that in every functioning democracy, when an appointed official is accused of abusing public trust, the best practice is for said individual to resign or be dismissed, leading to investigation. We saw a glimmer of this best practice in Ellen’s Liberia when Willis Knuckles, Laurence Konmla Bropleh, Matilda Parker and others resigned their respective positions under the burden of allegations.
Matter of fact, there can be no better example than the one set by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II who stripped her beloved son, Prince Andrew, of his royal titles on account of an allegation of sexual and moral impropriety.
So, the argument that President Weah is too close to McGill, and suspending him was extremely difficult therefore we should celebrate the suspension, and not ask for conclusive stringent action is absolutely nonsensical. Imagine the souring chatters of charlatans telling us to be contended with the suspension – Rubbish!
You see, one of the reasons for asking public officials to resign their posts when confronted with credible allegations is to maintain and strengthen public trust and confidence in those institutions. Secondly, the resignation [or dismissal] is requested to save the institution from distractions. So, mere suspension in the face of the credible allegations against Weah’s poodles will not suffice. Hence, Pres. Weah must realize that he is toying with fire!
Contrary to the sycophantic argument being promoted by the likes of Edwin Snowe, I think McGill’s [and his two US-sanctioned associates’] close relations with the Presidency ought to have driven President Weah to take drastic actions against the trio by making examples of them. Such actions would have signaled to the world his zero-tolerance on corruption. Regrettably, President Weah’s failure to adopt strong exemplary measures against the trio shows epic incompetence borne out of the lack of sound leadership judgment.
The other angle to pay attention to regarding close relationship with the Presidency is embedded in the credibility, and magnitude of the crimes McGill and his associates are alleged to have committed. Mind you, three agencies of the United States Government, including the FBI thoroughly investigated McGill and colleagues before finding them culpable of stealing from the Liberian people on a massive scale. Is it possible that they could have committed such egregious crimes for five years without the knowledge of President Weah? Conversely, if President Weah were to claim bare denial of not having knowledge of the crimes committed by his Minister of State and his associates, could he not be held liable for criminal negligence?
It is worth remembering that Charles Taylor’s son-in-law and others convinced him believe that he was invincible, and that he could disregard the US Government’s advice with impunity. Today, he (Charles Taylor) is serving a 50-year prison term in the UK. These same spineless opportunists are telling President Weah that it’s okay to suspend; downplaying the resolve of the US Government that led to the imposition of sanctions on three officials of the Liberian Government.
These same morally depraved men are likewise misleading President Weah by telling him to subject the credibly truthful allegations declared by the US Government to a sham investigation, while blabbing about Liberia’s sovereignty and Constitution. If Pres. Weah should continue to listen to those con artists, and refuse to treat the US Magnitsky sanction with decisive seriousness, similar fate that befell Charles Taylor could likely befall him.