The John Morlu - GOL Debacle At RIA: A Reverse of The Old Order?

By: Amos B. Kortu, II Email contact :amoskortu@yahoo.com 

Historically, the struggle for social justice and societal transformation in Liberia has always been hijacked at crucial moments by indecent political opportunists, sycophants and racketeers, who have often succeeded in rolling back the wheels of history; thereby frustrating and prolonging the struggle for genuine socio-political and economic transformation.

These desperate financial vampires who see politics as the only employment opportunity must be brought before the judgment seat of reasoning. If nothing is done to expose these Diaspora hustlers who survive on patent lies and deliberate falsehood, treacherous and clandestine schemes and grossly disregard the cause to national development, our fledging democracy will soon get fractured and demoralized.

Our people came full-circled in finding a political alternative to the backwardness and paralysis that engulfed the Country for the past fourteen years by ushering into the nation's highest office, madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf with the conviction that she was best prepared to deliver this nation from the ruins of war and disunity to the stage of growth, development and peaceful co-existence where national unity will be the pillar.

The twin of nation building – reconciliation and development are achievable through a sustained and committed approach towards transparency, accountability and respect for the rule of law, but for too long we have had political leaders engaged in thievery, roguery activities to line in luxury while the majority of the people live in dire penury. It is saddened that after years of bloody civil crisis which led to the loss of lives of more than 250,000 Liberians, we are still unconscious of the need to rectify the social, economic and political horrors of past tyrannies.

In order to distinct ourselves from the old past of sectarianism, cowardice and opportunism, we must build the mental attitude of placing our nation above all else and do those things worthy of nation building. It is only through honesty, hard work, self initiatives, and above all, the adherence to the rule of law that we can best fulfill our dreams. If Liberia is to become a melting pot where persons of different backgrounds – ethnic, political and religious will come together to share a common destiny by parting from the ugly past, we will begin to actualize our vision of building a new united and productive Liberia under the guidance of God or Allah as enshrined in the vision of the Unity Party's platform.

In view of the fact that history has a tendency of repeating itself though not uniquely as in the past, if we do not shake up the shell our past behaviors have caused us, we will continue in this circle of backwardness and culture of wanton pillaging of our resources.

If we fail to break from the past, the future of this country is doomed. We will sink into the quick sand of political malaise, economic dislocation, ethnic rivalry, etc. 

As Liberians enjoined the world to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, many thought it wise to travel to the hinterland in order to share with their families and relatives the little they had gathered during the 375 days of labor in Monrovia. Others also chose to travel abroad to reunion with their families. Consequently, transportation fares went sky rocket. The fight for commercial vehicles was unbearable; while the Roberts International Airport (RIA) was a scene of crowdedness which reminiscent of the days of horror when the rebels LURD and MODEL were closing on the capital – a situation that caused defenseless and confused citizens and foreign partners to assemble in thousands to seek ways and means to leave to avoid being caught in cross fire. During this period of rush and helter scatter of the Nation's population and foreign residents where anarchy was the order of the day, even perceived enemies of the government went through the RIA terminals and boarded flights for refuge in neighboring countries.

Unfortunately, as Liberia graduates from the plaque of war and transcends to the period of decency, it is saddened to note that while many Liberians including government officials and other partners in progress were departing to spend the Christmas holidays with their families, we heard and read in the local media that the Auditor General of the Republic of Liberia, Mr. John Morlu, was stopped from leaving the country on four separate occasions (22-25 December 2007) for allegedly breaking a glass door that cost US$50. This situation makes one to ponder as to whether the damage of a US$50 glass door would have warranted the prevention of the travel of a Senior Government Official who should even be accorded all VIP courtesies, or was it an attempt to deny him the right to celebrate the Christmas with his family which could have frustrated him to resign the job? Again, this situation raises some salient questions – was it revenge or is it a calculated attempt by a handful of officials who are engaged in scare tactics to undermine the audit process? Or it is a personal vendetta against the Auditor General for his allegation that the Sirleaf Government was three times more corrupt than predecessor? If the above questions are answered in the affirmative, then, what was amazing about the statement that demands humiliation? Is it not his constitutional right to speak on those things that he feels wrong? 

As you may or may not know, the Liberian constitution provides for the freedom of movement, expression/speech of all provided however, that he or she does not infringe on the rights of others.

But for the RIA Security to claimed to have received “Straight Orders” to prevent Mr. Morlu from traveling, we think it is another form of reminding Liberians that we are again reversing to the old order wherein security officers claimed that they received “straight orders from the President” when in fact, “stop orders” should be only in the hands of courts of competent jurisdiction – especially the Supreme Court.

Even if it is true, the biggest question that a bars is has RIA become a check point to bully and violate the constitutional rights of citizens? Even if the Auditor General had done anything wrong, why was the case not referred to the Liberia National Police for investigation and prompt redress, instead an institutional security was used as a check?

We recall the phrase “Straight Orders” during the Samuel K. Doe and Charles Taylor dictatorial regimes when the rule of law was bye passed to the detriment of the masses. We do not wish to reverse to those days.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to investigate - especially where the security claimed that the “order” emanated from the Executive Mansion.

By law, the General Auditing Commission (GRC) is the technical arm of government responsible for accountability, transparency, and probity. The government has expressed that fighting corruption is one of its most important objectives and that the arm responsible to execute this task is the GRC - the brain child of government's efforts aimed at fighting corruption. 

In order that Madam Sirleaf's vision (the fight against courruption)be a glowing reality, the GRC must be encouraged and not tearing down its efforts by publicly ridiculing its boss, Mr. John S. Morlu, II, who commands enormous international credibility and respect. His declaration of a full scaled war on the three diabolical problems of fraud, waste and abuse that have retarded economic and social progress, leading to a situation wherein Liberia has been classified as “Growth without Development” must be sustained and embraced by all well-meaning Liberians instead infusing personal hatred in quest to build this war- ravaged country of ours.

The greatest disappointment in this saga emanated form the Information Minister, Chief Spokesman of Government who squarely drew a dichotomy between the government and the General Auditing Commission. This fundamental and tragic flaw did not only escalate the mater but gave many leveled – minded people the impression that the drama at RIA was a clever and well calculated attempt to bring the Auditor General to public disrepute. The Minister of Information is under obligation to protect and defend the image of all government institutions/officials including the General Auditing Commission which Mr. Morlu heads. But for the Minister to have demonized the Auditor General by making comments contrary to government's policy on information dissemination is sadistic, callous, and a tragic error. We know so much the political history of this country that even in our dreams we can name and discuss characters with respect to their roles in national politics. 

If the instruction of the President was to permit the Auditor General to depart and that he ensures the repair of the door upon his return, why then was the need for all the wrangling. We know that the Government incinerated enormous socio-economic, political and security deficits due to the civil war and bad administrative practices by past administrations.

The criteria for Liberia's qualification of debt waiver and international assistance is not different from what is applied to most countries - i.e. the conduct of a comprehensive audit to ensure transparency and accountability; a government which promotes an environmental of freedom and respect for human rights; a government which has a development plan that clearly

shows the direction in which it wants to lead its people and a demonstrated commitment to implementing that plan; a government which is prepared to adopt and consistently apply sound economic policies; a government which accounts for and utilizes its own resources in a productive and efficient manner; a government which encourages private enterprise; in short a government at work and perceived to be at work.

We must all rally support around madam Sirleaf in dealing with those agents of backwardness, instead of repeating those things that remind us of the evil past.

We believe that madam Sirleaf is sincere in moving this country forward. Therefore, it is appropriate that we constantly remind her as a means of guiding our young democracy.

History should cease now being the record of personalities and become the history of great invention and new ideas. Our focus should be studying people at work rather than the warrior at war. The transition that we expect to see is one from the compulsory cooperation of pacifism which are critical to the solidification and cementation of our peace for us and generations yet unborn.

Let us not continue like our predecessors, to put this evil old style of dealing with issues in the head of our successor.

The RIA episode involving the Auditor General must be the last if this government is to be taken seriously.