SOURCE: J K K PEAH
We, the members of THE LIBERIAN ELECTORAL COLLEGE, a non-profit and
civil liberties advocacy association of Liberians and friends of
Liberia, connected by our common heritage and interest in issues of
equality, social and economic justice, and political freedoms; hereby
express outright objection to the passing of a bill into law by the
Plenary of the Liberian Senate on Thursday, February 13, 2014, which
seeks to amend certain provisions of the March 18,1999 Act authorizing
the Establishment of the Central Bank of Liberia.
Our attention is drawn to sections of the amendment which seeks to
prohibit the Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia and
members of the Board of Governors from contesting political office(s)
three years consecutively after the expiration of their tenure with the
CBL. Whereas we do agree with the premise that prohibits the Executive
Governor and members of the Board of Governors from participating in
political activities while serving in their respective official roles,
we believe that this bill far exceeds this intent.
Our total disagreement and concern is with the overreach of this bill
which in effect disenfranchises these individuals from exercising their
political choice. It would seem by doing so would be penalizing them for
having rendered invaluable services to the country. We are all aware of
the role played by the bank in the negotiations and the arduous work
done by it toward meeting the benchmarks that were required by the IMF
and World Bank for external debt relief. We are also aware of the bank’s
continuing astute management over the financial system of Liberia in
adopting sound policies for the growth and expansion of the economy. We
are cognizant of the low savings rate and depth of non-performing loans
which have been some of the major challenges facing the banking system.
The bank’s role in channeling loanable funds to underserved segments of
the population should be embraced and further harnessed.
Where policy differences have existed over the implementation of these
policy goals, we think that there are less draconian ways of addressing
such than through the passage of law(s) which appear as political
witch-hunting. We believe that none of the issues of policy differences
are addressed by this bill but rather, it only seeks to impact the
management of the bank. It is a fact that a central bank has as one of
its major roles the setting up of policies that guides and promotes
credit creation. It is therefore essential that the central bank be
allowed to carry-out this cardinal responsibility to play a leading role
toward broadening the scope of financial inclusion and access to
credit.
We are also partially concerned by other provisions of the bill, more
specifically as outlined in Sub-Section 3 of Part IV. Section 13 of the
CBL Act which calls for “the removal of the Executive Governor and Board
of Governors from office upon a bill of impeachment by the House of
Representatives, and upon finding by a majority of the Board of
Governors and the recommendation of the President, for several reasons
which include; Gross Breach of Duty, Misconduct of Office, Conviction of
a Felony and Being declared Bankrupt and Violation of paragraph (a) and
/or (b) of sub-section 1 of section 13.” In the Senate’s amended
provisions, the bill also gives power to the National Legislature to
determine whether or not an impeachable offense has been committed by
the Executive Governor or a member of the Board of Governors at the
Central Bank of Liberia. It claims to give unilateral power to the
Legislature to take the necessary action such as impeachment in keeping
with the relevant provisions of the constitution of the Republic of
Liberia. We are however concerned with such unbridled use of political
power over a body whose work should not be beholden to any political
interest. The central bank’s preoccupation should be toward the
performance of the Liberian economy in general and its monetary system
in particular.
A central bank by definition of its role as the banker’s bank and
lender of last resort is to provide an impartial and independent
execution of monetary policy outside of political manipulations. It is
therefore critical that the independence and autonomy of the bank be
maintained. Whereas it is important to ensure that the Governor and
Board of Governors operate within the norm of high ethical and moral
standards; we believe that only after proper investigations by law
enforcement and the necessary national security agencies, and after the
provision of evidence that specific laws have been broken, should legal
action be warranted.
One must understand that whereas the idea is not to condone any form of
misconduct or felony by any official; we are just as concerned with the
use of arbitrariness over policy differences as a ploy to remove the
Executive Governor and members of the Board of Governors under the
disguise of a “gross breach of duty”. This is why we believe that
appointments to the Board of Governors of the central bank not be taken
lightly, as these should be individuals with a track record of
professionalism, probity, and be of good character. The Executive
Governor and Board of Governors of the CBL should be entrusted with
making sound policy decisions and work independently without undue
political interference. Their policy decisions should be made from the
strength of empirical research and evidence from the results of economic
modeling.
We are also in partial agreement with those sections of the amendment
under Part IX Section 44 “which prohibits the Central Bank of Liberia
from engaging in trade or participating directly or indirectly in the
ownership of any financial, Agriculture, Commercial, Industrial, or
other enterprises.” However, we believe that more details and
definitions under these provisions need to be included in order to avoid
arbitrariness and as a means to protect the interest of the country.
In conclusion, we would like to call on the members of the Liberian
Legislature, including both the Chamber of the Senate and the House of
Representatives to reconsider its overreach in the provisions as
presented in this bill, which would in effect disenfranchise private
citizens who have provided invaluable services to Liberia. This bill is
seen as a contravention of the spirit of the Liberian constitution which
provides fundamental freedoms to citizens to exercise personal choice
in matters of political engagement. The bill is violation of Article 21A
of the Liberian Constitution which states that “no person shall be made
subject to any law or punishments which was not in effect at the time
of commission of an offense, nor shall the Legislature enact any bill of
attainder or ex post facto law.”
We also admonish the President of Liberia, her Excellency Madam Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf, consistent with her obligation to protect and defend
the constitution of Liberia, to veto any such bill which goes against
the spirit of the constitution and infringes on the rights of any
citizen or group of citizens. We ask the Liberian media to continue to
draw attention to the issues which contravene the constitution. Lastly
to the citizens, we admonish you to call your county senators and
representatives to give account for their actions in this bill that
whereas today it is the Executive Governor and his Board of Governors,
but tomorrow, it could be any one of us.
Note: The Liberian Electoral College (LEC) is a Facebook social media group.
Signed on this 19th day of February, 2014 by the following individuals:
Name State Telephone Number
Bartum N. Kulah , MD, MBA (President) Atlanta- Georgia (404) 200-7786
Musa Willie (Chief Campaigner) Pennsylvania (267) 818- 1018
William Ponder Boston, Massachusetts (617) 913-4380
Arlene Peaches Cassell, MPA New Jersey (609) 503-0455
D. Matthew Fully Pennsylvania (267) 844-8306
James Marshall Pennsylvania (267) 753-5679
Lawrence L. Kennedy Delaware (302) 256-1533
Sylvanus S. Konneh Australia (614) 139-11226
J K K Peah Pennsylvania (267) 318-5043
Henrietta Askie Rhode Island (347) 286-6996
Cyrus Pailey Crystal, MN (763) 496-9995
Eugene L. Fahngon Johnson City, Tennessee (423) 557-1096
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