[allAfrica.com]  [Africa_2004]


Big Task, Little Power

The Analyst (Monrovia)
ANALYSIS
May 25, 2004
Posted to the web May 25, 2004

-Dr. Sawyer Thinks GRC Is Toothless Bulldog - But Did CPA Framers Intend That?
When stakeholders in the Liberian peace process met in the Ghanaian capital,
Accra, to draw up the peace formula for Liberia, they entertained no doubts
that the promotion of the principles of good governance is at the heart of
sustainable peace and reconciliation in post-conflict Liberia. But the
Governance Reform Commission (GRC), which was established under Article XVI of
the Accra Comprehensive Peace Accord (ACPA) to play the role of an Ombudsman is
critically being adjudged as grossly inadequate to handle the tasks set for it.
So far, two topnotch politicians refused to serve on it; one, to avoid conflict
of interest and the second, for its inadequacies. But is the GRC congenitally
incapable of handling its caseload, or are the critics simply over ambitious?
The Analyst Staff Writer examines the issues raised.
Former Interim President, Dr. Amos Claudius Sawyer has indicated his
unwillingness to serve on the Governance Reform Commission less than a month
after the presidential hopeful of the New Deal Movement, George Klay Kieh,
declined similar appointment.
But unlike Mr. Kieh who declined the post in consideration of his presidential
quest, Dr. Sawyer's declination borders on fears that the commission would not
realize its objectives unless it is expanded in scope and given the relevant
powers to establish frameworks that will enable it perform the assigned tasks.
According to him, the GRC as mandated, would be nothing less than a bulldog
that will only bark, but will be unable to bite unless it is empowered to have
enforcement powers.
On April 28, 2004 Dr. Sawyer wrote in response to Chairman Bryant's January 24,
2004 letter of appointment: "Unfortunately, I have to decline your appointment
under the current circumstances. I am convinced that the reform tasks that are
required loom larger than those that can be achieved within the framework in
which the commission is expected to operate. For example, section 2c of the
mandate calls on the commission to "ensure transparency and accountability in
governance in all government institutions and activities" and to "act as the
Public Ombudsman." He said even though he had earlier agreed to serve on the
commission at the urging of Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, he realized after
delving into its mandate that there was too much tasks with too little power to
ensure both execution and success.
"These responsibilities can hardly be performed when, according to section 4 of
the same mandate, the best the commission can do regarding effective
implementation is to "submit quarterly reports directly to the NTLA who shall
make recommendations thereon to the Chairman for action." With all due respect,
a commission clothed only with authority to submit reports to the NTLA can
hardly be expected to "ensure transparency and accountability" and serve as
"the Public Ombudsman." Further pressing home his points, Dr. Sawyer noted,
"Section 2d of the mandate calls upon the commission to "ensure subsidiarity in
governance through decentralization and participation." This is a task that
requires a substantial constitutional review and, ultimately, constitutional
amendments. Organizing for these, in turn, requires considerable consultations
including, in my view, a national conference - that is, if the tasks are to be
taken seriously. However, if subsidiarity and decentralization are to be seen
solely as bureaucratic exercises that entail simply a manipulation of
administrative structures within the confines of Liberia's current
constitutional arrangement, such governance reforms will fall far short of what
is needed to depart from failed practices and patterns." According to him, most
of what went wrong with the mandate of the commission relates to the magnitude
of the tasks assigned and the lack of corresponding authority to get them done.
"My views, in this regard," he noted, "can be summed up in two points: First,
unless the reach of governance reforms to be undertaken extends to a review of
Liberia's constitutional paradigm and the institutional arrangements it has
produced, reforms will not be able to yield outcomes that can sufficiently
address our foundational governance dilemmas. Second, reforms listed in the
mandate of the commission as found in Article XVI of the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement, cannot be undertaken by the commission within the scope of authority
laid out for the commission in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and within the
national transition agenda as currently structured." Dr. Sawyer reminded
Chairman Bryant that besides the issues of reform specified in the mandate of
the Governance Reform Commission enhrined in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,
Liberia faces deep-rooted challenges that cannot be swept under the rug.
"Our country has been in the throes of violent conflicts for about a quarter of
a century. Before then, the storms had been gathering for decades. Our
political system seems entrapped in a cyclical pattern of zero-sum politics -
violent breakdowns - acrimonious elections - zero-sum politics. Meanwhile, we
now have a generation of people who has not known a country at peace and we are
approaching the predicament of a country whose younger generations might well
be less educated than their elders. My fear is that we seem to remain on this
cyclical path," he noted.
Readers of the Liberian political landscape are unanimous that the Liberian
path of cyclical violence must come to an end. It is difficult to get more then
ten stakeholders to agree on a single way forward, but Dr. Sawyer thinks there
is little reason for bickering about the way forward.
He said, "What we need are serious diagnostic assessments to find out what is
inherently wrong with our political arrangement that keeps us on this path.
We should ask ourselves why are we, Liberians, able to forge patterns of
cooperation and display enormous generosity to each other in virtually every
sphere of life except in the political? Why does political contestation take on
such high-stakes character, requiring a fight to the bitter end? There are
profound systemic flaws that must be examined and corrected. Far from following
a generic blueprint for conflict resolution and post-conflict peace building in
which elections are considered central, we are challenged to examine our
political order more deeply and let our diagnoses suggest approaches to finding
remedies to entrenched governance challenges - challenges that will persist
long after the international attention would have turned elsewhere if we do not
begin to address them now." According to him the diagnoses would involve a
blend of studies, informed consultative discourses held at all levels of
society and involving all segments of the Liberian people, and a properly
prepared, well-organized national conference.
From these initial steps, he believes, would come what he calls a well thought-
out agenda for reform that would become an integral part of the transition
process to take on the character of a national covenant.
He said it is only when the GRC is empowered to carry out these activities that
Liberians would be able to break out of the vicious cycle, which entraps the
nation's body politic.
Dr. Sawyer conceded that such an elaborate program would out-span the tenure of
the NTGL, but noted that it was better to begin the process rather than
entrusting such sacred task with future civil administrations.
"Some may argue that constructing an agenda for reform is a task that should be
left to an elected government. I can assure you that those who say so do not
have the evidence of history on their side. Only an extraordinary president
will opt for reforms that will include measures designed to reduce presidential
authority.
"Others will say that the international community will not approve. Let me say
that the international community will listen and support what Liberians believe
is fundamentally essential to ensure lasting peace and democratic governance in
their country. It is up to Liberians to set the agenda for Liberia.
"I am sure the international community will support a serious program of reform
designed to address foundational governance dilemmas once that program is taken
seriously by the people of Liberia and a sense of commitment can be reflected
in the attitude and behavior of those of us who are considered leaders of
Liberia.
"But when the international community is left to determine the agenda for peace
and democratic governance in Liberia and the most significant post-disarmament
concerns of Liberian leaders are centered around the holding of elections, the
international community will give us what we ask for: in this case, quick
elections in a failed system of governance.
"I have devoted a fair amount of my time studying the challenges of political
governance in our country and am convinced that governance reforms that
preclude democratic decentralization will not sufficiently open up political
and economic space for greater inclusion-unlocking the potentials of the
Liberian people; therefore will not contribute substantially to ending the
vicious cycle of conflict that has taken us down a path to profound human
tragedy," the former interim president noted.
While critics of Dr. Sawyer contend that his refusal to partake in the GRC has
more to do with power greed than the issues raised, analysts think he needs to
be taken seriously by the Sirleaf Commission if it is to be of service to the
Liberian people.
Political commentator Elijah R. Sackie agreed: "When a commission is given a
mandate to "ensure a national and regional balance in appointments without
compromising quality and integrity even while appointment in government hangs
freely from factional threads, then a call for review of mandate and leverage
cannot be said to be out of place unless the GRC is intended to serve as a
pacifier for Mrs.
Sirleaf who performed dismally against Bryant in Accra for the NTGL
chairmanship." With so much contradiction between mandate and methodology,
observers say, there is need to revisit the GRC with the view of making it more
relevant to the present needs of the Liberian people.
MEMO TO THE PRESIDENT Subject: Continue The Visits
Your Excellency: The information available to us indicates that you have
embarked upon field visitations to areas where UNMIL contingents are currently
carrying out disarmament and demobilization.
We have been unable to pick up your trails, but we understand that you visited
Kakata, Brewerville, and other military cites around the city to personally
chat with UNMIL soldiers and encourage them to continue their sacrificial duty
to the Liberian people. You were also quoted as urging the Ghanaian troops to
be more vigilant since it was in Accra that the entire peace process was
hatched, nurtured, and dispatched to Liberia.
Our sources said you were very friendly and close to the soldiers some of whom,
for the first time, have the rare opportunity of being shown appreciation by a
highly-placed Liberian government official since taking up peace duty in
Liberia. We imagine the joy of appreciation that suffused and charged the
scenes of your visits and we therefore believe that it did not escape you for
once that you were performing perhaps the most delicate of your national
responsibilities.
You may recall that when you announced on April 10 that disarmament programme
would begin five days later, we congratulated you for the decision and then
cautioned that the process would be given an added boost were you to be
accompanied to the DDRR cantonment sits by warring faction leaders, UNMIL
officials, and other elements of the international community. At the time of
the call, we told you that such visits would assure the ex-combatants that they
were not being abandoned to foreign troops, that the process was a Liberian
initiative jointly assisted and implemented by the United Nations, EU, and
other friendly governments.
We have no doubt that what you are now doing is advised by our call - we may
however be quick to add that we are not seeking credit for anything since we
draw more joy from your cantonment site visits than anything else.
This is why, Sir, that even as we congratulate you for the great strides made
in encouraging cordiality between the NTGL and the military, we want you to
plan to expand the visits to Tubmanburg, Gbarnga, Buchanan, and even Ganta and
even on to Voinjama, Sanniquellie, Greenville, Barclayville, Zwedru,
Robertsport, Fish Town, and even Bopolu.
We are insisting on these trips because they are confidence builders, they are
electrifying and more motivating than thousands of the meals and other benefits
offered at cantonment sites.
This is why we insist that the trips should not be solitary and abrupt; they
must be planned to include a number of state and non-state actors, press teams
that will spread that tender message of care and concerns, and technocrats that
will gauge the tempo of the visits and use what they gathered to help plan new
national agendas so that they will not rely on abstract concepts and baseless
external expertise - so that they will be able to invigorate and accelerate the
saggy DDRR programme and save Liberians the headaches of combating donor
fatigues.
We will therefore expect you to continue the visits so that in the next few
months you will visit Maryland County whence you hailed.
Thank you very much Sir.
In Mamba Point Hotel Burglary: U.S. MILITARY OFFICIAL KILLED -Embassy
Consulting State Department -Bryant Postpones New York Trip -Holds Emergency
Cabinet Meeting Today By Gibson W. Jerue A man believed to be the Chief of the
US Military Assessment Mission to Liberia for the Restructuring of the Forces
of Liberia (AFL), not named, was Monday night, stabbed to death by unknown
armed men, The Analyst has learnt yesterday.
A Mamba Point Hotel source who preferred not to be named "because of the
security implication of the murder" said preliminary police investigation of
the crime scene revealed that the American was killed by men who broke into his
hotel room and stabbed him several times before making away with valuable items
and money.
The source said the men burst through a back ceiling and entered the hotel
unnoticed.
"They got down in another lady's room and took away US$8000.00 but they did not
harm her perhaps because she surrendered quite easily without raising alarm,"
the source narrated.
He said after their deeds, the armed burglars burst the door open and exited
through the front of the hotel before security and personnel of the hotel knew
that a member of the U.S. Military Assessment Mission Team was murdered.
Though information about the alleged murder of the American Military Mission
chief is still scanty, the incidence is said to have caused nervousness at the
Mamba Point with both hotel management and US Embassy officials concealing the
information.
Upon receiving tip off yesterday, our reporter contacted the US Embassy, but
authorities there were reluctant to disclose any information as how, where the
American got killed, and what was the immediate position of the Embassy.
At first attempt at the Embassy gate, a Marine Sergeant who talked to our
reporter on phone said, "I have no details on the incident. Thank you and bye."
But just as our reporter attempted boarding a taxi cab the same Marine came out
of the Embassy compound and invited our reporter to go with him inside.
There, the Sergeant contacted an authority who spoke briefly with our reporter:
"We have called you back to hear what is it you want." When the reporter had
explained, the man said, "Well, right now, we are not giving press interview on
the incident. We have not gotten in touch with State Department. When we have
done so, we will call a press conference and give the facts, but for now, no
press statement. Thank you, and no more talk." The alleged murder of the
American Military Mission Chief is said to have caused alarm within official
circles, leading to intense diplomatic shuttles between the US Embassy in Mamba
Point and the Executive Mansion, the official seat of the Liberian government.
An Executive Mansion source has informed The Analyst that Transitional Chairman
Gyude Bryant, who was reportedly visiting Kakata, quickly returned to Monrovia,
upon getting wind of the murder, to console the American Embassy family.
Chairman Bryant is said to have postponed his trip to New York, USA, tomorrow
to attend a meeting of the UN Security council, and he has in fact called an
emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the murder of the American.
By 8:00 p.m. yesterday the same official of the Embassy who talked to our
reporter earlier called The Analyst to say that the US State Department has
been duly informed, and that the Embassy was conducting its own investigation
and was withholding all press comments till today.
When contacted by phone, the Manager of the Mamba Point Hotel, Inad, declined
to comment on the alleged murder incident that took place in his hotel. He
rather referred our reporter to his lawyer, Cllr. S.B.
Stubblefield.
But when contacted by phone, Cllr. Stubblefield also declined to comment. He
said, "The police are handling the case and therefore I can not comment on it
right now." The murder of an American Military Mission Team member at the Mamba
Point Hotel raised eyebrows in many circles in Monrovia.
Says D. Musu Benny, "The killing of an American at the Mamba Point is a bad
signal. This shows some sign of insecurity even in places that we expect
security to be in tact."

   

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