War Was Punishment for Christians

---Says Bishop Summerville, Presents New Destiny Int’l Treasurer
Partial view of the congregation;Bro. Bill Jarkloh reading from a book amongst the congration
Caption: Bishop Summerville Presenting Pastor Kortimai to the Congregation

The founder and President of the New Destiny Pastoral Network, Bishop Adolphus D. W. Summerville, says the civil war in Liberia was a punishment for the Church by God for it’s disobedient to His words.

“The civil war that was a curse for this country and its people was a punishment for the church and not really for pageant,” Bishop Summerville who is also the Senior Pastor of the Potters’ House on Newport Street told a congregation of the Freedom Kingdom International Ministries on Sunday.

The Bishop was speaking at a Special thanksgiving program for the presentation of Mother Pastor Agnes F. Kortimai to congregation of the Freedom Kingdom International Neo-Pentecostal Church in Lower Johnsonville.

The New Destiny Pastoral Network which comprises 36 countries including the United States of America elected in Ghana, the Mother, Pastor Agnes Kortimai as the International Treasurer for Africa. The Sunday occasion, which was graced by the Deputy Minister of Commerce for Administration, Professor Level B. Kortimai, was intended to present the pastor to her church, the Freedom Kingdom International Ministries.

Deputy Minister Kortimai, a deacon at the Freedom Kingdom and a host of pastors, including Pastors Brenda Jleh who anointed the celebrant and Rebecca Taylor of the Pillar of Fire Evangelical Ministries International were amongst other cleric from various churches.

Speaking on the Theme: What Is Blessed Cannot Be Cursed” with text randomly drawn from Genesis 1:1-28 the Bishop further dragged to 2nd Chronicle 7:14 when he said that the church of Jesus Christ which suppose to lead the people to the truth and righteousness has reneged; Christians who are supposed to hold up the teachings go all over the place to seek more powerful preachers and miracles thereby perverting the words of God.

He said evil prevailed because most Christians do not follow the teachings of the Holy Bible; they quenched the light of God and indulged into evil of darkness thereby inflicting curses upon the people.

“If my people, which are called by my named and shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turned from their wicked way; then will I hear them from heaven and forgive their sins and will heal their land,” the Pentecostal preacher added.

Christian cannot even pay tithe and offering correctly, he pointed out, saying that this has caused poverty and curses in the nation. Statistically, more than 80 percent of Liberians are Christians while the remaining percentage of about 20 constitutes predominantly Muslims and other religious sects, cults and pageants.

To this end the Bishop indicated people of God should use wisdom in Christianity. “The Bible says ‘My people Perish because of the lack of knowledge,” according to Bishop Summerville who said anointing does not go alone; it goes with wisdom and obedience.” The guest preacher indicated that consequent to this lack of knowlledge, members of the churches have begun to perish when they go about looking for solutions from everywhere. This is to say that Christians linger in disobedience to the Bible.

Instead of exercising “dominion and power” as commanded by God in Genesis to subdue curses and evil, most Christians shiver in fear during temptation and run to pastors to pray for them. He added that not all prayer persons or those who called themselves anointed people of God are serving the true God; “… you may soon shake the devil hand because of your failure to study the words,” he noted.

Bishop Summerville, to the contrary admonished, “All what Christians are expected to do is exercise faith and dominion; this they can achieve when they attend to church activities and studies. By so doing, they would ask their pastors how to use the scriptures against evil and curses, considering that the pastors themselves are not playing magic in prayers but use the very words against evil.

Bishop Summerville said from the beginning of creation, the earth was useless and without form and void, and darkness (which he noted is curse) covered the face of the earth until when God commanded light (which he said is blessing) from darkness thereby separating between light and darkness or curse and blessing.

The young preacher, noting that God did not throw darkness or curse away so that at the completion of creation - the two destinies of curses or darkness and blessing or light would be set before man, noting that when it reached to the creation of man, God could no longer give the “let there be command”. He instead changed the command to “Let us make man in our own image.” From this, he indicated, “…small gods – the image of God from the dust was made; man and woman they were made.”

Dwelling on verse 28th of Genesis Chapter one, he said, “And God blessed them, and God said to them be fruitful, not necessarily referring to bearing plenty children, and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it,” questioning the congregation are you replenishing your church and subduing the forces of destruction and distraction or you are killing your church?”

Maintaining that the attitude of most Christians have doomed the country and bring curses of war in the form of hardship, sickness amongst others, Bishop Summer concluded, saying “may the curse be broken” with a big amen from the congregation.

Responding, Pastor Kortimai thanked the Freedom Kingdom family, her husband Prof. Kortimai and the new Destiny family for her the courage given her in the service of God and her preferment.

MPW To Open Post-War Regional Headquarters

…Public Works Scheduled Monthly Press Briefing Soon

An official ceremony marking the handing over of the Ministry of Public Works Wainsue facility in Bong County has taken place with a call for local dwellers to get involved in the protection of the facility.

Speaking at a brief ceremony in Wainsue, 10 kilometers north of Gbarnga, Assistant Public Works Minister for Administration says the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) intends to transform the facility into its regional office charged with the management and operation of roads, bridges, buildings, water and sanitation and all other MPW activities in Nimba, Lofa and Bong Counties. This Regional Office will be a model for four (4) other strategic locations nationwide.

Mr. Klahn-Gboloh Jarbah recounted the many benefits the headquarter will provide to local inhabitants especially in the area of employment. “The facility will be used as a central point for MPW’s activities in Bong, Nimba and Lofa Counties.

Once it is functioning well, jobs will eventually be closer at your door steps”, Minister Jarbah maintained. He expressed special thanks to the Bangladeshi contingent of UNMIL for protecting the facility thus far adding “we as citizens and members of MPW family will forever remember you”.

Earlier, the Operation Officer of Bangladeshi Battalion 16 of UNMIL, Major Mo Bubayel-Ahmed thanked the Ministry of Public works authority for allowing them use the facility during their operation in Liberia. He said it is sad to leave Liberia but happy that stability has again return to Liberia. The Bangladeshi Battalion stationed at Camp Wainsue is expected to depart Liberia late April as a result of the expiration of their term of duty in Liberia.

For her part, Bong County Assistant Superintendent for Development Lucinda Herbert warned citizens of Wainsue to desist from looting and vandalizing the facility. She said the local government will be vigilant in buttressing support to MPW security in ensuring that the facility is protected.

Camp Wainsue as it is commonly called was temporarily given to UNMIL by the Ministry of Public Works to be used to keep the peace in Liberia. It is located in north-central Bong County. The structure was built and used by MPW prior to the civil war but was massively destroyed during Liberia’s civil war.

The turning over of the structure and its subsequent rehabilitation will put MPW in a better position to swiftly handle roads and infrastructure work at the regional.

The structure according to Assistant Minister Jarbah is expected to be rehabilitated in a sixty (60) day period.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Works has announced that it will this month launch its monthly press briefing named and styled “Rebuilding Liberia Together” in a bid to further inform and educate the Liberian people about its roads and infrastructure interventions currently spread across Liberia.

The disclosure was made yesterday when the New Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Hon. Cletus Sieh paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Public Works in an effort to develop a collective strategy on government’s information dissemination.

Stressing the importance of the Monthly Press Briefing, Minister Samuel Kofi Woods, II said the press briefing will be used to interact with the Liberian Press and provide information to the public on MPW’s intervention on Infrastructure and basic services within the context of the Poverty Reduction Strategy.

In welcoming Minister Cletus Sieh, Minister Woods expressed delight for his preferment by the President and subsequent confirmation by the National Legislature, and admonished the new MICAT boss to move with speed and clarity in ensuring that the general populace are correctly inform about the many positive and concrete accomplishments of this government .

According to Minister Samuel Kofi Woods, II the Ministry as the frontline agency of the Liberian government responsible for roads and infrastructural development, every effort must be exerted to inform the people about how their government is operating and what plans and activities are being initiated to improve their lives and raised the structural profile of the state.

In brief remarks, Hon. Cletus Sieh expressed satisfaction about the Ministry of Public Works’ current activities and promised to jointly work with the agency in ensuring that citizens are duly informed about the various initiatives of the Public Works Ministry.

He encouraged the MPW to take advantage of the various news outlets of the Information Ministry including the “New Liberian Newspaper” and the Liberia News Agency (LINA) in its information dissemination drive.

Davis & Andrews Join Liberia's Financial Mananagement Team

…Finance Minister Ngafuan Wants Them See Appointments Challenging
Finance Minister Augustine Ngafuan has reminded the newly confirmed Comptroller General of Liberia, John B. S. Davies and Assistant Finance Minister for Administration, Cain Prince Andrews, to consider their appointment among the 4.5 million people in Liberia as a challenge to them.

The Finance Minister also encouraged the new presidential appointees to be diligent in the discharge of their new duties, calling on them to be multidimensional players in controlling the nation's economy.

The Finance Minister spoke Monday, April 5, at the induction of the of the two Comptroller and the Assistant Minister on the 10th Floor of the Ministry of Finance where he urged the two officials to be more active. “When we find out that anyone is sleeping behind the wheel, we will shift the vehicle to another person,” the cautioned the two new financial managers of the government.

The minister continued that the new officials has join his 'indomitable' team at the Ministry to reengineer the ongoing financial management system. “As we proceed at the Finance Ministry, we are the ones that take care of the country's banana and that we should not be monkeys; which I think there is no monkey among us here anyway,” the Finance Minister further cautioned.

According to him, “We want multidimensional players here at Finance Ministry. What will happen to the ceremony here today depends on the individuals being introduced. As we celebrate today, let's celebrate tomorrow; let's celebrate day after tomorrow and forever.”

He formally introduced the two officials, and challenged them to be multidimensional players in shifting the destiny of the nation's financial management system.

Minister Ngafuan, notwithstanding, expressed confidence in the new Finance Ministry officials; he noted that Comptroller General Davies brings more experiences from the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI), while Assistant Minister Andrews brings to the table his technical know-how from the Budget Bureau.

The Minister Ngafuan also expressed happiness over the filling of the gab at the Finance Ministry, terming the two positions as critical to the performance of the Ministry. He maintained that the Ministry has operated without a Comptroller General more than a year following the dismissal of James Boker.
Although the two officials of the ministry awaits presidential commission, Minister Ngafuan said he was mandated by the President to introduce them to begin work.

Responding, Comptroller General Davis, who worked at LBDI and Andrews who worked at the Budget Bureau, informed Minister Ngafuan that their new assignment is a transfer of values they have accumulated over the years, indicating that they are not strange in the financial environment.

For Comptroller General Davies, who promised to not be “superfluous” with “verbosity” emptily promised to remain committed to financial propriety. He recalled, “ “Already at Finance Ministry, I am referred to as Armstrong Jackson,” the tough talking Comptroller General stated. Davies and Andrews were confirmed by the Liberian Senate last week.

In his own judgment and mode of operation at the LBDI, he said: I am already referred to as 'God Bless You Gate' at the LBDI, saying, “I am being called so because of my toughness in handling finance at the LBDI.”

He however allayed the fears of his office staff when he said, “I may be tough, I may be difficult, but I will not leaf you alone. All I expect is for every one to work harder so that we all will learn together.”

For their part, Deputy Ministers for Administration, Expenditure and Revenue, Messrs. Tarnue Mawolo , Arthur Fumba and Madam Elfreda Tamba received Davies and Andrews to the Ministry, and welcomed them to the public financial management system (PFMS).

Diplomat Charged With Murder

…Others Held in Court for M/land Ritual Cases

With suspicion dangling as to who made be directly linked to the Maryland County ritualistic killing imbroglio, reports from Cape Palmas say Internal Affairs Mr. Dan Morias and seven others were formally being charged while several others were release on the basis of lack of sufficient evidence to implicate and link them for prosecution while others who were released were also rearrested following revelations linking them.

The state said it had earlier released some of those held in connection with the alleged act based on the lack of sufficient evidence against them. Those reportedly released include Isaac Moore, a prominent citizen of the county, Henry Cole, local Chief of Office Staff and Walmle Elloit, a former Superintendent of the county.

The prosecution and release of some categories of suspects of the Harper ritualistic killing case came in the wake of reports of rising tension in Harper, Maryland County, after initial reports that Mr. Fulton Yancy was formerly charged for the murder of a 7-month old pregnant woman with her unborn child extracted for alleged human sacrifice.

The older brother of Cllr. Fulton Yancy, Mr. Allen Yancy, and several others, were convicted of the crime in 1977 and hanged in 1978.

Mr. Allen Yancy’s hanging by the William R. Tolbert Administration of the True
Whig Party at the time defied protests from members of the ruling class, who wanted Yancy shielded on ground that the convicted Yancy served as Vice President and chair of the lone ruling party, the True Whig Party.

Police sources in Monrovia, in the case involving his Fulton and other prominent Marylanders, earlier hinted that 23 persons, including the County's Development Superintendent, were arrested, prompting Justice Minister Christiana Tah to have flown to Harper where she held a citizens' meeting there.

Another top official arrested in connection with the crime Dan Morias, listed in the Truth and Reconciliation report for abuses when he served as Minister of Internal Affairs in the Charles Taylor regime. He now served as Special Envoy for the current Government.

Our Maryland Correspondent informed The NEW VISION that former Internal Affairs Minister and Ambassador At large Dan Morias and Six other persons who were recently rounded-up by the government in connection to recent cases of ritualistic killings in Harper, have been formally charged with murder and arraigned in court.

Reports named those accused along with Mr. Morias as Hudo Clark, the County's Chief Inspector, William Wallace a youth leader of the county, Madam Lucy Harmon and Alfred Thompson a District Commissioner in the county.

Reports further indicated that the above men were taken to court under tense security atmosphere. The reports also indicated that curious reporters who were following the case were turned down from covering the court proceedings.

But our correspondent in Harper told the NEW VISION via mobile phone that Ambassador Morias and other culprits were taken to court handcuffed as always cone to ‘common criminals’ or defendants in the criminal justice system of Liberia.

With journalists barred from the court proceeding, our correspondent who contacted the prosecutor, County Attorney Aloysius S. K. Alison on the nature of the proceedings, said attorney Alison declined to comment for reason that “The government has advised me against making public comments while the case was legally commencing.”

According to reporters in Harper, the Justice Ministry had released two of the alleged suspects, Alfred Thompson and Hudo Clark, but they both men were later rearrested and arraigned before the Harper Magisterial Court after 'revelation' allegedly linking them to the case were made.

Although no clear justifications as to the reasons for their re-arrest not made safe for what was referred to as revelation linking the reasserted accused, it was said that release after previous arrest was characterized by euphoria by local people in the county, who were show-casing the traditional war dance in support for the release of the accused.


Witch doctor evidence insufficient

Late last week, the accused were rounded up by the government after it was reported that traditional witch doctors have uncovered that they masterminded and carried out most of the ritualistic killings in the county. Two of the killings, allegedly involved a pregnant woman and a girl who were murdered with several parts extracted for alleged ritual purposes.

The men were arrested following series of protest actions by some local people in the county who raised alarm over the killings and called for justice in the matter.But the Liberian government through the Ministry of Justice has made it clear, that while it does not support the killings of innocent people, witch doctor's evidence is not admissible in the case.

In may be recalled that the Ministries of Justice, Internal Affairs, and Information disclosed in a joint news conference recently that investigations in the Maryland County ritualistic situation must be handled with care, because according to them, the penalty of ritualistic is death, therefore investigation needs to be thoroughly conducted without prejudice.

Noting that it would be problematic to use a witch doctor evidence which she said is only a list of people for arrest for prosecution, Justice Minister Tah furthered that the witch doctor is not a judicial officer to have assumed the enforcement of search warrant along with police and court officers.


Two bottles of blood discovered

According to even if it is with the court officers such collect information and evidence by a witch doctor is not proper, and that the government would only proceed with the case judicially when proper evidence are gathered linking people that may be liable.

Minister Tah said information gathered from the preliminary investigation revealed that the witch doctor along with a Sheriff from one of the courts in the county went to Cllr. Yancy's home and a girl working with Cllr. Yancy was instructed by the witch doctor to get 2 bottles in a corner of the house. The Minister quoted the information gathered as saying that the girl did as she was commanded, and brought forth the two bottles containing a liquid. Minister Tarr also said that there was no indication as to what was in the bottle.

The Justice Minister also disclosed that when his office contacted the accused (Cllr. Yancy), he denied the allegation, but blamed it on the witch doctor that the bottles were placed in there by the witch doctor only to implicate him.

During the news conference at the Justice Ministry, Minister Tarr said the two bottles with the dark liquid in it that is alleged to be blood, have since been transferred to Neighboring Ivory Coast for examination to detest whether it is a blood or not.

But Cllr, Yancy was since being held for murder and is at the Maryland
Prison compound awaiting court trial. He was charged as a result of the dark liquid which some considered as blood.

The Minister said Government has learnt a lot of lessons from the Lofa County saga, so, investigators will do their best to go in detail to investigate allegation involving these personality of the county.

Minister Tar said Government is doing everything possible to get to the bottom of the matter while it is presently holding consultation with citizens of the area to understand as to what is actually unfolding in Harper, Maryland County. She said though, the act of ritualistic killing is not a new phenomenon in that county, but it must come to an end.

This issue came about as a result of the disappearance of a 19- year old boy, James Morias and the eye witnessed butchering of one Jestina who was also killed recently by unknown persons.

The Justice Minister said government is not taking the issues lightly
because it involved lives and therefore they had consultation with several groups of the county making them to understand the legal implication of ritualistic perpetrators.


President Sirleaf concerned

Justice Minister Christiana Tah, also said President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was concerned about the peace and tranquility of the region.

“We have reports of the disappearance of individuals in the last month; we’ve
had reports of two individuals disappearing – a 19 year-old boy and then a young girl whose age is underdetermined disappeared. In both cases we have not seen any bodies. There’s no evidence that they have been killed. They just simply disappeared,” she said.

But Tah said President Sirleaf dispatched her and the internal affairs minister to the region because the residents there were becoming very anxious and tension was building in the region.

She said adding to the tension in the region was the fact that a witch doctor
provided the list from which the 18 suspects were arrested.

“We had 18 persons arrested based on a list that had been produced by a
traditional doctor upon which a warrant was obtained to search the homes of these suspects. This also is not consistent with our laws,” Tah said.

Maryland County is notorious for ritualistic killings. In 1977, Allen Yancy, vice president and chair of the then ruling True Whig Party was hang after being found guilty for the same practice.

In the latest episode, Counselor Fulton Yancy, a prominent government official in Maryland County is reportedly among the 23 suspects. Some reports said a bottle of human blood and the intestines of a dead child were found in Mr. Yancy’s home.

But Justice Minister Tah said her ministry knows of no human parts being found in people’s houses. “What we do know at this time was that two very small bottles were found in the home of Counselor Yancy. People speculate that what was in the bottles may have been blood and some human tissues. We do not know this for a fact. The Ministry has agreed to have the specimens sent to Ivory Coast for examination,” Tah said.

Tah said President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s government is concerned about instability in the region and the fact that the residents do not feel secured in their homes as a result of the alleged ritualistic killings.

“We are doing whatever we can to ensure that we try to get rid of this problem
because we are concerned about the peace and tranquility in that area. People tell me that they feel captive in their own homeland; they are not free to get out in the night to go to the bathroom or to go to the club. The young children are afraid to go out alone to the beaches,” Tah said.

She said President Sirleaf’s government has stepped up security and increased
the number of investigators to make the citizens of the region regain confidence in the rule of law. The Justice Minister also said the government has reopened some alleged ritualistic killings cases that had been closed and unsolved.

Tah said Liberians have been getting a lot of rumors and misinformation about the developments in country’s southeastern region of Maryland County.

She said she will try to set the record straight at her Tuesday news conference
in the capital, Monrovia.

Meaanwhile, latest report says Ambassador Morias has been released by the Magisterial Court in Harper for lack of evidence agaainst him. Correspondents say the court argued that no substance or evidence id found in his possession of residence as it was the case in others.

It is yet to be determined whether or not further investigation would remand the diplomat into custody based on allegations of ritual killings.

CBL Wants Private sector Strengthened

….Signs Pact Two Commercial Banks on Credit Authority
By: J. Baitermeayea Hilton, III/077219227

The Central Banks of Liberia (CBL) and two commercial banks, ECOBANK Liberia Limited and the International Bank have signed an agreement launching a partnership between USAID and two of our commercial banks aimed at increasing credit to small and medium sized enterprises(SMEs).

Speaking at the signing Ceremonies at the Central Bank’s Conference Room, CBL Governor Dr. Mill Jones said emphasis is being placed on agriculture in this agreement.

Agriculture, Executive Governor Jones said, is believed to be key to sustained growth and development, adding that in particular Agriculture will help deal with its balance of payments problem over the longer term.

“The heart of the program is a credit guarantee scheme, with USAID’s Development credit Agency sharing the lending risks with the banks involved for businesses that qualify under the program,” Dr. Jones told journalists at the signing of the agreement.

In his prepared text, the Central Bank Governor added, “I need to make one point clear; this is not an opening for businesses or individual entrepreneurs to borrow and not repay. The banks themselves will continue to do the requisite due diligence.”

He explained that against this background, the various business professional organizations have a responsibility to impress upon their membership that the efforts put into getting this credit guarantee scheme operational in Liberia will not be sacrificed by those who might not respect the need to honor financial commitment to the detriment of others who would see this as an opportunity to develop or expand their businesses.

“The need to improve the credit cultured in Liberia is the responsibility of all of us. For our part, the Central Bank of Liberia will remain a friend of the business sector and will continue to work to support the enhancement of Liberia entrepreneurship,” Dr. Jones assured.

According to him, “We leave here today thankful to the Government of the United States, an enduring partner in Liberia’s upward march to lasting peace, development and shared opportunities,” saying “We are pleased to be a part of an exercise that buttresses a position we have enunciated on several occasions and that is the need to strengthen the private sector to be able to mere effectively play its role as the engine of growth in the Liberia economy.”

He said part of this effort is to ensure the availability of financing on appropriate terms for existing small and medium sized enterprises and for entrepreneurs who want to start new businesses.

“We are hopeful that such exercise would not just be concentrated in Monrovia. But would be expanded to include SMEs throughout Liberia. We look forward to the involvement of other commercial banks and financial institutions in such a laudable undertaking,” he said further.

The CBL Executive Governor contended, “Let us make no mistake about it; Capitalism requires capital, and without capital all we have is ism. “So this is why we have been working so hand to grow and improve the banking system; to encourage competition; to move forward with out recapitalization plan; and to support the expansion of bank branches throughout the country.”

Also Speaking at the at the Signing ceremony, USAID Liberia Mission Director, Madam Pamela White said that Liberian is now getting to an exciting point in its recovery. The USAID Director maintained that the ceremony symbolizes the beginning of this important step.

The United States diplomat thanked the government for the hard work and many successes it has made since 2005; she also thanked the international community’s unwavering commitment to Liberia, a country, which she said, now finds itself entering a phase where the economic climate will allow the private sector to increase its importance as the engine for economic growth she said.

Madam white recalled that the shut down of many businesses during the 14-year civic conflict
in Liberia led to enormous lasses in productivity and prosperity. She said major among the lasses were those in the agricultural sector.

She noted Liberia’s under developed agricultural sector, which in her view, is holding the country back from realizing its potential.

USAID Liberia Mission Director reasoned that the women are the foundation on which this country’s agricultural sector is built, but added that currently the women find their efforts hampered by a lack investment capital to expand their business ventures.

USAID Director White also averred that launching of USAID’s Development Credit Authority Program will directly address the issue by easing the access to credit for small and medium sized enterprises in the agricultural sector in the country Liberia and allowing women entrepreneurs to make the expansions their businesses need to grow financially.

According to Madam White the opportunity of the credit goes with responsibility. According to her, USAID with its development credit authority and the American people are providing Liberian businesses in the Agricultural and energy sectors with those opportunities but those opportunities are not without responsibility.

She maintained the only way this program will work is if Liberian businesses shoulder responsibility of repay loans taken from the banks. Madam white also urge all Liberian entrepreneurs to use this opportunity wisely for the improvement of their businesses.

Meanwhile, the General Manager of ECOBANK, (Liberia Limited), Mr. Kola Adeleke has
pledged the Bank’s support to the initiative made possible by USAID in partnership with his bank and the International Bank. He said this gesture is yet another important milestone in the collective guest for national development and poverty reduction strategy of government.

Agricultural, Mr. Adeleke said, has been the bedrock of the Liberian economy, and Liberia’s
Economic development is therefore directly linked to the progress of the Agriculture sector.

The ECOBANK boss also called on all well meaning Liberians to take advantages of these investment opportunities, commending the Government President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for providing the enabling environment that allows banking institutions assume their proper and effective role in the economy recovery program of the country.

Is Media Discrimination Good Governance?

… The Cases the Executive Mansion & NEC Are Tacit Examples



By Bill K. Jarkloh
Email: bill_ksolborjarkloh@yahoo.com
Call: +231–(0)6-468-244

Media discrimination is a tenet of bad governance which in my view should be distanced from the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Government. This statement is against the backdrop of my observation regarding public affairs practices by Presidential Press Secretary Cyrus Badio which is now visiting the National Elections Commission (NEC) ahead of the 2011 elections. It is an indisputable fact that Presidential Press Secretary Cyrus is fond of selecting from certain group of media institutions to travel with the President, leaving out others such is the case pf the NEW VISION Newspaper.

Similar attitude of media discrimination is now making its way into the NEC. To begin with the Wednesday meeting of the National Elections Commission with some media institution is a bad precedence and a recipe for a divide and rule engagement of the NEC with the media during the ensuing national elections. The NEC, as the institution, scheduled a meeting with the media through radio announcement in a bid to engage the fourth estate on a means of collaboration in ensuring a successful election. In that announcement the NEC said it “hopes that invited media institutions are present” at the meeting.

True to the content of the announcement, the NEC sent out invitations to the exclusion of some media institutions. The reason for discriminating amongst the media outlets is not known; however, a staff of NEC, while I was returning to office to finish production, restated to me on Broad Street that the Commission had just met with “the press people.” This media operative of the NEC further informed me that several other invited media institutions were present, but he could not answer why was the meeting seeking media collaboration was limited to some media institutions and excluding others. The restriction of the meeting by the NEC media office to some institutions signal a wrong intention by the NEC to deal with only those institutions that it prefers and chooses to collaborate with.

The NEC pretended to forget that such is a recipe for future conflict, whereby the discriminated media institutions could operate outside the NEC-media collaboration plan and agenda. Does NEC forget that every print media institution has a readership and all electronic communication channels or frequencies have their respective listening audiences here and abroad? This means selecting and dividing the media would set up a media approach that could operate against the very commission.

The NEC should be told that there are groups of people with diverse and contentious interests that it would be dealing with 2011, and any of the two groups could use the left discriminated media outlets to propagate a situation that may push the Commission against its traditional norms of fairness and transparency during the conduct of elections.

As a matter of fact, the perception of free, fair and transparent conducts of the 12011 elections is highly becoming questionable in as much as the NEC would discriminate amongst the media institutions operating within its very proximity. In a practical reality, a national and democratic institution such as the NEC, which has begun to be discriminative in all its dealings with the media, has something to hide under its sleeves. This is to say that a transparent, fair and free minded NEC will not choose certain media institutions to plan election approaches and strategies collaboratively in a divide and rule fashion. To divide the media means that the institution itself through its media component has failed to uphold the tenets of transparency and is therefore is seen to be shrouded in unfairness and partiality for reason that its very media strategy and collaboration have come to be divisive d discriminatory in nature.

May I ask: What would be the NEC’s reaction if one of the discriminated papers or radio/TV stations (if any in the latter categories) is rigorous used to propagate the Commission’s partiality, unfairness and lack of transparency in the democratic process? Didn’t it think that every institution is playing a recording keeping and watchdog role? Is it that the NEC media operatives and commissioners are underestimating the capacities of journalists of the discriminated media themselves? Does the NEC forget that it is a democratic institution that should befriend and partner with all and every media and other democratic institutions to achieve its function successfully?

For me, the discrimination of other media institutions is a flaw in the NEC’s strategy to partner with the media, since every media institution including the ones that may be established today must have a stake in the electoral affairs of the country. Besides, all of the newspapers, radio and television stations have their respective unique potentials as well as readerships and audiences that have stakes in shaping the destiny of the country as far as successful outcome of the elections are concerned.

This is why I am not surprise at the NEC as a public institution. Some of these public institutions have the tendency of discriminating amongst the media. For instance, the office of the President is also doing that. Mr. Cyrus Badio who is the President’s Press Secretary has always led the President to selecting one group of institutions to go on trips, while the discriminated ones are those that give wider publicity and coverage to the Executive Mansion and other public institutions.

But they are deliberately discriminated and denied access to the Presidency when it comes to trips and sometimes negotiated exclusive interviews. This kind of behavior by public affairs and public relations offices of government is sometimes translated to the way they dish out advertisement and invite institutions to programs or press conferences.

I therefore call on all public institutions to be even-handed in dealing with the press so that at the end, they would not be trading blames of unprofessionalism against the discriminated media institutions and their operators. The fact is that no one should see one or few newspapers or radio stations to be more than the others. Every journalist was schooled and every newspaper or station has audience. You may not know the amount of influence the discriminated papers wheel in the public until when one stumbles foot against the stone, when media – discriminated or favored - begin to carry the filths or shortcomings to their respective or individual publics.

It is against this backdrop that public institutions interested in good governance are cautioned against media discrimination, which in my view, is pervasive in this government’s public relations/public affairs bureaucracy, especially using the cases of the NEC ands the Executive Mansion as discussed above. I also draw President Sirleaf’s attention to this kind of discrimination by her Press Secretary, so that every media institution, especially the NEW VISION would benefit from the exposures associated with presidential trips.