Three executive members appear before majority bloc lawmakers seeking to oust Speaker Fonati Koffa despite a request from the embattled Speaker not to do so.
By Bridgett Milton
Monrovia, Liberia, November 13, 2024- Despite embattled Speaker J. Fonati Koffa’s request to President Joseph N. Boakia not to allow any member of the cabinet or officials of government to appear before rebel lawmakers here styled as majority bloc, three officials of government have appeared before that faction to answer to them.
Internal Affairs Minister Francis Sakila Nyumalin, Minister of Transport Sirleaf Tyler, and Mo Ali, Managing Director of LWSC, appeared before the majority bloc.
The Minister of Internal Affairs was invited to provide a report on the rollout of the Local Government Act of 2018 and explain why County Service Centers across the country are not providing services to the people.
The majority bloc also invited LWSC Director Ali and Transport Minister Tyler to clarify a recent statement by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission about alleged bribery involving them.
Speaking before the majority bloc Tuesday, Minister Nyumalin told the body that he was attending their invite because, under the separation of power doctrine, the Legislature oversees the other two branches of government. Whenever a representative from his district has the authority to invite him, he must attend.
The former senator defends, “Most especially so, when you have 43 members of the House of Representatives sitting, and they call me, I must attend.”
He says one of the pillars of President Boakai’s agenda is decentralization, and they have been instructed that decentralization plays a full role in the government’s operations, so they have no choice but to implement it.
For his part, LWSC’s Mo Ali notes that information about his entity bribing the Majority is false and misleading, adding that because the LWSC operates on best financial practices and cannot afford to withdraw a cent from its account without stating clear reasons for such withdrawal.
Transport Minister Tyler buttresses Ali that the information is false and misleading but calls on the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate quickly.
While in session in the Joint Chambers, some members of the embattled Speaker Fonati’s bloc forcefully made their way to the Joint Chambers to disturb the session but were resisted by the security of the majority bloc.
It was in that process members of the Majority bloc and some Journalists were pepper sprayed allegedly by Rep. Marvin Cole, leaving the entire chambers coughing.
