The Chairman emeritus of the Research and Policy Response of JNB for President 2023, Martin K.N. Kollie, has written a short note to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai with a sharp reminder that members of the “Rescue Mission” promised to make their assets public and not to hide them as managers of public resources.
In his note to President Boakai, Kollie said, “Mr. President, I write this short note from my heart and out of respect for your office. We promised our people in 2023 that candidate Joseph Nyumah Boakai would have publicly declared his assets upon being elected President. You, yourself, also promised to do this because you once said ‘public governance is about openness, transparency, and service’.
“We, the Liberian people, criticized and condemned President George Weah for only declaring his assets in secrecy with GAC and LACC as you have also done. Weah was voted out because of this same reason. What makes you different from Weah in this case of hiding or concealing your assets? Public service is not secrecy. Whenever you are managing public resources, you cannot be confidential or secretive about what (private assets) you have because what you manage (public assets) are not yours but the people.
“Your ‘advisors turned so-called lawyers’ are now quoting ‘The Law’ that ‘publishing your assets is not mandatory according to Section 10.1 of the 2014 Code of Conduct Law’.
This was Weah’s argument to us in 2018, and he was greeted with endless protests. This same so-called argument has been callously presented to us justifying why you cannot publicly declare your assets. You are using Weah’s playbook which we fought to alter/change. This is business as usual.
“Had you quoted this same law justifying why you can’t make public your assets before the 2023 presidential election or before coming to power, some of us would have never supported you or built an army of diehard Liberian patriots to support you. We came to power based on these values: Accountability, Transparency, Openness, Service, and Patriotism.
“Mr. President, are you aware that the Law (Section 10.2) also states, ‘All such declarations shall be accessible to both the public employer and the general public upon a court order?’
“Why even hide your asset declaration details when they will still be leaked at the end of the day as it was done in Weah’s case?
“Mr. President, what is there to hide from your people at age 80? Mr. President, we once again call for an open and transparent government. This must first begin with you publicly declaring your assets. We had to stop telling other officials to make public their assets because the President has not done the same. The gold standard begins with the leader. Sometimes, we are even embarrassed.
“As someone who supported your presidency, I make this call out of love for our country and people and out of respect for your office to please make public your assets. Mr. President, please make public your assets. The LACC just reported that 60% of your officials (293 out of 500) haven’t declared their assets. We have seen some asset declaration forms. Some of your officials have inflated and are inflating the monetary values of their assets because they want to steal. This will backfire. We will pursue this also.
“The Senegalese President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has set a great example. Before he could even come to power on April 2, 2024 he declared his assets and made them public. See the attachments of Faye’s assets: One (1) House on 200 Meter Square of Land in Mermoz, Two Used Vehicles: a 2012 Focus acquired in 2019 worth 6.5 million CFA Franc and a Ford Explorer Platinum acquired in 2022 worth 19 million CFA Franc, an 80m/40 Plot of Land acquired in 2017 worth 3 million CFA Franc and 4.3 hectares of agriculture land acquired in 2022 worth 15.05 million CFA Franc, Two Bank Accounts with a total of 4.1 million CFA Franc.
“Faye’s liabilities/debts account for 30 million CFA Franc (Loan taken on Sept. 5, 2022), 8 million CFA Franc Payroll Loan taken on August 22, 2022, and 10 million CFA Franc Loan from a friend. Conversion: 1 CFA Franc = 0.0016 U.S. Dollars. So for instance, 30 million CFA Franc debt that Faye owes is just US$49,080. This is not even 50k. Please read through the attached for full details of Faye’s assets.
“Mr. President, we did not support Faye but we know his assets and liabilities. Because we supported you with the promise/agreement that you will make your assets public, we are calling on you to do what you promised. This is a reminder of what we promised our people. We cannot say something else now. We cannot change the rules in the middle of the game. Remember, this is tied to your legacy.”