The US$30,000 allotted for each lawmaker for Legislative Engagement in the 2020/2021 National Budget has raised much contention in recent times, to the extent that some lawmakers are being glorified for leaking the information to the public while others are being heavily criticized for playing a role in the allotment in the face of a dying health sector.
The initial allotment of US$15,000 was disbursed sometime last month, with all the lawmakers getting their fair allotment. The Senator of Margibi County, J. Emmanuel Nuquay, in his quest to inform his constituents how he intended using the money, made it public that lawmakers had received US$15,000 for legislative engagement, as was allotted for them in the national budget.
While Senator Nuquay was being hailed for the disclosure, the Senator of Montserrado County, Abraham Darius Dillon, was heavily criticized for playing a role in the allotment of the money amidst a struggling economy and a dying health sector. Senator Dillon, who is often found discussing the activities of the Capitol, was condemned for what the public considered “playing to the business-as-usual” and for taking the Liberian people for granted.
Immediately, Senator Dillon took to a Facebook podcast, soliciting views in regard to spending the US$15,000, since he had already blundered by accepting the money. Later, the senator announced that he would transfer the amount the account of the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE) for onward implementation of his preferred project for Montserrado County, but was shunned by the agency—refuting the money and informing the lawmaker that it would be against its standards of receiving funds.
Senator Dillon later announced that he would give the money to the Montserrado County Health Team to be used to procure more beds and other items in the fight against COVID-19, but was again shunned.
What Senator Dillon did with the initial US$15,000 is yet to be made known to the public. It can be recalled that his cyberg team donated to some health centers, but it was not made known whether or not the funds were a portion of the US$15,000.
Again, on Thursday, July 15, 2021 Senator Nuquay, in a release, broke the news of the Government of Liberia (GOL) disbursing the remaining US$15,000 to the lawmakers, disclosing what his office intends to do with his portion of the money.
However, members of Senator Dillon’s team have said that the Office of the Senator has not been alerted on such disbursement, and when the money reaches their office it will be reverted to government’s coffers effective immediately. According to them, the money is needed the most at this time to save lives; as such, Senator Dillon is not willing to accept any such money.
Observers are wondering whether the statement coming from those with close ranks with the Senator is being made out of fear that the public will be frustrated about the man who claims to stand for the sanctity of the Senate, or the Senator is intending to do the government a favor, as the money has already been appropriated for him and not intended to be given back.
On the Spoon Talk on Thursday, Montserrado County’s district #8 Representative, Moses Acarous Gray, argued that it was the lawmakers who determined that the funds were necessary for them to use in their engagements with their constituencies, and that no one lawmaker differed with the allotment proposal.
Members of the public are saying that, if Representative Gray’s assertion is anything to go by, then there is no need for Senator Dillon to pretend to the people like he did not know how the money was allotted or keep embarrassing himself about what to do with the money; instead, he should accept the money in peace, use it in peace and keep quiet in peace.
They say the Senator did not consult his constituency when he voted in favor of allotting the money for the lawmakers, and so he need not consult them now, as he has joined the bandwagon of unrepetent looters of the state coffers.
Senator Dillon’s stance against corruption and the fight for the moral uprightness of the Liberian Senate is drastically diminishing, with the Senator suffering from double character loss in less than a month. A few weeks ago, he was accused of flying business class to the United States of America—an allegation that the Senator took serious exception to, claiming to have ridden economy class.
The Senator was soon brought to his kneels when proof of his business class ticket was published by the FrontPage Africa. In a disgraceful and a nowhere-to-hide situation, Senator Dillon apologized for lying to the public and promised never to repeat the occurrence. But as the saying goes, “Each betrayal begins with trust”, and so it seems of Senator Dillon, who was elected in two highly contended senatorial elections due to the people trusting his word—that he would make public all the workings, secrets and micheavous activities of the Liberian Senate.