Cowfield Community, which was worst hit by the civil war, should have been a cradle of good leadership for other communities to assimilate, but the people’s will was tempered with by the Elder Council, which allegedly forced a leadership on them; writes Ojuku Silver-tongue Kangar, Jr.
In 2020, the community elected former Chairman Alex Z. Momo to stir the community’s affairs for two years, but he was ousted by the Elder Council due to mere propaganda.
“We are hereby suspending from office Mr. Alex Z. Momo as Chairman of the Cow-field community, pending the investigation by the Council of Elders into the complaints filed against him,” the Head of the Council of Elders (COE), Professor Weade Kobbah-Boley, said at the time. “Why that investigation is going on, we are hereby appointing Mr. Cyrus Z. T. Gweh to act as chairperson until the investigation is over, and we will report to the community in fifteen working days.”
Acting Chairman Gweh was given a three-month mandate by the Elders Council to take the community to election, but Since 2020 the community is yet to conduct election, causing the residents to go at loggerhead with him, a situation that compelled him to call a meeting on Sunday and announce the conduct of elections the last week in April 2023.
“He has a three-month mandate, but unfortunately, Cyrus Gweh has failed,” David G. Roberts, the community’s Constitution Committee Secretary said. “He can’t call us for meeting, and we don’t know what is happening. Has has left the community vulnerable.”
In 2020, 532 residents of the community, through a written communication before the Elders Council, declared Momo’s “removal and vote of no confidence”. They outlined the following counts for his removal or suspension: misinterpretation of the chairman’s tenure, failure to give financial report or progress report to the community since his ascendancy; his suspension from Community and Leadership Development Association (CALDA), committing the community to endorse Thomas F. Fallah’s candidacy during the senatorial bye-election; and his then leadership at loggerhead with Representative Rustolyn Suacco Dennis.
Then Chairman Momo was not served a warning letter by the Elder Council and was abruptly suspended. While the council is still looking into the matter, Acting Chairman Gweh leads the community with vulnerability.
During Sunday’s meeting held at the Obama School in Cow-field, he assured the residents that the mandate given him to conduct elections has become overdue; therefore, elections will be held the last week in April. The decision encouraged the community’s members, who pledged their unflinching support to the pending electioneering process.
Responding to the community’s query about how the election would be held, Chairman Gweh said that Elder Logan Stewart has written 16 epistles to eminent people to patronize the elections but they have not responded positively.
On how previous community elections had been held, Elder Stewart said that the community is on record of writing Montserrado County’s district #4 Representative Rustolyn Suacco Dennis and other financiers for assistance for the conduct of elections in the community. He added that the community also used aspirants’ registration fund to carry out elections.
However, the community is challenged financially. The budget proposed by former Election Commissioner, P. Kodea Nehwangbaye, is US$1,171.83, but it could not be raised, compelling the community to present L$40,000 to the newly appointed Election Commissioner, Rev. Saturday James, Jr., and coworkers to conduct the elections in April.
At present, the community has both Liberian dollar and United States dollar accounts, but the two accounts have little amounts in them.
“In the US account, we have US$50, while the Liberian dollar account has L$10,000,” Chairman Gweh said, assuring the resident that he will withdraw from the accounts to enable the commissioners to start the process.
Some members of the community pledged the following for the conduct of the elections: a realm of sheets, L$5,000, printing of communication and doing graphic works for the community’s fliers and banners.
The community has called on Chairman Gweh to adhere to the last week in April for election, or he will be dislodged.