Grand Gedeans from various sectors of the county have expressed dismay and disappointment over the appointment of Alex Chersia Grant as Superintendent of the county, insisting that the decision is a flagrant disregard to the Local Government Act of 2018, which stipulates that a person desiring to be a superintendent in the country should be a holder of a bachelor’s degree as well as “the fact that Mr. Grant is not a unifier as his records of divisiveness among our people speak volumes”.
In a strongly worded press statement issued yesterday and distributed to media institutions, the citizens of Grand Gedeh County under the aegis of Campaign for Integrity and Good Governance in Grand Gedeh County said while they are aware of the prerogative of the President to appoint people who meet his will and pleasure as it is enshrined in the 1986 Constitution of Liberia, they were taken aback that President Boakai was not properly advised on the choice of Grant, “who under no circumstances should come around serious governance environment anywhere in the country, including Grand Gedeh County”.
“From the onset, let us bring it to the attention of those who may have influenced the decision to send the name of former Representative Alex Chersia Grant to the President for the position of Superintendent that they have desecrated the reputation of the entire country because he did not meet the minimum qualification to be the superintendent,” the Campaign for Integrity and Good Governance in Grand Gedeh County said during anappearance on the ELBC Bumper Show.
“The local government act clearly stipulates that to be a superintendent you must have a first degree, minimum,and our records show that Grant does not have any. Besides not having, he was caught faking his academic credentials by both the University of Liberia and the Cuttington University, where he was pursuing graduate studies and got expelled after glaring pieces of evidence revealed that he forged his purported degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.”
The group, led by Kai Gee, an activist in the county, said such act of criminality that brought disgrace to the county and its people should not be crowned with appointing Grant as the next Superintendent when there are a huge pool of qualified sons and daughters from the county who are ready, willing and able to provide the kind of leadership that will change the developmental agenda of the county.
“We should not support and patronize this glaring show of shame and disgrace by bowing down to whatever influence that may exist among us or outside of us, bent to further deplete the level of sanity among our people and destroy the county for good. Obviously Grant should be the least person coming around to lead a county of noble people like Grand Gedeans, who are proud of their dignity and sense of direction,” the release said.
The group also cited the issue of forging greater unity among the people, and said they believe that Grant does not make the mark owing to his antecedents of dividing the people and not showing any sense of reconciling the county.
“Secondly, we need a superintendent that will be accepted by the people, not someone whose presence will drive the people away, divide them and cause confusion.
“It is on record that since the death of Alfred Dunner, the former logistics officer of the local office of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Grant has not been able to visit Konobo District and speak to the people and, if possible, hold reconciliation meeting after his name was mentioned as one of those accused of being linked to the disappearing and death of the late Alfred Dunner,” the group said.
Grant, according to the group in a radio appearance on the ELBC Bumper Show, an African spirit called “Gayetrengbey” noted for taking away people in the spiritual realm in Grand Gedeh County, took away the late Alfred Dunner. “This statement has resulted in huge division in Grand Gedeh County for the past two years,and Grant cannot visit Konobo Statutory District up to this day,” the group said.
The group then urged President Boakai not to allow himself to be misled into destroying his legacy by appointing Grant as the superintendent. The group maintained that they are not blaming the President for the decision but “there is now a window for him to save his legacy by withdrawing the appointment of this fellow who means nothing for the county other destroying what we collectively have fought for to hold as our common denominator”.