The Movement with Integrity for National Development (MIND) says its attention has been drawn to rumor trending on social media and emanating specifically from Montserrado County’s district #10 Representative, YekehKolubah, that a well calculated ploy is being orchestrated by members of the 55th National Legislature under the instrumentality of the President Joseph Nyumah Boakai, to oust Speaker J. Fonati Koffa.
This rumor, according to a MIND press release, has it that the ploy is multifaceted, but the first sees members of the 55th Legislature issued coupons of US$4,500 to acquire office supplies from J-Mart, a furniture supplier in Monrovia.
“While we cannot come to terms with the possibility that usage of payment to conspirators will be dictated by the person engineering this entire saga, let’s condemn in the strongest terms any attempt in this direction and warn that MIND will engage in unspecified activities against anyone getting involved in a design to disrupt the independence of the first branch of government,” MIND observed in its release.
MIND said it is cognizant of past regimes’ineffectiveness at accountable, democratic governance and service delivery as a result of the compromise of the independence of the Legislature and, therefore, reiterates its disdain for such. MIND assured that it will not sit idly by and watch an attempt to disrupt democratic governance go into effect.
“Speaker J. Fonati Koffa, against whom this alleged undemocratic plot is directed, in fact, has demonstrated commitment to using the authority of the Speakership to assist in the bringing of the government’s agenda to successful conclusion for public good. MIND would like to recall that of recent, as an evidence of the Speaker’s willingness to complement the workings of the Executive Branch against opposition from some members of the House, he supported the authorization of emergency spending when there was no legal basis for such and justified his action by saying at stake was the survival of the more than 65,000 public servants and the upkeep of the economy under difficult times.
“Additionally, in regards to the President’s agenda for the establishment of the war and economic crime court, the Speaker can also be seeing complementing the preference of the Executive in this direction.
“In the face of these demonstrated acts of support for bringing the agenda of the Executive to fruition, we find it highly selfish and disruptive to the public good that members of the Legislature and the Chief Executive would want to plot to oust the Speaker. We hereby caution those engineering any attempt of such to disengage forthwith and focus on service delivery and democratic and accountable governance, rather than pursuing selfish agenda at the detriment of the coordination between the two branches of government and the stability of our country.
“Conclusively, MIND uses the medium to remind the Speaker to remain the focused and determined public servant he is, continuing to do the urgent and most important work of the Liberian people,” the civil society group’s press release noted.