Better Future Foundation (BFF), a civil society non-state actor on the regional integration of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) community process, has advanced a number of key recommendations to the Government of Liberia (GOL), through the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Liberia Immigration Service (LIS), the Judiciary, and other major stakeholders, as the LIS embarks on critical reform measures aimed at improving its services in line with the ECOWAS regional integration process.
Speaking at a day-long working forum with representatives of aliens of ECOWAS Citizens Union (ECU) communities and Heads of Liberian state security agencies, held on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, at the Temple of Justice, Capitol Hill, Monrovia, BFF Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Augustine Arkoi, called on the Government of Liberia (GOL) to declare a minimum 90-day ultimatum, and that during this period all aliens from ECOWAS member countries, specifically those with faulty travel, naturalization and other necessary documents, be allowed to have said records appropriately ratified through the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) and other relevant agencies.
BFF, through its Founder, disclosed that many citizens of the 15-ECOWAS member countries as well as Cameroon are currently faced with multiple naturalization and travel challenges in Liberia that need to be professionally handled and fully addressed, consistent with the Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and its relevant protocols and conventions and in the promotion of the regional integration process that primarily focuses on free movement of ECOWAS citizens, including the right to reside and work in member countries.
The BFF leader further indicated that such ultimatum must be friendly, embracing, affordable and free of any form of intimidation, harassment and penalty to ensure full compliance by all.
According to the BFF CEO, any act of unethical behavior in the implementation of the LIS reform process would potentially scare away aggrieved ECOWAS citizens and seriously undermine the on-going efforts aimed at strengthening the integrity and credibility of the LIS reform measures and its statutory mandates and other responsibilities.
The BFF Founder further recommended significant reduction of fees currently being charged by the Liberian authoritiies in the initiation of processing naturalization documents, in the amount of US$750 and US$3,000, after one is finally considered an eligible alien in Liberia.
He indicated that the Liberian government should consider charging aliens from ECOWAS member countries in harmony with amounts being charged by other ECOWAS member countries for aliens, which are generally affordable.
In the spirit of ECOWAS regional integration, BFF also recommended that the GOL considers harmonizing its naturalization processes and fees in line with moderate fees being charged by other ECOWAS member states.
Arkoi, at the same time, underscored the need for naturalization policies being formulated in the LIS reform process to be formally validated by other relevant stakeholders, including the ECOWAS Citizens Union, civil society, prodemocracy groups and the academia to enhance their acceptability and smooth implementation.
BFF, in its concluding recommendation, reflected on the hardship, humiliation and apparent discrimination being faced by the negro wives of Liberian nationals in the country. BFF referenced the case of a particular non-negro wife who has lived in Liberia for nearly four decades (37 years), gave birth to five children, some of whom are now engineers and medical doctors serving the country, and in most cases prohibited from obtaining employment opportunities in Liberia.
BFF said it would be prudent for the Liberian authorities to revisit the cases of such non-negro wives in the country and place them in a special category by granting them special waver to permanently reside and work in the country, in order to enhance the livelihood of their families, communities and the larger society.
BFF used the occasion to applaud the Government of Liberia (GOL), through the Ministry (MOJ), LIS, and particularly the Judiciary for making special allocation to convene and facilitate the dialogue with the objective of reforming the Liberian naturalization process in the mutual interest of the Liberian government and particularly aliens of the ECOWAS Citizens Union.
Other personalities who graced the forum, organized by the Liberian Immigration Service Reform Process in Collaboration with Criminal Court “B” and relevant stakeholders, were His Honor, Francis Korkpor, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia; Cllr. Frank Musa Dean, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Liberia; the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Guinea, Dore Abdulaye Dore, who is also the Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps; Criminal Court “B” Judge, Ceaineh D. Clinton-Johnson; Thomas Doe-Nah, Head of Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA); J. Henric Pearson, Director of National Security Agency (NSA).
Others were J. Tieh Nagbe, Director General, National Identification Registry; Cllr. Dewey Gray, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Legal Affairs; Prince Kaba Momolu, Principal Registry, Vital Statistics; Robert W. Budy, Sr., Commissioner General of LIS, among others.