The confirmation hearing of Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and Deputy Finance Minister Samora Wolokolie as Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) has been rescheduled for today, Friday, January 5, 2023 as a result of a disruption by staffers of the Liberian Senate.
The disruption was triggered by staffers of the Liberian Senate, demanding the benefits for their two-month extra sitting, owed them for the two Special Sessions requested by President George M. Weah.
The protest disrupted the scheduled confirmation of the two presidential nominees, highlighting their dissatisfaction in their respective bosses.
President Weah recently recalled the 54th Legislature from their constituency break in-line with Article 32 of the 1986 Liberian Constitution to conduct to perform certain legislative functions crucial to the state of affairs.
In the interim, President Weah received an early resignation from Associate Justice Joseph Nagbe, who tendered in his resignation due to a protracted illness. On Tuesday, December 26, 2023 President Weah nominated Justice Minister, Cllr. Frank Musa Dean, to replace Associate Justice Nagbe based on his early resignation due to a protracted illness.
In that same light, the President on Tuesday further announced the nomination of Deputy Finance Minister for Fiscal Affairs, Dr. Samora Wolokolie, as Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) after the demise of the former Commissioner General, Thomas Doe Nah, who died a few days ago. President Weah also nominated Alieu Massaquoi as Ambassador-designate to Saudi Arabia.
These nominees were to be evaluated by the respective Senate committees in order for them to make an informed decision as to whether they should be confirmed or not. The hearings were scheduled for Thursday, January 4, 2024, but unfortunately they could not go as planned due to the disruption from the Senate staffs.
Speaking to legislative reporters on behalf of his colleagues Thursday, January 4, 2024 on the grounds of the Capitol Building in Monrovia, the Chair of the Senate Legislative Staffers, Charles Brown, indicated that it is appalling that senators are not doing anything to seek the welfare of their staffers.
According to him, senators should have told their staffers to stay away if they were to return to work on pro-bono basis, as recalling them from their break is Constitutional and should be paid for.
He however clarified that their protestation is in demand of their Constitutional benefits owed them and not politically motivated or an attempt to halt any confirmation hearing, as being speculated in the public.
Brown further revealed that they will not relent on their protestation until their benefits or arrears are addressed and settled, promising to continue their protestation till Tuesday, at which time the extra sitting will come to an end.
In reaction to the protesters’ claims, Senate Pro-Tempore Albert Chie denied the allegations, clarifying that at no point in time did the members of the Senate ever receive money from the Ministry of Finance and siphoned it.
In an interview with legislative reporters, the Pro-Temp further clarified that discussion is still on-going with the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the two-month extra sitting benefits are paid.
Senator Chie added that the government has not paid a dime for the Special Session to lawmakers as an inducement to conduct confirmation hearings of the President’s nominees and, as such, the allegation is false, misleading and has no iota of truth.
Meanwhile, Cllr. Dean, Dr. Wolokolie and Massaquoi are expected to return to the Capitol today at 10:00 a.m. for their confirmation hearing, in line with the Constitution of the Republic of Liberia.