The National Civil Society Union of Liberia (NACSUL) has rubbished the clandestine operation of certain Unity Party officials and officials of government and condemned the illegal takeover of the National Social Security Corporation (NASSCORP), which is protected by tenure.
NACSUL said it sees the action of those it described as “self-seeking bigots” as a contradiction to the political agenda on which the Boakai administration was elected.
It can be recalled that the headquarters of the National Social Security Corporation (NASSCORP) was a scene of political embarrassment on Monday, March 4, 2024 when top operatives of the Unity Party (UP) took an “Officer-in-Charge” to the entity but were rejected by the staff.
During the afternoon hours of Monday, March 4, 2024, the Chairman of UP and Board Chairman of the National Port Authority, Rev. Luther Tarpeh, along with Gbarpoluand Bong Counties senators, Gbotoe Kanneh and Prince Moye, and the former Chairman of the party now Minister of Commerce and Industry, Amin Modad, walked on the staff of the institution and called an impromptu meeting to introduce Cllr. Moifee Kanneh, whom they said was appointed by President Joseph N. Boakai to take charge of the entity until an appropriate director-general is appointed. They had with them a letter, which they claimed was the official appointment letter from the Office of the President.
In a release issued on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, NACSUL wondered how appointed officials of government would want to use their proximity to the Presidency to hijack a state-owned enterprise without the knowledge and acquiescence of the President. “This is unprecedented and unhealthy for our democracy. A group of senators, who belong to a separate branch of government, cannot be involved with conniving with party zealots to denigrate their personality by ganging up to force someone who was not appointed by the President to take charge over NASSCORP,” the group observed.
NACSUL then lauded the Deputy Director General of NASSCORP, Camerna C. Yeke, who is acting as Director General in the absence of Dewitt vonBallmoos, for speaking truth to the unrecognized delegation that there was no official communication sent to the entity regarding Cllr. Kanneh’s appointment.
Professionally, the group said, Yeke told the UP/government delegation that vonBallmoos has looked up for Cllr. Kanneh’s appointment on the Executive Mansion website and contacted the Executive Mansion, but was assured that he is still in charge of NASSCORP; as such, Cllr. Kanneh should reconfirm with the Executive Mansion.
The group expressed dismay in the unbecoming attitude of the UP Chairman, Rev. Luther Tarpeh, and the two senators who accompanied Cllr. Kanneh to NASSCORP, recommending that President Boakai institute punitive action on the presidential appointees and file an official complaint with the Liberian Senate regarding senators Prince Moye and Gboto Kanneh’s behavior.
The group further recommended that an investigation be launched into how Cllr. Kanneh obtained an appointment letter without the knowledge of the President and the culprits be named, shamed and dismissed from public service.
Meanwhile, NACSUL is calling on His Excellency President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to take charge of his administration. The group asserted that there are several wolves in sheep’s clothing, urging the President to be careful with those around him, as they may be the factor for his becoming unpopular with the citizenry.