By Mohammed M. Bamba, Jr.
It has been a year since Mayor John Siaffa assumed leadership of the Monrovia City Government. The city possesses significant potential for growth if only the current leadership would effectively utilize the substantial foundation laid by the previous administration under Mayor Koijee.
A few minutes ago, we heard Mr. John Siaffa’s first State of the City Address (SOCA) presented to the Monrovia City Council, marking the Monrovia Day celebration in accordance with Ordinance #4 of the act establishing the City Government of Monrovia. As anticipated, Mr. Siaffa again failed to correct the misinformation and falsehoods his team has fed him for the past year. Regrettably, he shamelessly reiterated those significant achievements he inherited as his own, deceiving the people of Monrovia while saying little to nothing about what he has done differently in his year as mayor. It is shameful that he barely connects his thoughts and displays a complete lack of truthfulness as mayor of our capital. This charlatan lacks the vision to properly discharge his duties as mayor and instead resorts to lies and whitewashing his role in history.
On February 16, 2024, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate, Mr. Siaffa promised, among other things, that within 100 days, “he would ensure the Ministry of Finance releases the US$125,000 payment for the Chessmanburg residents’ Resettlement Action Plan, establish a Joint Task Force to address issues such as petty traders and children as street vendors, hold a stakeholder conference on sanitation, and develop a five-year strategic plan.” The old people say, “If your Christmas will be good, you will know from the eve.” What we have seen thus far, from Mr. Siaffa’s inaugural cleaning activities to his appointments, contradicts the commitments made on February 16, 2024, to the Liberian Senate.
The $125,000 has yet to be paid to the residents of Chessmanburg. The Joint Task Force has done nothing to address the issue of petty traders on Main Street or children as street vendors, and there has been no stakeholder conference on sanitation. Sadly, a strategic plan with well-tailored programs to make Monrovia great, developed by the former mayor, already exists, but perhaps the novice Mayor Siaffa is unaware of it.
From the outset, Mr. Siaffa has demonstrated a complete lack of solutions to keep Monrovia clean, green, and safe. Instead, we witness a city that is being governed by a group of inexperienced individuals—his self-proclaimed “friends and family”—who seem intent on self-enrichment at the expense of Monrovia’s residents. Immediately, corruption became evident, overshadowing a man purportedly striving to revive his business after the LRA’s closure of the SIAFFA MEDIA STORES, owned by John Siaffa, due to tax fraud and evasion. Over US$150,000 allocated for the JNB/JKK inaugural cleanup was unaccounted for by Mayor Siaffa, leaving us with doubt about his management of the city budget. Had it not been for the intervention of the business community, from whom John Siaffa was allegedly extorting funds, including the Fula community, the young people who dedicated their time to cleaning the city prior to the inauguration, we could have had the worst on inauguration day than the falling off Mr. Boakai.
Mr. Siaffa once again failed to reassure Monrovia’s citizens of his commitment to leading an effective city government for all Monrovians, not just his friends, family, or so-called Unity Party partisans. Running a city government is not about partisanship or favoritism; it requires professionals with the expertise and experience to ensure its effectiveness. Today, a year later, all we see is the dismissal, demotion, humiliation, and utter disregard for hundreds of professional young men and women, many of whom served the city government even before Mayor Koijee’s arrival six years ago. Numerous professionals were trained with taxpayer money and donor funds in diverse fields, ranging from solid waste management and city planning to sanitation, finance, health, and administration.
It is blatantly obvious that John Siaffa’s greatest accomplishment is dismissing and humiliating professionals, replacing them with his family and friends—individuals who are nothing more than ignorant figures parading around with inflated salaries while accomplishing nothing.This profound insensitivity and assault on professionals within the city government has created immense division among the workforce, resulting in ineffectiveness in the city’s proper management. John needs to understand that state resources are not intended for his family and friends, nor are they meant to resuscitate his defunct SIAFFA MEDIA STORES. They belong to all Liberians. If Slaffa aims to lead a united city government, he must refrain from illegally dismissing young professionals, blindly demoting professionals, and relegating them to insignificant roles with no real authority. All they can do is mark their attendance while his inexperienced associates struggle to manage the city’s affairs.
Mr. Siaffa, his cronies, including his uninformed Chief of Office Staff, the ignorant Director-General for Fiscal Affairs, and the group of sycophants who sing his praises, are ushering in corruption and a dormant city on an unprecedented scale, marked by blatant abuse and misuse of power.
His message today offered no indication that his administration is committed to reconciling its deeply divided workforce. Mr. Siaffa continues to ignore the widening divisions caused by his ill-advised decisions and the long-term consequences they will have for the city’s governance.
INSTITUTIONAL REFORM
Unlike Mayor Siaffa, Mayor Koijee retained all employees and encouraged them to prioritize Liberia over partisan politics. Mayor Koijee avoided creating redundant positions with overlapping functions and responsibilities, which has fostered a more positive work environment at the Monrovia City Corporation. In contrast, Mayor Siaffa has created more Director-General positions with nearly identical terms of reference, seemingly to accommodate friends and cronies. This has undermined staff effectiveness and hampered the corporation’s administrative management.
The MCC today is plagued by a terrible patronage system, resulting in the unlawful dismissal of some of its most talented professionals to make room for the mayor’s cronies. This is a key reason why Liberia’s public sector struggles with consistently low productivity. Within a single year, we have seen a witch hunt and the unlawful dismissal of more than 35 professionals, including World Bank-trained solid waste practitioners and experts, over 200 City Police officers trained by the LNP, and more than 50 parking attendants. Most of these dismissals appear to be politically motivated.
Mayor Siaffa’s justification today for these dismissals was because there is no fund to pay salary. This is a blatant lie because most of those dismissed are civil servants paid by the central government. Let it be known that they were dismissed because of their perceived political affiliation with the opposition.
Mayor Siaffa also lied that there is no corporate email system at the city hall. There is a corporate email system with an active website. The IT department can help the lying Mayor with all of the necessary information.
In one year, Siaffa has failed to implement any meaningful institutional reforms. The only one he can boost is by fixing the roof and painting the MCC buildings. A building that was built in 1959 and is always leaking during the rainy season. Mayor Siaffa’s primary action has been to dismantle the city government’s solid administrative structure he inherited to accommodate friends. He inherited a new MCC annex building on Water Street with office space, which he has repurposed as the solid waste department’s office.
How is Siaffa addressing the significant salary disparity within the entity? Many of his cronies receive substantial salaries for little to no work, while directors and managers across various departments struggle financially. He discontinued the supplementary in-house salary introduced by Mayor Koijee, which helped offset previous salary reductions. Additionally, senior staff fuel allowances have been eliminated, and departmental vehicles have been reassigned to Siaffa’s friends and cronies.
How will Siaffa address the cost of electricity and internet service, which his Rescue government claims it can no longer afford for any entity? Under Mayor Koijee, internet and electricity service at City Hall remained uninterrupted, with payments processed through the Ministry of Finance. This demonstrates leadership and sound judgment. Yet, within a year, internet and reliable electricity have vanished from City Hall—a clear sign of incompetence.
Furthermore, Siaffa made no mention today of the personnel insurance that Mayor Koijee maintained from 2018 to 2020 until it was disrupted by COVID-19. In his ignorance, Siaffa believes that a cramped, single-room first-aid center constitutes a clinic and can adequately address the medical needs of over one thousand employees. How many people can such a center realistically serve? It is absurd for Siaffa to prioritize a first-aid clinic over a comprehensive personnel insurance plan.
The announcement by the Mayor of a new NGO for the city raises serious concerns. The concept of a non-governmental organization established by and for a governmental institution is inherently contradictory. It is unclear who is advising the mayor on this matter, as the notion of a government body launching an NGO to ostensibly benefit itself lacks logical coherence. This initiative appears to be yet another attempt to redirect public funds to an organization that will likely serve the interests of the mayor and his associates. The establishment of an NGO by a government institution represents a profoundly misguided and ultimately unproductive use of resources and is among the most disappointing announcements made by the mayor today.
THE STATE OF THE CITY ECONOMY
In 2018, Mayor Koijee assumed leadership of a struggling city government burdened by over US$376,117.60 in liabilities owed to vendors for goods and services and equipment rental, as well as US$100,000 owed in salary to PIU/CLUS staff and MCC employees. (Source: Mayor Clara Doe M’vogo Handover Note, 2018).
Mayor Koijee inherited a depleted treasury and the responsibility to address significant liabilities owed to employees and vendors. In contrast, Mayor Siaffa took over a thriving city with a clear vision and robust policies designed to strengthen financial management and increase revenue generation.
Today, Mayor Siaffa announced a liability of 43,000,000 LRD which if converted to USD at the prevailing rate of 195 will be USD 220,512.82 that he inherited but he failed to mention that this liability is the payment due contractors and staff of the PIU and this is at the result of the closure of the CLUS project that he and the UP government can’t maintain.
In just one year under Mayor Koijee’s leadership, the Monrovia City Government experienced a significant financial upswing. Internal revenue collections rose substantially, climbing from USD 992,778.00 in 2017 to USD 1,258,508.75 in 2018. This growth in internally generated funds occurred alongside a considerable expansion of the overall city budget. The budget, which stood at USD 3,214,457 in FY2017/2018 (supported by USD 2,221,679 from the Government of Liberia – GOL), increased to USD 4,755,799.00 in the following fiscal year. This larger budget was comprised of USD 2,481,376 from the GOL and USD 1,206,685.00 from the World Bank, demonstrating Mayor Koijee’s ability to secure additional funding from diverse sources.
Mayor Koijee’s administration also implemented stringent fiscal discipline measures, leading to the successful restructuring of the CLUS project. This restructuring unlocked USD 1.5 million specifically earmarked for critical sanitation and infrastructure improvements. These funds were strategically allocated to address the pressing issue of waste management, covering the partial closure of the Whein Town landfill, essential operational expenses related to waste disposal, and the resumption of long-delayed construction on a new, modern landfill in Chessmanburg. This demonstrated a commitment to long-term solutions for the city’s waste challenges.
Furthermore, Mayor Koijee’s sound fiscal policies and proactive leadership were instrumental in securing approval from the GOL for a new Public Sector Investment Program (PSIP) project. This project, aptly named “WEAH FOR CLEAN CITIES,” reflected a broader vision for urban development. Submitted by Mayor Koijee, the project aimed to tackle critical sanitation and infrastructure deficits not only within Monrovia but also in other cities across Liberia. This initiative signified a move towards a more holistic and nationally focused approach to urban development, with Monrovia serving as a potential model for other municipalities. The “WEAH FOR CLEAN CITIES” project underscored Mayor Koijee’s commitment to improving living conditions and promoting sustainable urban growth throughout the country. While Mayor Koijee faced the challenge of taking over a city government where crucial revenue streams, such as advertising and city parking, were outsourced to private entities, Mayor Siaffa’s transition was markedly different. He inherited a system where these key revenue generators had been brought back under the direct control of the city government. This shift alone provided a significant advantage in terms of potential revenue capture. Furthermore, the city had invested in and implemented a digital revenue collection system, a crucial tool designed to minimize financial leakage and corruption, thereby maximizing the city’s income. Coupled with this technological advancement was a strengthened and more effective city police force, better equipped to enforce city ordinances and ensure compliance, further bolstering the potential for revenue generation. These factors paint a picture of Mayor Siaffa inheriting a significantly more advantageous financial landscape and a more robust infrastructure for revenue collection than his predecessor.
Despite these favorable circumstances, Mayor Siaffa has remained conspicuously silent regarding any concrete policy measures he has implemented or plans to implement to further increase the corporation’s internal revenue. This lack of transparency is concerning. Even more troubling is his apparent failure to acknowledge the underperformance of internal revenue over the past year. While the reasons for this underperformance remain unclear, simply attributing it to “incompetence” and a “witch hunt” targeting professional staff is not only insufficient but also raises serious concerns about his leadership style and management practices. This action of Mr. Siaffa erodes public trust and suggests a lack of accountability.
A responsible leader would address the revenue shortfall directly, outlining specific challenges, proposed solutions, and strategies for improvement. Mayor Siaffa’s apparent reluctance to do so raises questions about his competence and commitment to fiscal responsibility. The citizens of Monrovia deserve a clear and honest assessment of the city’s financial health, along with a concrete plan for ensuring its future prosperity. Without this transparency and accountability, it becomes difficult to assess his effectiveness as mayor and hold him responsible for the city’s financial well-being.
Today, we all waited to hear what Mr. Siaffa would do to increase internal revenue and what policy prescriptions he would offer to maintain an effective city government and provide effective services to the people of Monrovia. The anticipation in the room was palpable, as many business owners, guests, and residents hoped for concrete plans to address the city’s pressing needs. However, Mr. Siaffa’s address fell short of expectations. He said nothing meaningful to assure businesses and investors in the city, leaving them with lingering doubts about the future economic stability of Monrovia. We are glad that Mayor Siaffa is benefiting from the revenue digitization efforts introduced by the former Mayor but to deliberately lie that there are no computers for staff; is farfetched and I wonder how Mayor Siaffa will raise the revenue he spoke about if there are no computers for the staff.
Furthermore, he failed to address how he would regain and attract the respect of our international partners after the World Bank’s closure of the CLUS project last June. This omission was particularly concerning, as it suggested a lack of strategy for re-establishing crucial relationships and securing future funding for development projects. The silence on this matter was deafening, raising questions about Mr. Siaffa’s ability to navigate the complex challenges facing the city and its relationship with the international community. I am sure many left the address feeling more uncertain than ever about Monrovia’s prospects for growth and recovery.
It’s becoming clearer by the day that Mr. Siaffa has no idea where to start or how to maintain the economic gains achieved under Mayor Koijee’s leadership. Siaffa’s message to the Council and the people of Monrovia today offered no genuine solutions for making the city “The Monrovia we want” or building upon the legacy of his predecessor, making it a complete waste of time. This is not the “Monrovia We Want”!
Fellow Monrovians, it’s no secret that Mayor Siaffa inherited a stable and strong city government with an abundance of solid waste equipment and manpower at his disposal. However, we fear that Mr. Siaffa’s action of dismissing professionals and bringing in friends and family, with so much mediocrity, has the potential to derail the city’s progress. Today’s message heightened that fear and diminished whatever hope Monrovians had. We waited to hear practical policy prescriptions on what he would do differently to increase internal revenue, put in place measures to curtail littering, empower CBEs and SMEs, and provide a comprehensive plan to educate citizens on proper waste management. All of this has validated numerous doubts about the capacity of Mr. Siaffa and his associates to lead Monrovia effectively.
Mr. Siaffa also failed to inform the city’s young people why the youth department at City Hall is no longer functioning. He has also failed to address struggling students at private universities regarding the future of the Monrovia Scholarship Program. Where is the Monrovia Scholars Program? Where is the Inter-University Debate Competition? What is the status of the high school sanitation clubs? What has become of the Community Service program that employed disadvantaged young men and women in city cleanup efforts as a means of reintegration? He failed to reassure young people on these critical issues, and his speech today lacked substance. We refuse to accept that this is the “Monrovia we want”.
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
As we mentioned in our previous brief response, unlike the current mayor, Mayor Koijee inherited a depleted Monrovia City Corporation on February 16, 2018. He inherited two skip trucks (Trucks 10 and 11) and a single dilapidated dump truck. Skip truck 11 was already out of service with significant mechanical problems, leaving the corporation with only one functioning skip truck (10) and a dump truck prone to breakdowns. The whereabouts of the other trucks we had heard about remain unknown if they ever existed. Mayor Koijee took over a completely empty system; garbage was piled up throughout Monrovia, especially on the main streets and corners. Waste was visible everywhere, with over a hundred collection points throughout the city, particularly in central Monrovia.
Worst of all, the landfill in Whein Town was deplorable, with no access road to the final disposal site. Mayor Koijee also inherited a privately owned D8 bulldozer, rented by the previous mayor, with an outstanding debt of nearly USD 126,000 to the owner (ZBJ). To address the emergency waste crisis, the Koijee administration secured funding from partners and successfully advocated for government intervention. This proactive approach led to the restructuring of the Chessmanburg Landfill Urban Sanitation (CLUS) Project. The project budget increased from $10.5 million to $17.5 million, and then to $19.5 million by 2021/2022. As a result, a significant portion of government counterpart funds was allocated to operations, and bank funding supported infrastructure improvements, including the purchase of new equipment for the MCC.
The project as inherited by Mayor Koijee has three (3) main components:
Component 1 : This component focuses mainly on the construction of the Cheesemanburg Regional Landfill and partial closure of the Whein Town Landfill
Component 2: This component focuses on supporting solid waste collection and disposal in and around the City of Monrovia.
Component 3: This component focuses on institutional capacity strengthening and technical assistance.
The project restructuring shifted resource allocation, with a significant portion dedicated to infrastructure improvements, including the purchase of trucks and equipment, as well as operational activities such as solid waste collection and disposal. This strategic leadership by Mayor Koijee significantly strengthened the MCC, establishing a solid foundation for his successor. During the former Mayor Koijee’s first year, 2018, the MCC rented private trucks for USD 200 per day, front-end loaders for USD 350 per day, and a bulldozer (D8) for USD 750 per day at the landfill. This arrangement was managed by the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), under the supervision of the World Bank through a Top Team Leader (TTL). All payments and transactions required approval from the World Bank, and disbursements to vendors were processed by the Project Financial Management Unit (PFMU) at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
Sadly, due to the incompetence of the current mayor and the Unity Party government’s failure to adhere to measures put in place by the World Bank, the CLUS project is no longer operational, barely a year into their leadership. The new mayor is so uninformed that he included in his list of achievements: “He secured a new landfill in Chessmanburg to serve as a second site for final waste disposal.” I was told that upon taking office, Mayor Siaffa’s first action was to dismiss the Project Coordinator and initiate a witch-hunt against professionals who had managed the project for years—without the Bank’s approval. This, coupled with the new government’s failure to provide counterpart funding for the project, is a major reason for its demise. A person who cannot manage a donor-funded project for a single year would claim to have “secured a new landfill” when he has no understanding of how the Chessmanburg landfill came to exist. If this is not ignorance, then it is mediocrity on a colossal scale. In short, Mayor Siaffa’s claim that he secured a new landfill is false.
Thanks to former Mayor Koijee, Siaffa now has 14 dump trucks, two skip trucks, two front-end loaders, three tricycles for the three regions and a new bulldozer (D8) at his disposal, all owned by the MCC for waste collection and disposal. Amid all this equipment, the Center Street Cemetery is being converted into a transfer station, effectively making the area inaccessible to families with loved ones buried there. Our greatest concern is whether Siaffa will maintain this equipment and prevent its deterioration, which would be costly. According to a recent report, most of the equipment is already out of service due to a lack of maintenance.
It’s completely dishonest for Mayor Siaffa to announce today that he inherited 12 tipper trucks and according to him, they were in bad condition. This is a high level of dishonesty on the part of the Mayor.
The renovation of the two transfer stations as announced today was an initiative of the former Mayor where all fundings were secured and at one point the announcement for an open bid was made. This initiative coincided with the elections and was put on hold due to the elections. We are glad Mayor Siaffa has completed what the past Mayor started.
CITY POLICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY
The once-enviable city police force has become a shadow of its former self, largely confined to its UN Drive office with a diminished presence in the city. Rather than increasing police manpower to address frequent violations of city ordinances and support the Liberia National Police in responding to domestic crimes and minor offenses, Mr. Siaffa has dismissed over 88 well-trained officers for no justifiable reason, seemingly driven by a political witch hunt.
How many school zones are now patrolled by city police officers after the dismissal of the majority of the force? In 2021, city police officers were stationed at major school zones throughout the city to assist pedestrians and students, with police depots located in Duala, the Gardnerville Supermarket, Ashmun Street, and Water Street.
What is the current status of these police depots? How is the city police force contributing to making Monrovia the city we want?
With the quote-unquote help of Chris Massaquoi and the LNP, we are yet to see a positive reflection on the ordinary city police officers.
Conclusion
Mr. Siafa has demonstrated a lack of direction regarding where to begin and what actions to take to create the “Monrovia we want.”A Monrovia where the Mayor spent over USD 150,000 for four days parading and spreading LGBT messages in the city in the name of the “Monrovia Day Parade” Was it the LGBT parade or the Monrovia Day parade? Sad that our once cherished culture is gradually fading away and might be overpowered by the Mayor’s display of the Pride flag around the city.
It is disheartening that Monrovia’s citizens waited in vain today to learn of Mr. Siaffa’s accomplishments—beyond his shameless appropriation of credit for existing projects—and to hear his plans for making Monrovia the city we want in the coming years. He failed miserably in this regard today, and it is likely he will continue to fall short. We know it’s all politics for he to not acknowledge the achievement of his predecessor but the facts remain he is benefiting from his predecessor’s relationship with Dayton, Ohio that will see the donation of equipment for the city including fire trucks.
We are inclined to acknowledge that after one year under former Mayor Koijee, there was a visible sign of greater things to happen when we saw the following;
- Increased reforms in Public Financial Management by expanding the Revenue Section for the establishment of the Revenue Department for increased revenue generation through improved service delivery.
- Secured a place for the city of Monrovia on the Executive Committee at the Global Parliament of Mayor for the first time after Mayor Koijee got elected as an Executive Committee member.
- Increased the manpower of the Monrovia City Police through the recruitment and training of more than fifty (50) personnel at the National Police Training Academy (NPTA) to help ensure public safety.
- Expansion of the Public Relations Department’s activities by the establishment of a modern Online Television (MCC-TV) that is being used to boost awareness and sensitization on municipal reforms and issues of national development.
- Restored the allotment of the GOL-World Bank Counterpart Funding for solid waste management operations within the City and its environment.
- Facilitated foreign training for two (2) managers from the Solid Waste Department in the courses, Sustainable Solid Waste Management for African Countries and Improved Solid Waste Management Technologies in Toyko, Japan under the auspices of the Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA) in 2018. Facilitated training in Access to Energy, Mitigation and adaptation for more than fifteen (15) senior management personnel under the auspices of the European Union in support of the fight against Climate Change. and also conducted capacity building training for employees of the City Government in work ethics, and Administrative Policies and Procedures.
- Ensured and facilitated the delivery of three(2) front-end loaders for the MCC Solid Waste Department and three(3) pickups from the World Bank.
- Organized and hosted an Emergency Solid Waste Stakeholder Conference that involved the direct participation of residents and community leaders in Monrovia, who dialogued for two days and produced a resolution on a sustainable approach to solid waste management in Monrovia.
- Established and officially launched the WEAH FOR CLEAN CITIES INITIATIVES in support of a Clean, Green and Safe Monrovia.
These indelible aforementioned achievements among others were tangibles that impacted the management of the city and set it on a path to a better Monrovia .
Sadly, we can’t say the same today . We know you expected to know how Mr. Siaffa can:
● Add value to our waste through privatization
● Seek the general welfare of all the employees
● Increase MCC internal revenue
● Empower the CBEs and SMEs to do primary waste collection.
● Maintain the Monrovia Scholarship and scholar programs
● Bring back personnel insurance
● Commit to involving young students, entrepreneurs and scholars in the activities of the city
● Plan to improve the MCSS school system as a Board Chair
● Attracting new donors projects.
● Taking care of the public parks in the city limit and how much revenue he generated.
● Curtailing littering in the streets of Monrovia
● Providing a safe Monrovia for all residents
● Inform you about how many sisterly cities has him engaged
We eagerly await concrete policy proposals with a sustainable approach to address the myriad challenges facing our city. We are particularly interested in learning how Mr. Siaffa plans to implement waste-to-energy solutions, empowering the CBEs and SMEs to lead the primary and secondary waste collection , rectify the salary disparity among city workers, complete the new landfill in Chessmanburg, restore integrity to the Monrovia City Police, provide opportunities for young people to utilize their talents for national development, and foster a positive work environment for all. Go a step further to organize a review of solid waste plan , reach out to other cities so you won’t be shuned by the Mayor of Freetown who have to send a Deputy Mayor instead.
We hope Mr. Siaffa’s advisors will inform him that operating a fire truck for the city is a significant expense that could strain the city government’s finances, especially given the national government’s reluctance in implementing the local revenue sharing as outlined in the Local Government Act of 2018. Mayor Siaffa needs to focus on how he can maintain the solid waste trucks and source funding to invest in public sector investment projects in the city instead of taking on another burden of running a fire truck.
There is existing data focusing on the enumeration of homes in the city , a program that was implemented by the past Mayor . Make use of those data, review the CBEs and SMEs according to their location , deploy them and enforce the ordinance #1 to compliment their efforts through massive publicity campaigns.
Hope the Mayor works along with the LRA and his immediate boss the President about the need for the LRA to remit at least 5% of the total real estate tax collected in the city limits to the City Government. There is already a working paper on this matter done by the past Mayor. Stop the excuses , leverage these milestone opportunities and make the Monrovia we want. As of now , this is not the Monrovia We want and with the level of mediocrity exhibited so far ; we still have a long way to go in getting the “Monrovia we want”.