The Secretary General of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Jefferson Tamba Koijee, has criticized the Unity Party (UP) administration for treating civil servants as slaves when, according to him, proponents of the regime had described civil servants as beggars during the George Weah administration. He claimed that the “slave masters” are depriving the ordinary Liberians of their livelihood, while some are being killed for standing up for their rights; Cynthia Quinisier writes.
Speaking during a press conference held at the CDC headquarter in Congo Town on Thursday, July 4, 2024, the CDC Secretary General said, “You claimed that civil servants were made beggars during the CDC-led government; granted that your characterization of those Liberians is true, at least beggars had freedom and they were not killed. But today, motorcyclists are being deprived of the freedom to fend for their families.”
He claimed that Liberians are being killed for no reason—losing their lives at the hands of state security officers solely because they are standing up for their just benefits.
“Liberians are being treated like slaves because you have arrogated onto yourself the status of ‘slave masters’, [thinking that] Liberia is your plantation. You have turned the country into a plantation where people are being slaughtered and killed,” he further claimed.
According to him, the CDC will not sit idly to allow “political desperadoes” to continue to rain terror on the people of Liberia. “The Unity Party signed a social contract with the people of Liberia. We will ensure that they live up to the dictates of that contract. Anything on the contrary will not be countenanced,” he stated.
Koijee said the recent statement made by the Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Jerolinmek Matthew Piah, that four auditors were killed during the CDC government are a travesty of present-day reality that every move of state security apparatuses would lead to the death of ordinary citizens.
SG Koijee said the Coalition for Democratic Change will continue to appreciate the resilience of its partisans, who continue to endure the challenges that come with choosing a political side like the CDC. He disclosed a plan to observe a “national martyr day” to remember partisans of CDC who lost their lives over the years, adding that the June 28—30, 2024 event was a resounding success and lauded the involvement of every ordinary member of the party.
He emphasized that the event demonstrated that the CDC is definitely not resting in rewriting, recalibrating and reinforcing its base to transform setback into a great comeback.