‘HEAR THE PROTESTORS’ -Konneh Cautions Govt. After Protest; MICAT Reacts

MONROVIA – There is no denying that the “Enough is Enough” protest has made a significant impact in terms of recharging the national debate regarding accountability, equality and progress in Liberia. The question is whether the ruling Unity Party will stonewall and ignore grievances expressed, or embrace them in the spirit of openness and inclusivity. Whatever the government thinks, Gbarpolu County Senator Amara M. Konneh, who is also a stanch supporter of the ruling Unity Party, has further elevated the debate when he took to social media over the weekend to implore the petitioners’ complaints and how health they are for the good of the country. But as The Analyst reports, Senator Konneh’s advice has ruffled feathers within the ruling Unity Party, with Deputy Information Minister Daniel Sando, as his custom is, countering with a caustic retort.

Shortly after the July 17 mass protest under the banner “Enough is Enough”, Senator Konneh wasted no time to caution Liberians, specifically the Unity Party administration, against overlooking substance for optics as regards assessing critical national issues.

He wrote on the social media page: “Now that the debate about yesterday’s protest and crowd size is over, I hope we can focus on the important issues affecting our country. The truth quietly watches our self-deception since 1980. It doesn’t protest or make noise. Those who oppose us often reveal truths that supporters might miss. We lie to protect ourselves, but we usually speak honestly when we disagree.”

“Konneh’s referencing 1980 is seemingly intentional in that it cautions this government to listen to the people and not make those mistakes that plunged this our beautiful land into chaos beginning with the killing of President William R. Tolbert Jr.,” say Milton Summerville, a political analyst.

Closing his post, Senator Konneh said: “Yesterday may not have been a good day for the protesters, according to regime supporters, but I hope our government hears their complaints. A silent majority didn’t feel the need to protest yesterday, maybe because of its leaders, but will protest at the polls in 2029 if they don’t see the government making a difference in their lives.

The ranking member of the Liberian Senate further said: “They say, ‘We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.’ Remember, we had stable macroeconomics before the 2023 elections. While we are making steady progress now, times are still tough for families. Don’t trust those who only say good things about you or a situation!”

Backlash from GoL Spokesman

Senator Amara Konneh’s statement is indeed causing ripples mainly with the very party he helped usher to power.

Deputy Information Minister Daniel O. Sando has been the first high ranking Unity Party-led government official to counter Konneh’s post.

“Senator Konneh, your remarks, while framed as a call for reflection, are riddled with contradictions and deceptive rhetoric,” Sando said in an apparently unprovoked tirade. “Your attempt to downplay the steady progress being accomplished by the government on many fronts while simultaneously warning of a ‘silent majority’s’ potential backlash in 2029 is a thinly veiled political ploy—one that seeks to absolve your own faction of accountability to the people while shifting the blame on the government as usual.” 

He continued: “Your pretense of selective truth-telling is annoying. You claim that ‘those who oppose us often reveal truths that supporters might miss,’ yet you are engaged in the very deception you condemned. I wonder where your reverence for the truth was when the CDC was in power?”

Sando said Konneh’s suggestion that Liberia had a stable macroeconomics before the 2023 elections, while ignoring the excesses of the erstwhile CDC regime that plunged the economy into the toilet, is a gross distortion.

The economic stagnation, corruption, and mismanagement of state resources by the Weah administration are well-documented and should not be ignored, the MICAT official further attacked. “Senator Konneh, for you to now pretend that the previous era was some golden age is an insult to the Liberian people who suffered under the failed policies of the KAKISTOCRATIC CDC regime. On your admiration for the protest, we thank the joint security forces for being more professional compared to two years ago. The level of professionalism they demonstrated in the wake of broad day provocation from the protesters is a major boost to the democratic credentials of the Boakai-led government.”

“Additionally, Mr. Senator, we see no genuine reasons for a public protest against the government,” Konneh said. “We admit that everything is not rosy, but you will agree with me that the government has made steady progress in key governance areas compared to its immediate predecessor. Yes, the protest became a failure because, unlike you, our people know and understand that the motives of the organizers are self-seeking and political.

“In conclusion, I wish to share with you a few lines from what a long-time colleague of mine had to say about yesterday’s protest: ‘The faces of the protest lack the moral rectitude to rally the people to protest. The same Mulbah Morlu who shamed George Weah for bastardizing the presidency and patronizing widespread uncontrollable stealing of public resources, but still remained supportive of the government to its very end, cannot marshal the people to protest against a government that’s trying to clean the mess they created”. “The act of politicians staging protests to rebrand themselves is an antiquated political stratagem that our people have come to understand or decipher’. Do you agree with him, Mr. Senator?”

Senator Konneh: Let’s Breath Honesty Into Politics

Meanwhile, in Senator Konneh, wondered why supporters of the UP and CDC focused only on his point about needing “stable macroeconomic conditions before the 2023 elections.”

He wrote: “Here are the main economic indicators for Liberia in 2023. Economic growth: 4.6%; Inflation rate: 10.1%; Fiscal deficit reduced by 3%; Public spending decreased by 2.9%; and Public debt was 52.6% of GDP in 2023 (54.9% in 2024). My friends, there is a big difference between politics and noise, good governance and settling scores. In the end, it is the impact that these economic indicators have on citizens that keeps governments in power. In most cases, that impact comes through prudent economic and political governance. All our legislative, Executive, and judicial actions must be laser-focused on them.”

He concluded: “Easier said than done, but we have no other choice. Ask the Democrats in the USA if you are in denial about what happened in Liberia in 2023. Let’s breathe some honesty into our politics.”