Bility Raps on Presidency, CMC, Critical Issues -Vows a New Day of Politicking for the People

MONROVIA – Far ahead of the 2029 presidential and general elections, Liberia’s newest political party, the Citizens Movement for Change (CMC) has commenced putting in place all necessary political structures and guideposts that it believes will soft land the party for the presidency, if one were to go by the words of political leader Musa Hassan Bility. In a recent no holds barred interview with the national broadcaster, Mr. Bility, who serves in the legislature as representative of Nimba County District #7, says the CMC is making waves across the length and breadth of the country, noting that the CMC is a party of the Republic of Liberia, not a Nimba County-based political party, and that at the right time, when all the processes are put in place, he will seek the approval of his party to run for the presidency because he has all the attributes of making a great president for his country.

“First of all, I am not a Nimba County-based politician. I am a politician of the Republic of Liberia. The Chairman of my party is from Lofa County. At the Diaspora level, the global chairman for my party is from Cape Mount County. The spokesperson for my party is from Cape Mount County. The Chairperson for the USA Global is from Maryland County. My party is as diverse both in gender and geography as any other party in the Republic of Liberia.

“I said that I will not be a representative. The party has a process, and I cannot just put myself as the automatic individual to go on that ballot. I am currently doing survey. I have done the first one and it’s very positive. The survey is regards to my marketability. I will continue to do what I am doing right now and hopefully within a year I will make a final decision. But I am running for representative any more. I will not stay there to achieve what I see politically to be achieved. The presidency is a good option, but we are not there yet because we have to go through a process that will lead to that. I cannot declare myself as the standard bearer. But I am interested in running for the presidency.

“The CMC held a convention in Saclepea and elected me as the political leader in an open space that as live, and you as an astute journalist don’t know that? We might have primaries in 2027 because it’s a political mistake to have primaries in the election year what time do you have sell your candidate?

“I am as qualified as anyone who has been president or who wishes to be president of Liberia. I have the education, I have the experience, I have what it takes, I have the nerve. I have been a leader throughout my life, I have led my peers, I have led in my school, I have led at college level, I have led everywhere I’ve gone. And so, I have some leadership traits that I think I can offer this country. If my party goes ahead to select me, I think I have a fighting chance,” Political Leader boasted.

Doing Politics Differently

Bility further disclosed that the CMC has entered the Liberian political landscape to change the dynamics for the betterment of the people. He said the Citizens Movement for Change is here to change the lives of the people and not necessarily to appease the interests of the ruling elites.

The CMC, Mr. Bility noted, is an offspring of disenchantment in the Liberian political system, and that one of cardinal reasons that political parties are formed is to hold a sitting government accountable.

“As you can see, on many occasions after the elections, especially when there is no midterm, political parties seem to disappear. They vanish. They vaporize because the design of political parties in Liberia is mainly to exist and participate in elections during election year. We wanted to change that. We wanted to have a party that today looks at the condition of the country, remain critical and say the truth. Praise the government if they something right, but criticize it if they do something wrong. And we didn’t see that in any other party. Trying for push for the welfare of the Liberian people, the national budget. Though it belongs to the entire country, there is absolutely nothing in it that seeks to get the approval of the people in terms of what they want.

“The CMC wants to change that. For instance, our vision is that in our government, minimum US$500,000 will be placed directly to the people, and then their representatives at community level will come annually to say this US$500,000 we want to do ABC in our community and our electoral district. So the representative, the senator will sit in that meeting, get the people’s views, get their resolution as to what the people want to do, and that money is given for that purpose. That is the sense of ownership by the Liberian people. At no time in the history of Liberia has the people ever had this opportunity. And I learned this at the CMC because we are going around, politicians sit in Monrovia, they think this is what the people want. But when you go out there and sit with the people, today, the ordinary person wants more road, the ordinary person wants to the opportunity to have agriculture tools so they can go on the farm. They want to make farm but they don’t have seeds. So, you don’t see that aspect embedded in political parties’ manifesto. You will see that into the CMC manifesto.

“As an economist, the biggest strain on our local money is the importation of rice, almost US$300 million. We need to look for it, against our Liberian dollar. And that puts enormous pressure on the Liberian dollar.

“People are good at writing, and the ARREST Agenda is a piece of writing. What we are going to do, and that’s what we are doing not; we are not waiting for election, we are going in communities as I speak to you to know what is concerning to the people in the community. By the way, the ARREST Agenda is an excellent piece of writing. But I want you to please match what has been written with what has been done in 18 months. You will see the huge variation. You will see the huge drawback because writing is one thing and implementation is another.

“The political party agenda and the national development agenda are the same. You get your agenda, you use it to come to power, and then you transform it into the agenda of the government. And this is why has been very difficult for most political parties. Your promises have to be the guidance to your government. Unfortunately, that is lacking.

“Hopefully by the end of the year, the CMC will have a manifesto. Politicians will come usually six months to election, one year to election and have a big press and say they have a manifesto. The day our manifesto comes out, you will see ELBC in it. ELBC is the right of the Liberian people to have information from all corners of the country. My point is, is ELBC everywhere? I can answer that. No. ELBC is not in Saclepea. Don’t tell me my district is not part of Liberia.

Regarding sustainability of the CMC as a new political institution, Political Leader Bility said his party has hatched a great plan that involves creating a sense of ownership among the partisans.

“We have a good plan. We are putting in place a system that every member of the party will pay at least a dollar, in some cases fifty cents. We are doing digital member right now. We will raise money with our leaders. When you become a leader, you take certain responsibilities. Again, we are in campaign, so it’s not difficult to run a party at this time. You just have to plan. We just had a program in Nimba. Our next program will be in Margibi. The next one will be Bong County but in different district, followed by Nimba County again in two other districts. And then we are heading to Lofa County in the Quadu Gorni district. We are going to Cape Mount. So it’s at this point in time. The recent program in Ganta cost us US$5000 because we didn’t have to move people a lot. Those were people that came from Sanniquellie and its vicinities. Except for our launch which is coming up in December, every other activity will be community based.

The Controversial FIFA Ban and the National Road Fund Arrears

Two of the critical allegations that have haunted the CMC political leader have to do with the controversial FIFA ban and the National Road Fund arrears, issues that politicians continue to harp on during political seasons.

But according to Bility, the Liberian people have already judged him in the court of public opinion and found him clean when it came to the FIFA allegations that was the reason why they elected him as a representative in Nimba County despite the barrage of false accusations that FIFA and other politicians mounted against his person.

“The FIFA issue is not a court of competent jurisdiction. Arbitration that is 100% designed by FIFA, when they accuse you, you don’t go to court. They pick three persons to decide whether or not you are guilty. And FIFA picks all three persons out of ten persons to decide your fate. That result I don’t take it to be fair. It was political, it was because I stood up to FIFA. I said this and I will continue to say it. They wanted to colonize CAF, they wanted to take over CAF, and they wanted to impose the secretary general on FIFA. I was an executive committee member of CAF, and I said no, you can’t do that. This is Africa, you can’t colonize CAF. You can’t impose a leader on us. Then they went ahead to do it. I said no, I am not going to accept it. I told them I was taking the matter to the Court of Arbitration. When I got in the plane, before I landed in Switzerland, FIFA had banned me to say that I did something in 2014. This was 2019. They said I took US$50,000 and then they fined me for US$500,000. Unfortunately, the true story does not matter to some of the journalists, but that’s the true story.

“Everything in life you do, you have to prepare for the outcome. I knew that FIFA was a cartel. I knew that I had to stand against them, and I knew that I could be victimized; and history will judge us. FIFA has nothing absolutely on me in Liberia. You have people during the election who said Musa Bility is wanted around the world. It never worked. I go any part of the world I want to go. I travel everywhere. That was defeated as well. Now you come up with an organization that was completely dismantled by the United States government for corruption, but you cling on that organization’s flimsy allegation against my person as the scale and the barometer for my character. I reject that, and the Liberian people will reject that. My people have entrusted me with my district, and that’s how leadership starts. That’s how Ambassador Boakai became president. His experience as a Vice President, is experience in government led the Liberian people to believe that he’s the right person. At the end of the day, the allegations against him about the LPMC saga did not derail his character. He stood up because the good outweighed the bad. At the end of the day, FIFA is not the barometer for politics in Liberia. FIFA is not the barometer for good character. FIFA is an organization riddled in corruption. The world knows that, you know. And it that’s their judgment you are going to take to judge me for being a good leader in my country, you have a mountain to climb.

“Regarding the National Road Fund allegations, I have been in business for 20 years. Not to belabor the issue, I have been in contact with the LRA and the new Commissioner General since he came to office. I received a communication from them, and I showed to them that the information is untrue, and that these are evidence to show that I don’t owe that money and I have paid everything including flag receipts. They replied me and acknowledged that they have done their research and my receipts were correct. The second batch which is around US$1.4 million, we believe belongs to your company and you are going to pay. I have supplied him the information and said no, my company hosted these companies and these companies proved the evidence and everything to say, please correct this. This debt is owed by every importer who brought fuel in my tank and here is the evidence that they owe this, and they are currently paying you. So because they are currently paying you, you can’t come to say I should pay you when you have already billed these people and they are paying you. So, I submitted that information to the LRA, and they informed me that they are going to verify the information. As far as payment is concerned, we don’t owe the government.

“This Road Fund was the Unity Party’s limelight campaign against Musa Bility. They’ve been in power for 18 months. So, why don’t you go to LRA and inquire? I just spoke to the Liberian people in public tone. I gave you facts. The information I just gave are facts,” Bility said confidently.