MONROVIA: As the race for the coveted Speaker of the House of Representatives position of the 55th National Legislature heats up between the outgoing Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and that of the ingoing Unity Party Alliance, speculations are running rife about attempts being made by some influential members of the incoming Unity Party government to thwart the doctrine of separation of powers and ensure absolute control of the Legislative branch of government.
According to Nimba County District 9 Representative-elect Taa Zogbe Karto Wongbe, the only way to achieve an independent legislature and for the doctrine of separation of power to be effective is to have an opposition as the Speaker.
“Period! End of story! This is MY view and MY stance! We have to be honest here! The American version of “SEPARATION OF POWER” doesn’t work for us! We just saw this horror movie! The last 6 years were some of the worst in our country’s history in terms of governance! We were all in opposition and we saw the EXECUTIVE branch of government ABUSE OF POWER and having a blank check to do whatever they wanted with NO CHECK AND BALANCES!
“I am saying, let’s try something different! Let’s FORCE “SEPARATION OF POWER” by intentionally having an OPPOSITION as the Speaker! I am sorry but I CANNOT trust “US” to do the right thing, and I believe if the framers of the Constitution saw what happened over the last 6 years, they might think about FORCING “SEPARATION OF POWER” too!
“This is an ideological discussion. We need new thinking around our political system, and I will argue that we need to contextualize these ideas like “SEPARATION OF POWER” and ask ourselves if they really work for us, knowing who Liberians are! Sorry folks, but our people have suffered enough! We the Liberian version of “Separation of Power,” Wongbe lamented recently when he appeared on Spoon Talk radio talk show program, and provided practical solutions to the country’s perennial governance cracks.
The assertion from Representative-elect Wongbe comes in the wake of reported attempts by the incoming Joseph Boakai administration to allegedly bribe some influential House members of the outgoing governing party.
“What makes this dispensation different from that of the roguish Weah regime, when they haven’t even gotten the chair, but we are busy dividing the spoils of war amongst ourselves,” Hawa Sambola of Duala community remarked.
“We expect Mr. Boakai to concentrate on how he will change this country for the better, instead of doing the same old things that his predecessors did to maintain an imperial presidency,” says Stephen Darkollie, a graduate student of the University of Liberia.
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