-PUP call on its lawmakers
SEE FULL TEXT OF PUP’S PRESS RELEASE: “We have called you once again to appreciate and congratulate the honorable members of our Legislative Caucus for the splendid performance recorded during the First Sitting of the 54th National Legislature. We are particularly excited by and extremely grateful for the incredible performance of Senator Henry W. Yallah, Chairman of the Governing Council for the impeccable manner in which he executed his legislative duties as articulated by IREDD’s Legislative Scorecard.
“The scorecard reveals that the People’s Unification Party ranked third in performance amongst political parties within the legislature. This position, as recorded and reported by IREDD, only demonstrates that the third largest stakeholder in the democracy and governance of Liberia remains prepared to live up to its responsibility to the Liberian people in whose service we are called to perform. We are actually impressed that not a single member of our Legislative Caucus was recorded amongst poor performers; a posture that signifies that the People’s Party remains dedicated to our motto of serving country and people.
“While acknowledging this incredible performance, we want to strongly admonish Senator Yallah, Chairman of the Governing Council and Hon. Samuel Kogar, Chairman of the Legislative Caucus to ensure that all members of our caucus continue to perform their duties in straight adherence to their legislative mandates and in the best interests of their respective constituencies. It is now time to make a clean break with the past, sail above the fray and avoid dancing to the ugly tones of the traditional legislative politics which has perennially kept our democracy punctuated with cowardly submission of the Legislature to the parochial whims and caprices of the Executive.
“By the same token, we are calling on the PUP Caucus to join ranks at all times and act in the best interest of the fatherland. The National Executive Committee will therefore expect its lawmakers to frown bitterly on and fight for the disapproval of the bill seeking to strap tenure positions out of our governance structure. This bill must be critically reviewed to ensure that it does not affect integrity and/or anti-graft institutions. The PUP believes that the power of the presidency is too huge to ask for more. To begin asking for more power instead of focusing on the real issues that matter to the people is quite scary and too expensive a game to play with our people. Asking for a sweeping power from a population that cherishes and holds its leaders in high esteem is a total disservice that amounts to insulting the intelligence and psychology of the Liberian people.
“This bill must not pass as is, because it extrapolates the idea of a supreme ruler. The scars of bad governance and despotism are still fresh on the minds and hearts of our people. We therefore do not freak the idea of raising an Ayatollah in our body politics. No, not today and maybe, not ever!
“At the same time, it will be totally remised of the People’s Unification Party if we fail to acknowledge the Institute for Research and Democratic Development (IREDD) for the profound innovation and creativity it has introduced in researching and reporting on the work of the National Legislature. A research process that reports on the work of lawmakers in the context of their respective political parties is a perfect way of determining the efforts and seriousness of said parties in the service of the people. The new innovation introduced by IREDD has built a platform whereby political parties are able to easily grade the performances of their lawmakers. It also presents an opportunity for the 73 (Seventy-Three) electoral districts across the country to have credible information about whether or not their lawmakers are rightly performing the duties to which they were elected. We are truly grateful to IREDD for such a wonderful endeavor.
Signed: ____________________
- Moses Kiyean Kwehai
Acting National Chairman