On Christian State debate, Sawyer challenges Critics

Dr Sawyer has challenged critics to show proof that the 1847 Constitution declared Liberia a Christian State.  He told reporters at a MICAT press briefing on August 20, 2015 that this issue, being one highly contentious, should be handled with care. It can be recalled that declaring Liberia a Christian State led to demonstrations and counter demonstrations at the National Constitution Conference earlier this year in Gbarnga with some delegates abstaining from the vote while others walked out. Using her presidential prerogative, President Sirleaf has therefore decided not to support the Conference’s decision on declaring Liberia a Christian State (as presented in the CRC report).                                       

Dr Sawyer agrees that the issue is contentious: “and so as the committee categorized this issue as a contentious issue in its report to the president, the President’s review of the report and her submission to the Legislature comes down against the advancement of preposition designating Liberia a Christian state. Her position is supported by the Constitution as it now stands where it states that “while Liberia is founded by people who were grateful to God and who were themselves enjoying the blessings of Christianity they did not inscribe in the Constitution that Liberia shall be a Christian state.” Dr Sawyer noted that in fact they made it clear that there shall be freedom of religion,  and that all religion shall have an opportunity to conduct their affairs once they are not incompatible with laws of the country and once they do not infringe on the rights of others or against public good and safety.

It’s a misconception. The 1847 constitution did not establish Liberia as a Christian state and a misreading of the 1847 constitution. “Those saying so are wrong. This is a misreading of the Constitution, and a disservice and mis-education of our people.” Sawyer challenged anyone with physical evidence to come forth, and invited newspapers to investigate and publish the full text of the 1847 Constitution and show where that Constitution established Liberia a Christian state. Dr Sawyer emphatically repeated that the 1847 Constitution did not declare Liberia a Christian state.” He noted that the current constitution of 1986 also does not declare Liberia a Christian state.

Constitutional amendments

Dr. Sawyer also elaborated on the recent submission of President Sirleaf’s proposals for Constitutional amendments/reform to the House of Senate, Liberia’s National Legislature on August 13. The document listed 25 proposals mainly coming out of the Constitution Review Committee’s report on the National Conference held in Gbarnga Bong County earlier this year. These reforms are in line with the overall direction of broadening the base for participation, and more inclusiveness of our local people in our development agenda. The Constitution review process requires the holding of a Referendum after the Legislature may have acted on the proposals, and that referendum should take place at least a year after the Legislature would have acted upon the proposals. It can be recalled that the Constitution review process started some two years ago and involved Liberians both at home and abroad. The process ends with Constitutional reforms/amendments by the end of 2016, before the holding of national elections in 2017.

The Presidential proposals include:

• Reduction of the Presidential term of Office from 6 to 4 years;-
• Reduction of the Senatorial term of Office from 9 to 6 years;
• Reduction in the term of Office of Representatives from 6 to 4 years;
• Non- Negro race will not become citizen of Liberia;
• Dual citizenship should be accepted in Liberia;
• Dual currency should be abolished in Liberia;
• Superintendents, commissioners, mayors, and chiefs should be elected;
• Women should have access to equal economic and social opportunities;
• Liberia is not a Christian State. (Visit GC website for details of the President’s submission letter to the House of Senate – www.governancecommissionlr.org)

Earlier at the MICAT press briefing, Dr Sawyer discussed Liberia’s development agenda, categorizing it in what he described as “dimensions. “There are two broad dimensions to development agenda in Liberia. One has to do with how we expand the physical infrastructure of our country such that we have more access to, for example, roads so that the economy can become robust as a result of trade, and value added to our natural resource endowments that we have.”

According to Dr. Sawyer, the whole program of County development includes the construction and/or rehabilitation of ports, bridges, roads, and damps constitute that full range of issues he refers to as hardware - the infrastructure within which development takes place – “that generates power that links communities – that provides the basis for agricultural development. The next is what is described as software – the governance issues – issues having to do with the human capacity building – the kind of governance infrastructure that together with the hardware we’ll get results. So that the Liberian people will be the beneficiaries of the development process. so our work at GC has been mainly to coordinate a sizeable sector of institutional development in the software package.”

Dr. Sawyer maintained that building the governments arrangements that go hand in hand with the expansion of economic development is imperative. He said “we cannot use our roads effectively if we don’t do something about the governance infrastructure.  Road networks cannot be centralized in Monrovia. So too are other public services such as obtaining driver’s or marriage licences. So the governance infrastructure is very important in complimenting the physical infrastructure in terms of development – making inclusive institutions which govern us in an incremental manner.”

Dr. Sawyer’s presentation at the MICAT press briefing was on Inclusive governance and establishing decentralization and local governance. He recalled the Community Forestry Act in 2008/2009, the decentralization policy promulgated by President Sirleaf in 2012, and the Land rights act as all measures that assures of inclusive governance and promotion of local ownership in Liberia.

“You may recall the passage into law of the community forestry act in 2008/2009 which gave local people access and ownership rights to forest in their community – a major breakthrough in inclusive governance and promotion of local ownership. So also is the establishment of the county development fund earlier by this government. We know there’s been problem here and there but establishing such a fund with local people forming their own local institutions to determine what type of activities they want to put their resources in is a step closer to inclusive governance and management though these are not perfect structures they are developing incrementally.

You can also recall the decentralization policy promulgated by the president in 2012. This policy brings together the administrative, physical and the political elements of inclusive governance which assure that public services are being pushed to the counties, districts, townships and then the cities. That policy is now being incrementally implemented. As at now we have under consideration the passage of the LGA, an act that will establish the basis for ensuring that local communities have some limited powers for taxation that include local ordinance and local arrangements, their local county councils can be established and make decisions on their development agendas. The LGA also clarifies boundaries for administrative jurisdictions. The LGA is in its final stages of review by the President to be submitted in due course to the National Legislature.

Land rights act – for the first time recognizes various categories of land including community land where local communities own their ancestral land, individual land, public land and government. These are all clearly identified and assures of tenure, ownership and rights. The land rights bill is currently before the Legislature awaiting passage into law. Its passage into law is another major step forward in the development of local communities – giving access to property for local people.

In order to fully achieve Inclusive governance and establishing decentralization and local governance in Liberia, both Articles 54 and 56 of the present Constitution have to be amended, and the Local Government Act, LGA, passed into law and implemented throughout Liberia. The Constitutional amendment process has already begun and could be completed before the end of 2016.

The Governance Commission recently held a Roundtable on the relevance/importance of County Development Fund. The roundtable was held on Friday August 21, 2015 at the James Fromoyan Hall at the National Elections Commission in Sinkor. The event was graced by legislators from both houses of Representatives and Senate.

Setting the basis for the discussions was the presentation made by Commissioner Yarsuo Weh- Dorliae, head of GC’s Political Law Reform Mandate Area otherwise known as Decentralization. The presentation was on the theme “Local Development Financing in Liberia: Legislating Sustainable Budget Systems for Decentralized Governance.”

The Governance Commission took on the study in order to understand the management arrangements of the County Development Fund (CDF), its local decision making processes and implementation challenges across the fifteen (15) counties. House Speaker Alex Tyler had made repeated calls for the Legislature to approve appropriations for direct district impact projects using the CDF.

The CDF is captured in the budget law as a source of funding to:

a). Facilitate post-war infrastructure development in all counties based on identified projects;

b). Serve as a source of funding for local government service delivery to be managed by local

      officials under the decentralization program.

 

In addition, the GC study recommended that:

• The Legislature supports good governance by ceding participation in the management of the CDF, and leave same entirely to county administrations (a recommendation to which legislators have countered); and

 

• The Legislature should establish an Electoral District Impact Fund (EDIF)to be managed specifically under direct supervision of legislators.

 

This GC research includes a combination of Desk studies, interviews, field visits and focus group discussions with county officials; Use of the internet to explore common practices in Africa and Asia (India, Kenya, Nigeria);Relevant documents including the Budget Law of 2012/2013, Reports of the Auditor-General of Liberia and related policy documents; and Interviews conducted with 8 superintendents, a former minister of internal affairs; and Focus group discussions held with county officials in three counties.

However, legislators attending the Roundtable criticized the study for not including lawmaker(s), past or present, in its study adding “this omission renders this study partial, lacking a holistic picture to what it hopes to achieve”. The

Law makers noted a number of issues they believed could have helped enrich the GC study if only they (lawmakers|) had been included in the research. These include:

Hon.  Boima fahnbulleh making remarks

1. That the Executive branch of government (Finance Ministry) does not always provide the CDF in a timely manner, and as such give the impression that the legislators have received the CDF but have either used them for selfish reasons, divided/shared the money among themselves or delaying dispensing same;
2. That County Legislative Caucuses are in constant disputes with local county officials such as Superintendents over county development funds, there by either suppressing or undermining county development;
3. That lawmakers lack vision/projects to impact county development and are reluctant to include local people’s participation in local county governance.

It is however important to note that every attendee of the Roundtable agreed that local development financing is critical to accelerating service delivery and economic development of rural communities, as well as to promoting citizens’ participation. According to the report, since 2006, there have been two principal sources of local development financing in Liberia. These include:

                                                                                                   Hon. Muna Pennoh Youngblood discussing the CDF

 

1. County Development Fund (CDF) and b. Social Development Fund (SDF).

 

• The SDF is limited to counties that host concession companies, while the CDF gives each county a budgetary allotment to support local development projects. The fund is allocated on an equal basis regardless of population, county size and level of development. This financial equality strategy has been contested by critics in several quarters who believe that county size, population and needs should be taken into consideration in terms of how county development funds are disbursed or provided by national government for county use.

 

• The CDF and SDF provide valuable financial resources which when managed in accordance with international common good practices can facilitate infrastructural development through participatory local development planning and monitoring, and the delivery of basic services in rural areas.

Management Structure of the CDF/SDF

The current local county management structure of the CDF/SDF includes three teams:

1. The County Council – comprises representatives of traditional communities, districts, municipalities, Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent for Fiscal Management and the legislative Caucus. This team is the highest decision making body on matters of development and management of the County.
2. Project Management – this is a three member committee elected by the County Council to among other things, identify and cost projects, oversee and coordinate implementation of approved projects.
3. Project Monitoring Team – includes local residents appointed by a community targeted for a project. This team coordinates the planning of activities on projects, processes documents to relevant and concerned citizensexpected to participate in the project’s implementation process.

 

Proposed New Management Structure of the CDF/SDF

1. The County Council – to include representatives from electoral districts, three other members including1 female, 1 male and 1 youth. This team is the highest decision making body on matters of development and management of the County.

 

2. Project Management – this includes the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent for Development, Assistant Superintendent for Fiscal Affairs, and MACs. Their responsibilities, among other things, include identifying and costing projects, overseeing and coordinating implementation of approved projects.
3. Project Monitoring Team – includes local residents appointed by a community targeted for a project. This team is tasked to monitor the implementation of projects activities in targeted communities.

 

Research participants made several recommendations that could initiate resource generation for the support of county development in Liberia. These include budget law amendment, CDF distribution formula, and the electoral district impact fund (EDIF).

 

 

1. Amendment of the Budget law includes:
2. Restructuring management of the CDF such that the Legislature cedes its role in the implementation of the Fund to local authorities;
3. Reorganize the CDF such that its current implementation mechanisms including Project Management Committees and county legislative caucuses are nullified.
4. Ensure that new implementation mechanisms are aligned with the structures of county administration as proposed in the National Policy on Decentralization and Local Governance;
5. Authorize management of CDF, SDF and all funds accruing to each county under control of the County Council and the County Administration, and maintain ad hoc Project Monitoring Teams (PMT).
6. Members of the County Administration, district commissioners and members of county legislative caucuses should not participate in the process of selecting members of the revised County Council. Instead, the citizens should assemble in town hall meetings at the district centers and select their representatives based on a broad based, inclusive and participatory process.

 

2. CDF Distribution Formula

The Legislature should approve a general formula for the Redistribution of the County Development Fund. The purpose of setting aside special development financing fund is to support local projects that benefit the local populations.

• The current practice by which the legislature allocates an even amount of $200,000.00 to all counties undermines development in many areas.CDF should not be allocated on an equal basis because more people live in some counties than others, and the demand for services is greater in counties where more people live. Also county population size and development should be considered;

 

3. Electoral District Impact Fund (EDIF)

The Legislature proposed to set up a special fund, the Electoral District Impact Fund, EDIF, (annually per electoral district) to support direct district development in legislative constituencies. Therefore the Governance Commission in keeping with its mandate conducted a study to provide policy advice.

To enhance understanding of the management and accountability arrangements, the ways in which such a program can be either integrated into broader county development plans or mutually exist with the County Development Fund, Social Development Fund, and/or other local development financing opportunities, the Commission studied 27 countries engaged in similar constituency development programs. Findings include that:

2. The annual percentage of the national budget allocated for such Fund depends largely on the status of the economy at the given time or fiscal year. Generally, in economies experiencing high economic growth, the EDIF often consists of an amount of not less than 2.5% of the national budget.
3. For Liberia, it is recommended that a ballpark figure of US$50,000.00 per legislative constituency be set aside in each budget year as EDIF.
4. That the Electoral District Impact Fund be administered by a governing board called the Electoral District Impact Fund Board (EDIFB).

The Electoral District Impact Fund (EDIF) provides an alternative that targets delivery of basic social services in remote rural legislative constituencies under direct supervision of the legislators. GC therefore recommends that EDIF be operated initially as a pilot project. For example, the EDIF can be piloted on a 6-year pilot basis following which it is reviewed for progress, challenges and the way forward.

 

The Chairman on the House of Representative’s Committee on Good Governance and Governance Reform, Hon. Larry P. Younquoi, also made a presentation at the Roundtable on the topic ‘Role of County Legislative Caucus in implementing the County Development Fund: Opportunities and Challenges’. Contrary to the allegations of corruption, Representative Younquoi noted that the current management arrangement of the County Development Fund’s implementation is well organized and transparent. He said the County Development Fund implementation process is being undertaken under the auspices of LACE,(the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment) under the Legislative Support Projects arrangement between the 53rd National Legislature and LACE. Lawmaker Younquoi told participants that as far as implementation of the CDF is concerned reports from LACE indicate that significant progress has been made in most of the counties – although such development varies from county-to-county. The Lawmaker therefore recommended that the Governance Commission table its recommendations on the CDF/SDF for when the current draft Local Government Act is passed into law, adding “the Commission can then use the LGA as a legal instrument to propose amendment to the current budget law.”

The third presentation of the Roundtable was on “Strengthening the County Administration in the Implementation of the County Development Fund” by Bomi County Superintendent Hon. Samuel F. Brown. Mr. Brown countered Lawmaker Younquoi’s presentation by describing the current management arrangement of the County Development Fund as problematic, thereby negatively impacting its implementation nationwide.

The CDF was first introduced in Liberia by President William R. Tolbert, Jr., but did not gain the desired momentum of impact. The Fund was re-introduced in Liberia by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as a result of budget surplus of 1 million United States Dollars after budget review in 2006. According to Superintendent Brown, based on the surplus, President Sirleaf then announced that the amount would be used by county administrations for development projects in each county. Buttressing the Commission’s research report, Mr. Brown noted that the current management arrangement of the Fund and the budget law need to be changed in order to produce the desired outcomes.

Superintendent Brown pointed out that the passage of the Local Government Act, LGA, is critical to empowering county administrations, and also serves as a legal instrument for citizens to take ownership of development initiatives in their communities, districts and counties. He concluded with the following recommendations:

• That the Governance Commission, GC, provides the legal framework that will propose laws for the sole management of the CDF and the SDF in order to maintain accountability and transparency in the implementation processes;
• That the implementation of the CDF and SDF be taken care of by county based administration (County Legislators should not be players and referees at the same time);
• That the Code of Conduct be used as an instrument to guide the activities of public officials, etc.
• That the CDF and SDF should not be used by any elected official of government to fulfill campaign promises made during elections;
• That management team’s capacity be built for the effective implementation of the CDF/SDF; and
• That strong political will is required for county administration to be in control of the Fund.

Lawmakers were divided on some aspects of the GC report and agreed on others. Many complained that the GC report still needs updating to include the perspectives of past and present lawmakers, a perspective that could richly enhance and give flavor to the research.

Participants also called for an expansion of the research to include investigation into other factors that are slowing implementation of the CDF and SDF, and corruption in the management of the CDF/SDF at the county level. The plenary identified other issues affecting the management of the CDF and local governance, and recommended possible solutions to improve local participation in both governance and implementation of the CDF.