By Henry B. Gboluma, Jr.
Nimba County – Liberia’s County Council Chairpersons, together with major civil society groupings, have strongly opposed efforts by some lawmakers to amend key portions of the country’s Local Government Act of 2018.
The 15 County Council Chairpersons warned that changes within the Act that are being proposed threaten grassroots democracy, as well as the development plans of Liberia.
Rural Reporters News Network (RRNN) has gathered that Grand Gedeh County electoral District #1 lawmaker in the ouse of Representatives, Jeremiah Sokan and a few other legislators whose names were not disclosed, are allegedly exerting efforts for Sections 2.2(e) and 2.2(f) of the 2018 Local Government Act to be amended.
Sections 2.2(e) and 2.2(f) of the law give local governments the authority to manage their own budgets and oversee development projects.
In a statement recently issued in Gompa City, Nimba County, the Chairpersons described the move on the part of some lawmakers to amend the law, as a power grab, indicating that such move goes contrary to the Constitution of Liberia and the country’s development goals.
The Chairpersons warned that if the lawmakers succeed in amending the law as they are seeking, it would weaken local democracy, reduce accountability, and promote unfair political practices.
Multiple sources, many of whom are with solid rural governance credentials told RRNN that they see the lawmakers’ attempt to amend the law as an attack on the rights of local communities to determine their own development priorities.
The 2018 law is a significant achievement for Liberia–it empowers local governments to have control over their affairs, and establishes elected county councils that make decisions based on their communities’ needs.
The law also mandates the Legislature to appropriate fair wages for county council members, an obligation RRNN has reliably learned, legislators have allegedly reneged executing, leaving council members unpaid and vulnerable.
If Sections 2.2(e) and 2.2(f) of the law are changed, control would shift from local councils to legislators, thereby weakening the purpose of decentralization, said a senior official of government from the Executive Branch, who asked to remain anonymous for this report.
In their statement released to the press, the Chairpersons of all 15 political sub-divisions councils demand that this issue be addressed immediately.
They called on lawmakers to discontinue efforts, which they termed as being harmful aimed at amending the law, urging the President Joseph Boakai to veto the bill if the legislators succeed in amending it and it reaches the Liberian leader’s desk.
The civil society groupings and County Council Chairpersons, who stated that they remain committed to defending local governance, are encouraging all Liberians to stand against efforts that weaken grassroots participation and development.
Meanwhile, the County Council Chairpersons have reminded members of the Legislature to fulfill its legal duty by appropriating proper honorariums for council members.
