By: Stephen G. Fellajuah
Email fellajuahstepheng@stephen-g-fellajuah
Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, Cllr. Frances Johnson-Allison, has expressed dismay over what she termed as the poor and worse state of the country under the leadership of President George Weah.
Addressing cross session of political parties women on the importance of peace and why voting is key, Madam Allison who is an Eminent Woman of the Women Situation Room, (WSR), noted that she is not happy with the way the country is being governed by the ruling Coalition, when she said that the country is worse than before.
Cllr. Johnson-Allison made the statement Tuesday, August 16, 2022 during a one day mediation dialogue of political parties women, organized by the Angie Brooks International Centre, in the Cecil Dennis auditorium, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Monrovia.
“Are you happy with the way things are going today in our country? If you are, then for me I am not happy at all. The country is worse than before and I do not know what else to say. Especially my capital city Monrovia, when I drive around and see filths, (pupu) all around in the street, I am not happy. I am not happy and I know that the leadership is not doing me any favor or doing me any good. And so with that what we should do is to vote them out”, stressed the former Chairperson of the NEC.
Continuing, she mentioned that the constitution provides for the people to replace their government and leader through the democratic process by rejecting them during election as also indicated within the social contract theory when they are not happy with their government because their interest is not protected and supported.
We have elections because when you are not happy with the first group of people you voted for, you have a chance to remove them. Do not go in the bush and take guns but you wait for elections and remove those people and look for better people that will seek the interest of the country for you and your children and great grandchildren, she emphasized further.
The veteran public official said leadership is what controls the country and so if somebody who does not have leadership ability and lacks the interest of others is elected, that individual should be voted out because the citizens will continue to be in the mess if said person (s) is not replaced.
Cllr Allison however urged the political parties women to reflect carefully on their interest before they can make any decision in 2023, saying that their country should be more important to them than any political party and person. According to her, people who are elected to protect the citizens and represent their interest begin to engage in their own interest; there is no need to retain them.
Speaking further she recounted, “When the population was still little the people used to converge at a very big venue and discuss issues relating to the state and how to improve the life of its citizens and country. However, now that population has grown and we no longer do that, rather we elect somebody who will represent the rest of us and speak for us and that is called the social contract theory, she added.
Pointing to some specific issues, she narrated that people elect politician to build their school, hospital and better infrastructure and provide jobs for them because that was the contract of exchange that they sign with them and if they are not doing that there is a need for them to be replaced as urged the women to vote wisely because their vote is their future,
“We continue to vote over, and over again but still our condition is not changing because of those in power. Some of the people who have turned their back on the interest of the state and its people are those that were even in one room, but since they got power through the votes of the majority, they have forgotten the social contract responsibility instead have now abandoned the voters’’, Johnson Allison remarked.
