Brown bids MICAT farewell

Outgoing Information Minister Lewis Brown, says Liberia’s transformation process is an upward trajectory that is set to build a more just and equitable society fashioned on the works of every citizen.

Mr. Brown, who has a new portfolio as Ambassador, told MICAT family Thursday, January 7, “My journey as Minister of Information has ended, and I intend to continue in service to my country and people. I know of no other way to demonstrate the love I feel and the hope I share in the future we seek for the country that we all love.”

President Sirleaf re-cycled some members of the cabinet late Wednesday, re-deploying Brown, a.k.a “government bishop”, to the diplomatic field and moving Youth and Sports Minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe, to the Ministry of Information, while re-assigning Ambassador Marjon Kamara from New York to the Foreign Ministry as Minister, among others.

The outgoing MICAT boss describes his appointment by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism as a small tale in the ongoing story of Liberia’s transformation, adding “The historical truth is that President Sirleaf did appoint me, a member of the opposition National Patriotic Party as Minister of Information, an appointment, which effectively elevated my voice to represent the Unity Party-led government both at home and abroad.”

Brown noted that for four long years, he did not only serve in the cabinet of the standard bearer of the Unity Party, but also enjoyed equally in access like all senior officials. “Over these years, I have never been impressed that I am a political outsider, who must be watched and entreated with suspicion; I have never had to think my views were not to be considered seriously by the President or other colleagues.”

Brown, who served in the cabinet of ex-president Charles Ghankay Taylor, says “I strongly believe that we do not get the plaudits we deserve for the work we do, but one thing I know is how hard each of you would continue to work, and I believe long after we are gone, the kindness of history will befall upon us.”

He thanked the other two branches of government, the Legislature and the Judiciary for their cooperation, saying “I understand that the tangibles – roads, ports, and electricity have understandably commanded public interest and attention, but I have seen our society leaped forward more on account of the changes in the intangibles, thanks to the coordinated efforts of the three branches for their evolution and consolidation of a new governance model in which the Legislature has gotten stronger and the judiciary more independent.”

According to him, “Even if our politics prevent us from admitting this, I know that as this new democratic order continues to unfold, Liberia and friends are settling in the truth that Liberia political transformation is irreversible that the new governance model of increasing accountability to the people through steadier commitment to the democratic principle of checks and balance is being institutionalized.”

An Executive Mansion press release issued late Wednesday in Monrovia did not say where Brown is being deployed as Ambassador, but sources in the cabinet hinted this paper the once Minister of Foreign Affairs under former President Taylor is likely to be posted in New York.

By Lewis S. Teh-Edited by Jonathan Browne