Editorial: Holding CDC To Its Words

Congress for Democratic Change standard bearer Cllr. Winston Tubman, who has been the main advocate for street protest and public disorder in Liberia following the 2011 elections took the country by surprise last weekend just a day to the inauguration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Vice President Joseph N. Boakai when he announced that the CDC is now ready to work with the government.

“We in CDC have always wanted to be part of our government’s effort to unite the country and to move it forward. And we had negotiations and discussions, and finally now, we think we’ve reached the point, where we can say to the country that we are working, ready to work, be with the government to help unite the country and to move it forward.  We want to say, especially to CDCians out there, you are an important element in this country and you can play your rightful role in it, not outside, looking in, but inside, bringing your full contribution”, Tubman told fellow partisans following a meeting with President Sirleaf last week in Monrovia.

Other senior officials of the party, including vice standard bearer George Weah and deputy campaign manager George Solo, reportedly attended the meeting. Mr. Solo had earlier threatened to lead street demonstrations in Monrovia to disrupt the inauguration of President Sirleaf and Vice President Boakai as a way of expressing to the people of Liberia that the CDC does not recognize the legitimacy of the Sirleaf administration.

Notwithstanding, we welcome the change of posture at the eleventh hour, which we strongly hoped was done in good faith not only at the satisfaction (we hope so) of CDCians, but overall peace in the country. 

Liberia embarked on a new slate on Monday, January 16, 2012 with the inauguration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Vice President Joseph N. Boakai for a second term. The inauguration, graced by hundreds of thousands of Liberians, including Tubman, Weah and Solo as well as dozens of foreign guests, followed the October 11, 2011 general and presidential elections and the November 8 run-off poll, respectively.

The overtures by the President in reaching out to members of the opposition bloc, coupled with a professed commitment to forming a government of inclusion is good for the building of a new Liberia where every citizen would be given an opportunity to make contribution irrespective of party affiliation or political ideology.

In the same vein, we hope that this time around, the CDC would remain true to its words by contributing in earnest to help the government move ahead with social and economic development, which our people need most, regardless of which party, is in power.

We challenge Cllr. Tubman and other CDC executives, including George Weah and George Solo to seize the opportunity to take up jobs that will be offered by the President and remain in the government to serve rather than pulling out.

The stage at which we have reached as a people following very peaceful, free and fair elections, demands that this country remains on the current trajectory so that our youths, whose interest the country’s political leaders claimed to be working,  can have the prospect of developing their full potentials.

If only the CDC, as the main opposition party here and other members of the opposition bloc can guarantee all Liberians that it’s time to march forward despite disagreements on policy strategies, Liberia will progress at a pace unprecedented much to the envy of our neighbors and the world at large. This is the challenge that Tubman and his partisans must strive to uphold in the interest of the country and its people.