Ganta declaration a fiasco?

A stalwart of the ruling Unity Party has declared that the September Ganta Declaration signed by 15 opposition political parties is unachievable.Senator CommanyWesseh attributed his declaration to divisive statements emanating from politicians following the conclusion of the accord.

Sen. Wesseh told this paper Monday afternoon at his Capitol building Office in Monrovia that political parties here have shown that opposition political parties cannot easily collaborate on one front for the presidency.

He intimated that his political life has created serious doubt on the actualization of the collaboration arraignments organized by Nimba County Senator Prince Yormie Johnson under the banner ‘Ganta Declaration’.

He noted that if the collaboration arraignments were to hold, it would put a greater threat on the presidential bid of the ruling Unity Party retaining the presidency, but the prevailing situation characterizing the current sour relationships among the opposition parties make him to think such collaborative effort is far from the reality.

He suggested that in the wake of the political behavior of the opposition, the Liberian presidency is certain for Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai who now enjoys the ‘political leader’ title of the ruling establishment.

According to him, heads of many of the opposition political parties were not sincere in their quest for collaboration ahead of the 2017 Presidential and Representatives elections.
He described participants of the Ganta political meeting as egoistic, saying their target is to head the collaboration at the expense of others – something losers may not easily accept. He said such would put the collaboration in jeopardy, paving the way for the continuation of the Unity Party over the nation’s governance for another six years.

Fifteen opposition political parties, on September 17, signed a communiqué in Ganta, Nimba County, to form a collaborative front against the ruling Unity Party (UP) in the 2017 legislative and presidential elections.

In the document, known as the “Ganta Declaration,” the opposition political parties agreed to work together to achieve victory in 2017. They also resolved to constitute a joint technical committee (JTC) comprising two representatives from each party to work out the details for approval by the national executive committee of their respective political parties.

The JTC is expected to report within 60 days as of the date the declaration was signed in Ganta, Nimba County. As part of the agreement, the parties made a solemn pledge not to castigate or denigrate each other in any manner and, in the event of disagreement – a matter that would be referred to the JTC for redress.

The “Ganta Declaration” also welcomed and encouraged other opposition political parties not signatories to the agreement, to join, further urging them to make their intentions known through letters of intent to the JTC.

Commenting on the performance on the Liberian Senate for the 5th sitting, the River Gee lawmaker told this paper that the Liberian Senate adequately performed dutifully as enshrined in the 1986 Liberian Constitution.

He quickly injected that the recent leadership crisis in the House of Representatives stalled the functionaries of the Senate, including the passage of the 2016/17 National Budget, Land Bill, as well as the Affirmative bill, among others, because of the protracted crisis.

By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor