House’s Betrayal: Complete Replacement the Only Option

Since the inception of the Global Witness corruption report, involving some top officials of the Liberian Government, including House Speaker J. Alex Tyler, as well as their subsequent indictment by the court, the political atmosphere in the House continues to be un-necessarily unfavorable.

While some members of the House of Representatives are opting for the Speaker’s recusal or removal on ‘moral’ grounds, others want him stay on to continuously preside over the activities of that august body. Of late, a resolution for his removal has evolved with a number of Representatives, including Montserrado’s Edwin Snowe being the first to sign, according to him.

As a result of the foregoing situation, Legislative functions and other activities continue to be stalled, delayed or less considered probably due to lack of quorum or others. The current huddles in the passage of the 2016/2017 National Budget, including the President’s latest move to recall the document is also indicative of the political row in the House and by extension, the Liberian Presidency.

The ongoing actions of Members of the House of Representatives may only be exposing the uninformed and regrettable decisions Liberians made at the poll to elect self-centered and ‘don’t-care’ individuals lacking the moral rectitude to represent them.

Interestingly, the ‘cash politics’ interplaying in the whole row, under the guise of the so-called Global Witness Report continues to widen the conflict. The pro-Tyler and Executive Mansion reported financial inducements to some members of the House may even be exacerbating the situation.

Let’s make it emphatic clear that we have no side in the ongoing politics in the House of Representatives; our primary interest is the interest of the Liberian people whose decisions have got the Representatives at the Capitol.

As we express these disappointments, we all must cautioned against making the wrong decisions again come October 2017 at which time we will be at the poll. Their inability to represent our interest in the House thus betraying the confidence reposed in them, must give us the courage to have them all replaced no matter the circumstances.