LIBA’S President, members must result to the best option

Since the election of the President of the Liberia Business Association or LIBA as National Chairman of the Movement for Economic Empowerment or MOVEE in Gbarnga, Bong County a few weeks ago, there continue to be mounting concerns from within and outside of the association.

Many view Mr. Dee Maxwell Kemayah’s Presidency of LIBA and at the same time, Chairmanship of MOVEE as a complete conflict of interest. Not only is he serving two variant position at the same time, his decision is tantamount to exposing the Liberia Business Association to integrity problem, as well as truly endangering the future and survivor of the association. In other words, the government with whom LIBA must collaborate in accordance with the Act creating it, may find it difficult for such collaboration. Partners may even raise eye-brows at the way its leadership is transformed.

It is no secret that LIBA, under current President Kemayah, has for some times been on the side of former Central Bank Governor J. Mills Jones, in disguise under GRANDCOALEO for a little over two years now. Under this nomenclature, LIBA was reportedly transformed into the political machinery to plant Governor Jones’ Movement for Economic Empowerment or MOVEE throughout the country. At the moment, county officers and current LIBA executives are reportedly transformed into MOVEE’S recruitment centers and offices.

As a result of his entrenched political activities and anticipated chairmanship of MOVEE, Mr. Kemayah was booted out recently of the National Governing Council or NGC of the African Peer Review Mechanism Liberia Country Program for the same conflict of interest, as well as compromising the integrity and purposes of the NGC.

While the argument by Kemaya is that LIBA’s Constitution – the one he’s alleged to have manipulated, may not be in opposition to his current status is being pursued, it is only morally rational and in the supreme interest of LIBA for the President of the association and his executives to understand that such conflict of interest will not help the growth and development of LIBA in terms of its goals and objectives, being very cognizant of how the government sees such decision.

Furthermore, there may even be fears among members of LIBA in the wake of the current trends of events wherein the organization may now be considered ‘politicized’ by most of its general membership and other observers. And this may either result to weakness in strength of LIBA or split – something which not augur well for Liberian businesses and country’s economy.

In view of the foregoing, LIBA’s members whose belief is that the association is now ‘politicized’ against its goals and objectives and President Dee Maxwell Saah-Kemayah must constructively engage to restore LIBA’s diminishing integrity and future disintegration.

There must be an earnest option as the way forward for the Liberia Business Association that has been so strong in recent years so much so that we can now boast of multiple Liberian-owned businesses across the country.