By Kruah Thompson
Nimba County District#8 Representative Larry P. Younquoi has accused Speaker Bhofal Chambers of being overly protective of issues arising in the House.
However, Representative Larry noted that rules that are structured to govern the House, give the Speaker absolute authority so when letters are written to cite individuals to provide clarity on governmental projects, he does not allow for such letters to surface during session.
Speaking to Hot FM recently, he said a letter was written to Speaker Chambers to cite the Minister of Finance to provide clarity on a pending government project, but the letter was denied.
He said if Speaker Chambers could deny a simple letter that requests the appearance of the Minister of Finance to inform the House how far the government has gone with the planned census, wherein the international community is raising 16 million dollars, and to provide clarity on three million United States Dollars (US$3 Million)that Liberia is to contribute to the census, then what’s more about a communication to bring in the director of Police to respond to a recent situation at the Capitol that left dozens of citizens oozing with blood in the form and manner they did.
Emphasizing the recent situation on Tuesday, January 17, 2022, at the Capitol, Rep. Younquoi notes that under normal conditions, “You could put a communication on the floor for a deterrent for people to know what was happening”, saying “now a day, the world has become so small place because you have social media. So if people were blocking traffic, it will show, if others were behaving in a certain manner, it will show. But if nothing like that happens and you just started to shoot tear gas or decided to disturb people at the Capitol, there will be a way of finding solutions and preventing the reoccurring of such.”
He continues that Speaker Chambers is trying to protect the image of the government, and because of his action, some lawmakers have intentionally decided to remain silent during sessions as if they’re no longer interested in doing their job, which he notes is the problem faced at the Capitol. Editing by Jonathan Browne
