SANNIQUELLIE, Nimba – Rep. Samuel G. Kogar is calling on Pres. Joseph Boakai to respect Liberia’s constitution by refraining from appointing paramount and clan chiefs and allowing citizens to elect their chiefs.
Rep. Kogar, who represents Nimba’s fifth district, noted that Liberian presidents had violated the constitution by appointing these chiefs. He also noted that county superintendents sometimes intimidate, suspend, or “arbitrarily remove” the chiefs.
The constitution clearly states that chiefs should be elected: “There shall be elections of paramount, clan, and town chiefs by the registered voters in their respective localities, to serve for a term of six years. They may be re-elected and may be removed only by the president for proved misconduct.”
However, since the end of the civil war and former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s 2006 election, the president has appointed hundreds of chiefs in Liberia, violating the constitution.
Kogar accused the executive branch of intimidating chiefs to support candidates of their choice during elections. If those chiefs were elected by their people, the Nimba lawmaker said he believes they can act independently in the interest of their people without fear of removal.
While Pres. Boakai has appointed many local government officials, he has not yet made appointments at the chieftaincy level. Kogar promised to push the Unity Party government to allocate a budget for those elections.
“The government has the opportunity to secure loans… and the National Elections Commission should be able to conduct elections for chiefs,” he said.
Responding to Rep. Kogar, Internal Affairs Minister Francis S. Nyumalin pointed out that the Local Government Act permits the county superintendent to appoint “acting chiefs.”
Meanwhile, Nyumalin disclosed that the Local Government Act ended the existence of the National Traditional Council of Liberia and established the National Council of Chiefs in its place. This new council will see chiefs assemble at the county level under the supervision of the county superintendents to elect their chairpersons and other officers, who will then constitute the county council of chiefs. The chairpersons from the 15 councils of chiefs will automatically become members of the National Council of Chiefs.
Unlike the National Traditional Council of Liberia, previously headed by Chief Zanzan Karwah and based in Monrovia, members of the National Council of Chiefs will live in their counties and govern their respective chiefdoms. They will attend a bi-annual convention at rotating locations and hold ad-hoc meetings as needed.
Nyumalin said a support office is being established to coordinate the affairs of the National Council of Chiefs and hailed the Liberian Legislature for allotting funding in the budget for the operations of the support office.
Liberia’s Internal Affairs Minister Francis S. Nyumalin. Photo: Jerry Myers
However, he has mandated Nimba’s superintendent to convene a meeting of chiefs in two weeks to establish Nimba’s County Council of Chiefs.
He assured the traditional leaders that the changes in the law would not have a major impact on them. They would still carry out their normal activities, but they would now be under the supervision of the County Council of Chiefs in their respective counties.
Featured photo by Jerry Myers
