–LPP Cast White Ballot; Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe Emerges Standard Bearer
By Ekena Wesley, A Patriot’s Diary
Finally, the die Is cast! The Liberian People’s People (LPP) unequivocally, unanimously, and overwhelmingly cast a white ballot in favor of Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe. 150 delegates from across the country converged on the provincial city of Gbarnga and without any dot of hesitation, elected the veteran human rights lawyer and campaigner as the Standard Bearer of the party ahead of the 2023 general and presidential elections in Liberia. The LPP did not look afar. It endorsed a founding member of the party, after all.
After nearly a month of an open, democratic and competitive request for application, progressive elements of the Liberian People’s Party decided to ground arms in favor of Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe, whom they see as their favorite choice. Could there have been no other competitor to aim at the coveted flagbearer position? Of course, not! The LPP is a configuration of diverse intellectual heavyweights with the character and pedigree as Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe. Having emerged as an all-encompassing choice and favorite for the LPP ticket, the stage is now set for real political work to begin.
The grassroots nature and mass-based tentacles of LPP must now wittingly be effectively harnessed for a true and genuine representation of the interest of the masses. We have seen charlatans spring up in the name of the masses. In a relatively short while, their true identities became obvious. Now, this is the time for a truly unequivocally humbled epitome of the vast majority of the people’s interest to emerge.
In the trappings of the revolutionary tendencies of the masses, the true leaders of the masses are those who understand and live their reality. Leaders who were bred and buttered in the slums; leaders who have lived the harsh realities of life in the hamlets, villages, or towns; leaders who, while growing up, had to endure and trek miles to reach a village school, or had little or no access to health care facilities as it were. We are talking about leaders who, when the masses make a case of hunger, disease, and illiteracy – begin to see shivers hit their spines because they carry a sense of humanity.
Unarguably, the perfect choice of the Liberian People’s Party, Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe has an impeccable record of integrity, honesty, transparency, accountability, and determined tenacity in standing up for the rule of law. For him, our sanctity for making A Better Liberia Possible must be rooted in God’s eighth Commandment: “Thy shall not steal.” Cllr. Gongloe aspires to the conviction that: “Public service is a place to serve and not to steal.”
In the small West African nation, we, most often than not, get consumed by the argument or concerns about one’s track record. Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe’s private and public life spheres have been characterized and patterned by selflessness and consistent belief in the dictates of the rule of law. He would never promise to build skyscrapers in the sky. His sense of realism is anchored on the pursuit of nothing but the truth and the search for justice. He is a man of character, a realist, a pragmatist, and a selfless advocate for the poor.
Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe knows Liberia and its history vividly. He is au courant with our trappings of missteps and historical contradictions. He appreciates that our enormous wealth can transform our nation like other successful nations around the world. His vision is informed by ‘A Better Liberia is Possible’ agenda, which is for us to grow our economy by making wise and effective use of our resources. He thinks we can make Liberians millionaires only through strategic economic policies that would seek to spur growth and prosperity. No nation, he reckons, is built when the resources are wantonly squandered by kleptocrats and looters! He is bent on bringing honesty and altruism to Liberia’s governance landscape.
We should be able to make our schools competitive! Our health care system throughout the country, he argues should not be a death trap, but equipped and adequately resourced to respond to the needs of our people in real-time. These are the foundations of the new leadership Cllr. Gongloe espouses pursuant to the rule of law; good governance; accountability; quality education; better health access; youth empowerment; human rights protection; agriculture & rural development; and the development of Liberian entrepreneurship.
In his euphoric and elated acceptance speech at LPP’s Convention in Gbarnga, Cllr. Gongloe called for the observance of a moment of silence to the memory of Dr. Joseph Saye Guannu, former Vice Standard Bearer of the Liberian People’s Party, and all other fallen stalwarts of the Liberian People’s Party, who are not alive today to see this day. He expressed profound gratitude to delegates on behalf of his family “for your expression of confidence in me”, adding, “The mandate that you have given me by my election as the standard bearer of the Liberian People’s Party is huge.”
The newly minted presidential nominee continued, “Today, you have mandated me to effectively present to the Liberian people the agenda of the Liberian People’s Party for a Better Liberia- a Liberia in which the rule of law will be strengthened for the safety of all Liberians and the promotion of law and order through the maintenance of an effective and accountable police force, on the one hand, and the improvement of our court system to be so independent, fair and impartial for justice to be done to all with a high degree of integrity.”
“Today, you have directed me to go forward to tell the Liberian people that a better Liberia is possible if we collectively fight the high level of corruption that exists in the governance of Liberia, in order to save enough money to improve our health system, educational system, reduce food insecurity, improve our infrastructure, increase our use of technology and tap on our green energy potential in order to move from being an energy-dependent country to a productive partner in improving the electricity capacity of West Africa,” he thrilled rapturous convention delegates.
“Yes you have mandated me to let the Liberian people know that we can provide more job opportunities for Liberians through creative ways for factories and other employment generating activities all over Liberia away from Monrovia via different kinds of investment incentives thereby putting more money in the pockets of Liberians and improving government’s revenue-generating capacity. My dear partisans, you have directed me to tell the Liberian people that we can grow enough rice and other food crops for our consumption and even exportation by mechanized farming through farmers’ cooperatives and the agricultural battalion of the Armed Forces of Liberia,” the human advocate assured.
The eminent human rights lawyer further emphasized, “My esteemed comrades, you have clearly instructed me to go forth and tell the Liberian people that we can create Liberian millionaires outside government offices by giving Liberian business entities more government contracts than is being currently done. Your mandate, dear partisans is for me to convince the Liberian people that we must insist on adding value to our mineral resources such as producing polished diamonds and processed gold, adding value to our iron ore, and stopping the exportation of round logs and instead produce made in Liberia furniture for local use and export.
The integrity icon lamented: “Fellow partisans, Liberia has experienced the worst forms of hardship from the effects of one-party rule, military dictatorship, armed civil conflict, brutal civilian dictatorship all due to bad governance stimulated by greed and selfishness. Bad governance has made corruption an acceptable culture of governance, unfortunately. As a result of the high level of corruption in most government offices in Liberia, a majority of the people of Liberia are getting poorer and poorer every day.”
Like most of his compatriots, Counselor Gongloe’s conviction is that, “Corruption has made every aspect of life so difficult that more children are dying in Liberia before reaching the age of five, more pregnant women are dying and more people are dying from easily curable diseases and from hunger. Corruption is keeping more children out of school because their parents cannot afford to send them to school. Corruption has made it impossible for Liberians to travel in most parts of Liberia, especially in Southeastern Liberia during the rainy season. Corruption is a weapon of mass destruction. In Liberia corruption has become a pandemic. Like a pandemic, the only way to slow a pandemic is to take preventive measures.”
Amid cheers, Cllr. Gongloe averred: “We will tell the people that LPP believes in operating an open, transparent, and accountable government with the assets, salaries, and benefits of the president, the vice president, the Speaker, President Pro Tempore, the lawmakers, the Chief Justice, justices and judges as well as all public service employees made known to the people of Liberia by publishing same on a government website. We will mobilize and motivate the Liberian people by showing a good example, for all Liberians to collectively sweep corruption from Liberia. The number one task of the Liberian People’s Party today is to lead the Liberian people in the battle against corruption. We must collectively form a movement against this notorious enemy of Liberia.”
Cllr. Gongloe opined that: “The challenge of transforming Liberia into a better country for all is indeed a very difficult one. However, with our party’s principle of putting the interest of the people above all other considerations, we will overcome the challenge of transforming Liberia for all Liberians to equally enjoy Liberia. The people of Botswana, Singapore, Rwanda, and UAE have shown us that with good leadership any country can be transformed into a better country, no matter how difficult the situation. For example, Botswana is a landlocked country with more than half of its land covered by the Kalahari desert; Singapore is a little island with less natural resources; Rwanda is a landlocked country that fought a bitter civil war like Liberia, and the United Arab Emirates was a desert land for many years with the popular mode of transport being camels and donkeys.”
The human rights lawyer concluded by saying: “I dream of a Liberia in which Liberia will be free and so sweet for every and all Liberians such that no Liberian will be reluctant to depart from and hurry to return to. This is only possible if we sweep corruption away from every government office in Liberia. Government is a place to serve, not to steal. Without corruption, a better Liberia is possible.”
