“Joab was told, “The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom. And for the whole army the victory that day was turned into mourning,” 2 Samuel 19:1-2a
MONROVIA – The Government and people of Liberia have been warned against turning Liberia’s victory in 2023 to mourning. The call was made by the Bishop Kortu K. Brown of the Apostolic Pentecostal Church International. He spoke at the climax of a “Greater Praise Week” that ran from Monday, June 10 thru Sunday, June 16, 2024 at the headquarters congregation, New Water in the Desert Assembly in Brewerville, Montserrado County. He spoke on the general theme: TO GOD BE THE GLORY – Unhindered, Unobstructed! With the sub-theme: “Let’s Sustain Our Victory” with Scripture Text from the book of 2 Samuel Chapter 19 verses 1 and 2.
In press statement issued today, the outspoken Pentecostal cleric averred that the power to sustain our victory has been given to us by God. He recalled that during the 2023 Presidential and Legislative elections in Liberia, people fear that the country would have degenerated into violence, confusion, chaos and even civil war. “However, Liberians prayed and God delivered the country. The elections passed peaceably without any disturbances or disruption” he said, adding, “I doubt if there’s anything like a complete victory. You will always have to work towards sustaining your victory…”
Now about six months after those peaceful election and transfer of power, the whole governance process, the Bishop said, is becoming more and more challenging with a very noisy environment, a cracking ‘rescue’ mission, increasing homicide, intolerance, disagreements over fiscal accountability measures, incoherent public relations and a public display of bigotry, etc., leaving many ordinary Liberians worry and confused about the future viability of the “rescue” mission. There’s just too much public disagreements amongst rescue actors that if care is not taken, it will distract from the purpose of attaining state power, contending that like Joab of Bible days, we also can caution our political leaders against turning our “victory into mourning…”
Solving Problem
Bishop Brown, who is the immediate past president of the Liberia Council of Churches argued that the foremost purpose of a government is to “solve problems”, adding the country is faced with a lot of problems and the government officials need to focus on addressing those serious issues including hunger, poverty, ignorance, disease, disunity, etc. “It doesn’t make sense for Government officials to spend their whole time just on unnecessary arguments without any results to show. They must get to work” adding “the problem of children going to school in many areas, meeting health needs and addressing hunger, amongst others, are with us each day”.
Facebook Government Officials
The clergyman called on President Boakai to dismiss government officials who spend all their time while at work on the social media. “Some officials of ministries and agencies use their working time taking and posting pictures the whole day on Facebook, etc. When will they do the government work? He quipped. Bishop Brown called on government officials to use their Ministries and Agencies websites or Facebook pages to promote the work of the government and not just posting pictures of themselves the whole time as if they don’t have work to do.
Stakeholders’ Consultation
With the level of disunity brewing in the country occasioned by how close the 2023 election’s results were between the Unity Party and CDC, the LCC former president called for national stakeholders’ engagements to help strengthen national cohesion. “By now I expected that President Boakai will bring together the various political leaders including former President George Weah, Alexander Cummings and others to help give direction to the country. When the people see their political leaders coming together, it will impact them and compel them to follow such examples thereby reducing the unnecessary contentions in the country and sustaining the victory of the Liberian people from the 2023 presidential elections.
Bishop Brown advised that the government needs to consult other stakeholders including the religious community, civil society, business community, etc. “All Liberians have a contribution to make to the sustenance and development of their country” he said
Incoherent Public Relations
Bishop Brown called on the Government to streamline her public messaging. “There are too many government spokespersons and they are confusing government’s messaging. So far, I think the Minister of Information has been doing a good job. He address national issues in a responsible and more coherent way and I want to say it in this public way. I think it is time the government harmonizes her messaging so that there’s no confusion in the transmission and reception of what the government is saying to the citizens” he advised. He cautioned the government against the “first-time-it-is-happening” claims that every government like to exploit arguing that if something happens for the first time the Liberian people will know it like the war and economic crimes court decision by President Boakai, etc. He also cautioned Liberians to recognize the efforts of the government to make improvement in any sector of the society and criticize them when they go wrong.
War and Economic Crimes Court
Bishop Brown commended the government’s decision to establish the war and economic crimes court as a good one because he argued that “it will help to serve as a deterrence for Liberians who always threaten to bring war to the country if things don’t go their way”. He argued that the court is not against anyone person and “the establishment of the court doesn’t mean that the people they are calling to the court are already guilty. Former president Laurent Gbagbo from The Ivory Coast went to the ICC in The Hague and was found guiltless after 10 years”.
