By Samuel G. Dweh
The actions from the Director of Communications and the Minister Proper caused my failure on paying the school fees of my children (in Nigeria and Liberia) and caused my failure to by “Christmas wears and foods” for my eight-member family…
HOW I BECAME CONNECTED WITH THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION’S MAGAZINE (2ND EDITION) PROJECT
In August, 2022, I called (via phone call and text message) attention of the Ministry of Education (Prof. Dr. Dao Ansu Sonii) and the Ministry’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs (J. Maxime Bleetahn) to more than 45 grammatical errors, many spelling errors, typographical errors, and paragraphing errors in the First Edition of the Ministry’s Magazine (produced in 2021) named “Education Mirror”.
Even information from the Minister’s office, titled “Message from the Minister”, had spelling errors. He wrote “que” (instead of “cue”) in a sentence about following other Countries’ “example” (cue) on improvement of the education sector.
The text message to the Minister advised him to not allow circulation of the Magazine in the reading public, because such errors are “academic stains” on the Minister’s personal “exalted academic image”, and the “nationally revered image of the Ministry of Education as the National coordinator and role model of showing quality education to the entire Liberian population, and beyond Liberia”.
The Minister didn’t respond to any of my calls, and text message. I got the Minister’s phone contacts and E-mail addresses during his meeting with my leadership of the Liberia Association of Writers (LAW) when he invited “LAW’s representatives” to announce his “interest or plans” for promotion of Liberian Authors’ Books in Government’s Schools across the Country.
Mr. Bleetahn responded to my information: “Mr. Samuel G. Dweh, the person who served as Editor-In-Chief of all stories in that magazine has a Ph.D, university degree, and he is a author of two Books. So, I won’t believe what you said—grammatical errors, and other erros, in that magazine.”
On the University degree-based brag from the Ministry’s Director of Communications, I showed—through a “tutorial feature article”—all the errors and tutored the Ministry’s “writers” and the Magazine’s “Editor-In-Chief” on the “right” grammatical constructions, as well as other errors.
I shared my “tutorial article” with the Education Minister and the Director of Communications through each person’s E-mail box. I also shared the “tutorial article” with Liberian Media Institutions (radio stations and newspapers) for publication, and published it on my Facebook. (You can access the article through “Samuel G. Dweh”) For the traditional Media, only “Smart News Liberia”, “New Public Trust Media”, “Global News Network (GNN)”, “Hot Pepper”, and “The Inquirer Newspaper” published the “tutorial article”. Go to each Media institution’s website to read the “teaching write-up”
HIRED FOR THE 2ND EDITION OF “EDUCATION MIRROR”
On the 26th of November, 2022, the Ministry’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs (J. Maxime Bleetahn) connected to me via phone call and told me I had been selected to edit/proofread stories for the second edition of “Education Mirror”, and told me to meet him at his office (Ministry of Education, in the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex, Congo Town, Montserrado County) 11am of the next day (December 17).
“The Minister of Education, Professor Dr. Dao Ansu Sonii, has endorsed my recommendation of you as the editor or proofreader for the second edition of the Ministry’s Magazine. The Ministry’s official who served as the Editor-In-Chief for the first edition has expressed his lack of interest of being part of the production of the second edition of the Magazine. Your being selected is based on your pointing out several errors in the first edition of the magazine edited by a Ph.D holder,” the MoE’s Director of Communications explained to me when we met the first time at the MoE.
Before going to where I would do work, I verbally (by mouth) told Mr. Bleetahn about my professional charge: ten United States Dollars (US$10) per page (500-700 words)
“Money isn’t the problem now. The Ministry has budgeted one thousand and five hundred United State Dollars for all those on the project, to work her,” he responded. The total number of persons on the project was three—me, the Printing Company’s graphics person (named Emmanuel) and Mr. Bleetahn (serving as Supervisor)
He drove me, in his car, to where I will work. The working place was “Speedo Print (Lib.) Inc.”, owned by a Lebanese businessman, along the Street in Capitol Bye-Pass, Monrovia.
I started work (editing/proofreading) on a desktop computer owned by the Printing Company. There were plenty grammatical errors in each of the stories—like those in the first edition of the Magazine I had called the attention of the Minister and Director of Communications to. Stories about the Minister’s Nationwide tours, for inspection of Schools (grade-level and Technical or Vocational Colleges) contained the highest numbers of spelling and grammatical errors. Even information from Presidential Advisor, Dr. Lawrence Komlah Bropleh, one of Liberia’s revered educated persons, contained errors. One of the errors is “breath” (instead of “breadth”) in one of his sentences about “measurement” (length and breadt) But, I did “grammatical surgeries” on each “grammatically stained” story. The “grammatical restructuring” of stories claimed eight days of my time.
The MoE’s liaison officer gave me extra tasks: typing of the Ministry’s “Christmas Greetings” to Head of State George M. Weah, other Government officials (Legislators, members of the Cabinet, and Heads of Government’s Agencies) and Liberia’s International Department Partners (The World Bank, USAID, etc.) I also typed some of the stories sent to his WhatsApp. (One of the stories sent to his WhatsApp was Liberia’s “Flag Day celebration speech” by Presidential Advisor Dr. Lawrence Komlah Bropleh) These “extra works” were not parts of the “work contract” we had agreed on before I started work!
I completed my assigned task (editing/proofreading) December 7, 2022.
On the 8th of December, I engaged the Ministry’s Director of Communications (through whom the Ministry’s Leadership hired me) for my “professional service fee”
“The Minister had told me, he wants to see the dummy of what we have done before he gives order to the Ministry’s Accounts and Audit Departments for release of the cheque with the amount budgeted for the work we are on,” Mr. J. Maxime Bleetahn replied to my demand.
Notably, Mr. Bleetahn’s actions delayed the production of the “dummy” (sample) by the Corel Draw man (employee of Speedo Printing Press) He delayed the production through the following actions: Most times arriving late (between 2pm and 4pm) for his “supervisory role” (the only thing he did throughout the pre-printing period); supplying different stories to be edited, and inserted into the Corel Draw (laid-out) version (dummy); and continuous indecision of photos to remain in the laid-out version—instructing the graphics man (named Emmanuel—employee of Speedo Printing Company) to insert photos he deemed “appropriate”, but instruct Emmanuel to replace the laid-out photos with another ones in the Ministry of Education’s photo file saved on the Printing Company’s Layout computer.
THE MINISTER REJECTED SUBMITTED DUMMY
On the 19th of December, Director of Communications, J. Maxime Bleetahn submitted a sample of “done work” to the Minister (Ansu Sonii), but the Minister condemned the sample on presence of “old photos” (that are in the 1st Edition) and “grammatical errors in some of the edited stories,” Mr. Bleetahn reported to me.
On the Minister’s assertion of “grammatical errors”, I told Mr. Bleetahn to take me to the Minister to point to the errors. To me, there was no “grammatical error” in any of the stories edited by me. To me, the Minister’s comments were an “excuse” to delay payment of my professional service fee.
The Minister was in a meeting with a group of Counties’ Education Officers (CEO) when we arrived at the office. Mr. Bleetahn explained to the Minister’s Personal Assistant (Mr. Albert Samukai) our purpose; the PA told us to wait for the in-meeting Minister. Up to the time this “complaint article” appeared in print, the Minister had never showed the “grammatical errors” to me.
When the meeting ended, and the Minister came out, the Ministry’s Director of Communications introduced me to the Minister, and explained why we were at his office.
“I do not have time now to discuss the matter related to the magazine matter. I am rushing now to meet my President, George Manneh Weah, to arrive at the Airport soon,” Education Minister, Dao Ansu Sonii, responded to Mr. Bleetahn’s comments. Later, the Minister added (to his
Comments to the Ministry’s Communications Chief): “If you want me drop meeting my President for meeting you on this Magazine matter, put that into writing.”
The Minister walked out, followed by his personal security and a retinue of Counties’ Education Officers.
“You heard what the Minister said,” Mr. Bleetahn said to me, and started walking away, without first telling me for us to leave together.
Suddenly, I became imagining my “paternal shame” (to my children) from my inability of paying the school fees of my children in Nigeria and Liberia, and the impossibility of buying wears and foods for my eight-member family. I didn’t have another source of income. I had turned down contract of writing, editing or proofreading offered by one private institution and another from two individuals—just for the MoE’s work!
A NEW DUMMY SUBMITTED
I met the Director of Communications at the Printing Company, and he expressed his satisfaction from the Company’s printing of a new dummy.
“I will take the dummy to the Minister, and our cheque will be released tomorrow,” he said to me.
But, the next day, I felt a sudden heart attack from the “latest news” from Director of Communications—J. Maxime Bleetahn. “I didn’t meet the Minister by 4pm when I arrved to present the dummy to him. I called his phone line, and he told me the cheque will be ready on December 29, or in January of the new year, 2023.”
Four days later, I raced with a photocopy of my service fee payment delay-related “complaint letter” (original letter sent to the Minister on 13th of December) to the Ministry of Education, to “appeal” to the Minister for part of my professional service fee (if all can’t come out) to pay my children’s school fees and buy things for the Christmas celebration. But I met the Ministry “officially closed” for the Christmas break. “Nobody in any of the offices. See the official communication on the glass door,” a member of the Ministry’s Security team said to me, and directed my attention to the official closure notice. Suddenly, my entire body began trembling out of frustration on the impossibility of getting money (from another place) to pay my children’s school fees and to buy Christmas wears and foods for my children and their mothers.
I went to the Ministry December 28 (the after-Christmas break date), but met doors of the Communications Department and the Minister’s office locked. I stayed around two hours, on the feeling that the people I have come to see will show up in that time. But no one came.
I walked back to my house (in Sinkor), via leg, like I did when coming to the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex (in Congo Town). The walking took one hour plus forty minutes. I had only three hundred Liberian dollars (equivalent of US$2.00) on me—being reserved for “lunch” for my two kids (age 6 and age 3) with me in Liberia.
Education Minister (Prof. Dao Ansu Sonii) and other members of the Ministry’s Leadership continuously cry for other Liberians to support the Ministry’s programs or activities aimed at development of Liberia’s education sector from “mess” (the way President Ellen Sirleaf described it during her State of the Nation Address in 2015) to “Best” (the current President George Manneh Weah said he will turn it) But, some members of the Ministry’s authority (during George Manneh Weah’s Presidency) are ‘fraudulently treating’ or ‘inhumanely treating’ out-side professionals “hired” or have “voluntarily come in” to “assist” the Ministry.
More information about the Author and his academic achievements
Samuel G. Dweh, a member of the Wedabo ethnic group of Grand Kru County (situated in southeastern Liberia) is a professional writer (fiction & non-fiction), Author (of four Books and with four manuscripts for more Books) He is a member and former president of Liberia Association of Writers (LAW), and member of Press Union of Liberia.
Other Academic Achievements:
Tutored President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s Speech writer on grammatical errors in the President’s Independence Day’s Speech (2011)
Tutored President George Manneh Weah’s speechwriter that produced the President’s Speech (with grammatical errors) to the 175th Sitting of the United Nations General Assembly (2020)
He had served as senior editor with eight Newspapers—Daily Observer (Proofreader–2011); Insight Newspaper (News Editor—2012); FOCUS Newspaper (Editor0in-Chief—2013); Catalyst Newspaper (Deputy Editor-in-Chief-2013); MICROSCOPE Newspaper (Managing Editor—2013); New Republic Newspaper (News Editor—2014); The Activist Newspaper (Editor-in-Chief—2015); and New Voice Newspaper (News Editor & Deputy Editor-in-Chief—2016).
