MONROVIA: Jeff Koijee, immediately past Monrovia City Mayor has advised recently dismissed civil servants to quickly pursue asylum outside of Liberia.
He quoted distrust in the court system and accused President Joseph Boakai of masterminding the ‘illegal’ dismissal of those employees at various entities.
Koijee, who is the Secretary General of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), wrote on his official Facebook page on Friday, August 16, 2024, in response to the recent dismissal of nine (9) employees of the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC).
The dismissal letter of each individual signed by Mayor Siafa, surfaced on social media lately.
Mayor Siafa attributed his decisions to the alleged continued insults heaped on President Boakai and other top government officials by the affected persons via their personal Facebook pages.
But the former mayor argued that Mayor Siafa’s actions have exposed his gross incompetence for the position he occupies, arguing that the Mayor ignored the Decent Work Act of 2015 which supersedes the MCC’s Human Resource Policy and relied on the outdated Labor Law, citing sections 1508, subsection 6c of the labor law as a basis for his ‘unwarranted’ action.
“The recommendation and subsequent pronouncement by the Director General of Civil Service Agency for the immediate dismissal of employees of the Monrovia City Government is a clear violation of the Charter supporting the Autonomy of the City Government to manage its personnel outside of the Central Government as required by Law,” he said.
According to him, the decision by the Mayor amounts to politicization of the Monrovia City Government on a partisan basis against the mandate of residents of the City and the Act creating the Monrovia City Government.
He stressed that the action has the proclivity of scaring away donors and international development partners including foreign embassies near Monrovia.
“Fellow dismissed Liberians, I can safely state that you should not endeavor to test the court system of Liberia as your only alternative is to seek asylum outside of Liberia—because your dismissals were commissioned by Mr. Boakai, who sits at the highest office in our state,” Koijee emphasized.
Besides, Mr. Koijee noted that the repealing of specific sections of the penal laws, including sections 11.11 (criminal libel against the president), 11.12 (sedition), and 11.14 (criminal malevolence), indicates that employees cannot be penalized for actions that are no longer legally actionable.
The chief scribe of the CDC further revealed that prior to the dismissals, the party was reliably informed that President Boakai had mandated the Civil Service Agency, Josiah Joekai, and the Monrovia City Mayor to dismiss scores of Liberians as a grand plot, but with initial dismissals of nine employees of the City Government.
The former mayor described as counterproductive these dismissals to addressing the unemployment crisis in Liberia; something he said undermines the very fundamental ideas the president campaigned to rescue Liberia. He noted that these dismissals are instruments of chaos to divide Liberia in a post-election environment.
“The Mayor of Monrovia has proven his sheer incompetence that he is unable to govern the state affairs of Monrovia—which has directly impacted the risk and vulnerability among those dismissed and those who do not share the same political sentiments with the Unity Party, yet aspire to contribute to national development and growth,” Koijee asserted.
He said it saddened beyond imagination to watch those who used propaganda to argue governance under President Weah are now authoring a system of ‘political witch-hunts’ and violating the constitution of the Republic of Liberia.
Stating another instance for his distrust in the Liberian justice system and his advice for the dismissed employees to seek asylum, M. Koijee recalled a few weeks ago when Assistant Minister for Urban Affairs at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Mike Jabateh, threatened to kill Representative Yekeh Kolubah of Montserrado County Electoral District #10.
“Mr. Mike Jabateh, a man who claims to be a Russian spy, threatened to pay Liberians US $1,000 to murder a sitting Representative—the rule of law was nowhere, as Mike Jabateh still goes to work today and survives on the Liberian people’s economy,” Koijee said.
He noted that after Jabateh’s life-threatening plot against the lawmaker, he was seen in a courtesy photo with President Boakai in honor of his accomplished threat towards Kolubah. “Additionally, in the presence of a National Budget alteration, Mr. Boakai sits idle while still dismissing Liberians”.
The former City Mayor said the decision to have dismissed innocent Liberians on the grounds of social media posts is an utter political target against not just those dismissed but their wives and children.
“Under Boakai, we can no longer use social media to disagree on policy and leadership issues. When one does this, it warrants an immediate dismissal. It is however a shame to see the country’s highest office accusing Liberians of insulting the president,” he indicated.
He stressed that the Liberian leader is hastily cracking down on democracy in his old age and leaving a generation hopeless.
Koijee precisely pointed out Article 18 of the 1986 Liberia Constitution. He said this provision explicitly prohibits dismissal based on partisanship, tribe, creed, and other discriminatory factors.
“The Mayor’s willful aberration, abrogation, and circumvention of due process by not allowing the affected employees to be heard in at least preliminary investigation, further infringe and impugn on the rights and reputation of the affected employees,” the CDC Secretary-General noted.
At the same time, Koijee reminded the Boakai-Koung government that during his days in the Coalition for Democratic Change regime as the youngest City Mayor in the country’s history, he retained at least 20 active members of the former opposition Unity Party (2018-2023) until the left CDC lost 2023 presidential election to the UP.
“I, as the Mayor, ensured to retain partisans of the Unity Party. My presence at the Monrovia City Government was no threat to the survivability of the people of Liberia. Whether you were Unity Party Partisans, ANC, or LP, I saw everyone as Liberians where we could all work together and contribute to the ordinance of our city,” he said.
Mr. Koijee also reminded civil society organizations and the international community of the CDC relentless alarm about alleged political witch-hunts, abuse of power, attack on the democracy and peace of the country and continuous violation of the constitution by President Boakai and his government officials.
“These dismissals concern our domestic politicking but also have the potential risk of undermining the long-lasting relationship we share with diplomatic missions in Liberia and the business environments,” he noted.
He believes there is no sustainable peace when the very citizens who fought for the country’s democracy are dismissed from their jobs when they are supposed to be caring for their households with monthly incomes.
“When the government targets innocent Liberians, sometimes the alternative is citizen action which can deeply hurt the peace of our society,” he voiced out while pointing to coup led by aggrieved citizens in a few West African countries, including Nigeria, Mali, and Burkina Faso among others due to constitutional crises.
Mr. Koijee stressed that the crackdown on constitutional orders in West Africa is influenced by widespread corruption, major human rights violations, and extreme poverty among citizens cannot be overemphasized. “The Time to resist Mr. Boakai is now or never”.