“Seek Asylum Out of Liberia Now” CDC SG Calls on Dismissed Civil Servants…Shoots Appointing Fingers at Pres. Boakai

Jefferson Tamba Koijee, the immediate past Mayor of Monrovia City has robustly advised recently dismissed civil servants by current Monrovia City Mayor, John Siafa to seek asylum outside of Liberia. He mentioned doubt in the court system and accused President Joseph Nyuma Boakai of masterminding the ‘illegal’ dismissal of those employees at various entities.

Jefferson T. Koijee, who is the Secretary General of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), made these revelations via his official Facebook page Friday, August 16, 2024. The post according to him is in response to the recent dismissal of nine (9) employees of the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC).

Dismissal letters of the nine staffs of MCC, signed by Mayor Siafa, pop up on social media few days ago where the Mayor attributed his decisions to the alleged continued insults rained on President Boakai and other top officials of government by the affected persons via their personal Facebook pages, something he said violates the Civil Servant standing procedures.

But Mr. Koijee have stated that Mayor Siafa’s actions have exposed his gross incompetence for the position, arguing that the Mayor decision contravenes the Decent Work Act of 2015 which supersedes the MCC's Human Resource Policy, and relied on the outdated Labor Law, citing sections 1508, subsection 6c of the labor law as a basis for his ‘unwarranted’ action.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,” Koijee lamented.

According to the former City Mayor, the decision by the Mayor Siafa also 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.

CDC SG further explained that the action has the tendency of frightening away donors and international development partners, including foreign Embassies near Monrovia.

He’s quoted on his official Facebook page as saying; “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”.

Additionally, Koijee stressed 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.  

Therefore, the CDC executive labeled these dismissals as counterproductive to addressing the unemployment crisis in Liberia, justifying that such action only undermine the very fundamental ideas the president campaigned to rescue Liberia and Liberians, and wrongfully dismissing the very same people are instruments of chaos to divide Liberia in a post-election environment.

“The Mayor of Monrovia has approved 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 proclaimed.

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, Mr. Koijee

lamented“ 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”.

 “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.

At the same time, Koijee specifically 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.

Meanwhile, Koijee reminded the Boakai-Koung government that during his days in the CDC 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) till the CDC lost the 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.

He also used the medium, reminding Civil Society Organizations and the International Community of the CDC persistent 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.