Monrovia, Liberia – Cllr. Bushuben M. Keita, president Boakai legal advisor, has revealed that the cabinet has decided to replace all tenure jobs, with the exception of those that are expressly designated in the Liberian constitution and would be paid according to their tenure.
Speaking to Executive Mansion reporters during a press conference held at the Executive Mansion on Friday, February 23, 2024, Cllr. Keita cited Article 56a of the Liberian Constitution, which stipulates that all employees of the Executive branch of government are subject to the President’s whim and discretion.
“The cabinet has authorized the president,and it has been concluded as a government policy that all of those tenure positions that are in government will be replaced. The President will exercise his authority to appoint people to any positions in the executive branch of government, whether the person has a tunue or not, except for those positions that are protected by the constitution of Liberia.”
He asserted that the Cabinet’s decision is not intended to persecute individuals but rather to guarantee that the law is obeyed; thus, anyone who feels wrong ought to pursue legal action to rectify their situation.
He insisted that the Cabinet’s decision does not in any way imply that the government will eliminate tenure positions other than those that violate the Constitution’s Article 56a. “This is not to say that all Tunure positions will be replaced, it is to say that the government reserves the right, in keeping with the law, to replace any Tunure position except for those that are specifically set in the constitution of Liberia.”
“For other Tunure officers who may be replaced, they will be compensated for the unexpired term of their contracts.”
Article 5.1 says, all officials appointed by the President of the Republic of Liberia shall not (a) engage in political activities, canvass, or contest for elected offices; (b) use government facilities, equipment, or resources in support of partisan or political activities; or (c) serve on a campaign team of any political party for the campaigning of any independent candidate.
Cllr. Keita emphasized that the law states that a person cannot be a tunure official and actively participate in politics, serve on a campaign team, dress in campaign gear, post all of our campaign photos, and engage in other activities without expecting respect for their tunure or payment in the event that it is taken away.
Cllr. Keita stressed that there is video and photo evidence to prove those in violation of the law and will not be compensated.
“If we say you violate the code of conduct, trust us, we have videographics and photographs to prove that you did participate actively in politics, wear campaign paraphernalia while serving as a tunure officer.”
Meanwhile, Cllr. Keita has informed the public that they are working on modalities to ensure that they rewrite the House of Representatives in order to scratch out tenure positions by statute and not by constitutional backing.
