Monrovia, Liberia – Embattled House Speaker Fonati Koffa has voiced his dissatisfaction with majority bloc members for their refusal to report for duty even if they are paid.
For the fifth time, the House of Representatives has not convened a single session owing to a lack of quorum. House Speaker Fonati Koffa expressed his irritation to journalists about his colleagues’ failure to gather under his leadership.
“How can lawmakers be taken hostage and held captive like a single kindergarten student in one place? You bring them to work and then carry them back.”
The speaker of the Liberian House of Representatives has failed to retain the 30 representatives who began the battle with him for the second time in a row. As he failed to carry out legislative duties for the fifth day in a row today, the Speaker, who is working to keep political power on Capitol Hill, yielded to political schemes.
Only 28 Representatives were present when the roll was called, forcing House Speaker Koffa to dismiss today’s session under pressure. Only two-thirds of the Legislature are required for legislative activity, as stated in Article 33 of the Liberian Constitution. Since there are 73 members in the Liberian House of Representatives, the Speaker must have 37 members before he or she may carry out any legislative duties.
The focus of attention on Capitol Hill today was Thomas Fallah, the deputy speaker of the Liberian House of Representatives, who did a political 180-degree shift by endorsing the anti-Koffa organization. Fallah had earlier told Liberians that his boss was the one he supported.
Fallah and Koffa were elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives early this year, respectively, and are both members of the Congress for Democratic Change, the previous ruling party of the Republic of Liberia.
After the second-in-command of the House of Representatives joined the anti-Koffa group today, the number of members increased from 43 to 44.
According to Rule 9 of the House of Representatives, a motion must be signed by 49 members of the House before a Speaker or members of the House of Representatives be removed. The ruling coalition requires five more Representatives to formally remove the Speaker from office when the Deputy Speaker enlists.
