Monrovia – Barely a day after former deputy minister of Information in the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf regime, Mr. Robert Kpadeh, slammed President George Weah for what the vocal ex-official of government termed the president and his followers’ machinations designed to at all cost, subvert the livelihood of revered broadcast journalist Patrick Honnah, another ex-minister in the past regime has described as pettiness the government’s failed attempt to prevail on Firestone Liberia to have Honnah sacked from his job as Communications Manager of the company.
Punch FM/TV online service reported recently that with the alleged acquiescent of President Weah, scores of officials of the CDC-led government were seeking to prevail on the management of Firestone-Liberia to sack Honnah, who the president and his operatives are peeved with due to what they call his constant social media critical critiquing of the regime, and his support for candidates of the opposition bloc in the recent Montserrado senatorial and District #15 Representative by-elections.
Several officials of government assigned in President Weah’s office met with Firestone management on Tuesday, 13 August, formerly requesting the company to dismiss Honnah, according to sources.
But Firestone turned down the Weah-led government’s request to have ace broadcaster Honnah fired, with the company and its parent body, Bridgestone Americas, stating that Firestone-Liberia does not sack its employees for engaging into politics, as long as such political involvement is undertaken peacefully, lawfully, and is in compliance with the company’s Code of Conduct and other employee policies.
Firestone, in a statement issued Tuesday, made it clear that it fully respects the rights of its employees to freely engage in political process, including the use of social media, and the expression of personal comments that are not affiliated with the company.
The company says it views the use of social media by its employees, as well as their participation in political events as a personal related matter, noting that it would therefore, be improper to comment further on such issue.
Howbeit, former assistant minister for Youth and Sports during the reign of Sirleaf, Mr. Boakai Jaleiba, Jr., says in the face of Firestone’s recent announcement of plans by the company to lay off hundreds of its Liberian workforce due to the company’s repeated losses underpinned by a dwindling economy, something which he noted as resulting to several Liberians in the plantation area of Firestone to have seen their paychecks stopped and lives ruined, President Weah and his officials have made no frantic efforts to stop what he referred to as the bleeding, but have elected to make a trip to the concessionaire only in demand of terminating the job of a citizen of the country.
Boakai stated that President Weah’s entire office staff including the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Nathaniel McGill; Legal Advisor, Archibald Bernard; Economic Advisor, Charles Bright; Executive Mansion Chief of Protocol, Nora Finda Bundo; and Minisccter of State without Portfolio, Trokon Kpui, reportedly met with Firestone management in demand of sacking Mr. Honnah,”Because he writes on Facebook criticizing the Weah government.”
The former assistant minister of sports stressed that in his opinion, this move on the part of President Weah and his officials “speaks deeply to the mindset of the President and his core team”, adding that “It’s about pettiness and nothing more.”
Boakai emphasized that at such time when Liberia is experiencing what he described as a badly bruised economy, one would expect President Weah and his team sitting down and brainstorming on new investments and job creation mechanisms.
“Instead”, Boakai laments that “they’re on a safari of witch-hunting,” saying, “That the whole team in the President’s office will commit their time to sacking a young Liberian because he shares an alternative political view, it must have precisely gotten President Weah’s approbation.”
“This is wrong, wrong, wrong!!!!” Says the former assistant minister, who added that such act on the part of the President and his officials is also “disgusting.”
“We all can’t be in the president’s party or singing hosanna in his name. In a democracy, people will disagree with their government,” said Boakai, rallying Liberians to condemn the President and his officials for frantically seeking to render a fellow Liberian jobless.
“Every Liberian irrespective of where you sit should condemn this!!!!” Boakai said.
