Monrovia – Both Firestone Liberia Inc., and its parent company, Bridgestone Americas, Inc., have turned down a formal request of the George Weah-led government, calling for the dismissal of the company’s Public Relations Manager, experienced broadcast journalist Patrick Honnah.
Punch FM/TV online service reported Monday that it had reliably learned that with the alleged backing of President Weah, scores of officials of the CDC-led government were exerting pressure 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 critiquing of the regime, and his support for candidates of the opposition bloc in the recent Montserrado senatorial and District#15 Representative by-elections.
Sources hinted that some officials of the Weah administration, who work at the Presidential Affairs Ministry, met with the Firestone management on Tuesday, 13 August, formally requesting that the company fires Honnah for being vocal on excesses of President Weah and his government.
But in a statement issued exactly one week after the government officials’ meeting with Firestone requesting the company to dismiss Honnah, Firestone Liberia, a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas, on Tuesday, 20 August, issued a statement indicating that it does not sack its employees for engaging into politics, as long as such exercise is peaceful, law abiding, and is in compliance with the company’s Code of Conduct and other employee policy.
The company says 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 Firestone.
Firestone-Liberia views the use of social media by its employees, as well as their participation in political events as a personal related matter, something which the company says it would not be proper to comment on further.
Punch FM/TV onlive service recalls that during the campaign period of the country’s recent past presidential election, while playing his watchdog role during couple of talk show presentations, Honnah candidly pointed out the pitfalls ahead of Liberia, had Weah been elected president. Since then, many partisans of Weah’s Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) and supporters of the former footballer turned politician consider Honnah as their foe.
In January of 2018, having met all requirements under the laws of Liberia to operate, Honnah’s media institution, the One Media Incorporated was cleared by government, and issued operational license and broadcast permit, but five months later the Weah administration prevented the station from coming on air, citing a one-month review of the country’s media sector as basis for its action.
But it’s over a year now and the Weah-led government is supposedly still reviewing Honnah station’s operational license and broadcast permit, while the administration continues to issue licenses and permits to several other new media entities including Independent Inquirer and Spoon FM.
