NATIONAL NEWS
MONROVIA – Senator Amara Konneh has expressed concern over what he described as Liberia’s long-standing cycle of political retaliation, warning that successive governments continue to repeat the same practices whenever state power changes hands.
By: Sampson W Weah – sampsonwweah7@gmail.com
In a strongly worded statement, Senator Konneh said Liberia’s political history shows that political parties often seek power mainly to protect their own interests rather than promote lasting national unity.
“There is nothing new in Liberia except the history you don’t know or the one you conveniently forget to justify your actions,” the senator said.
According to him, the country continues to witness a pattern in which individuals lose jobs, opportunities, and livelihoods because of their political affiliations whenever a new administration takes office.
Reflecting on the transition from the Unity Party government to the Coalition for Democratic Change administration in 2018, Senator Konneh recalled that several officials associated with the UP reportedly lost their positions because of their loyalty to the party.
He said similar actions are now taking place under the current administration, where some officials believed to be associated with the CDC have reportedly been dismissed from government institutions for openly participating in political activities while wearing party regalia.
The senator referenced dismissals involving personnel from the Executive Protection Service and the Monrovia City Corporation, noting that authorities justified the actions by citing violations of government conduct policies for civil servants.
Senator Konneh disclosed that a communication requesting the reinstatement of dismissed MCC workers remains before the Senate Labour Committee without action.
At the same time, he noted that some current government officials and civil servants linked to the Unity Party, including the Director-General of the Civil Service Agency, have also been publicly seen wearing political regalia in support of Joseph Boakai.
The Gbarpolu lawmaker questioned what could happen to those officials if political power changes again in the future.
“I wonder what will happen to their jobs and livelihoods when power changes again,” he said.
Senator Konneh urged Liberians to move beyond the politics of revenge and begin treating one another as citizens first rather than enemies because of party affiliation.
“Power will eventually end. The real question is what we do with it while we have it,” the senator added, while calling for reflection, tolerance, and an end to political targeting in the country.
