Rep. Cole Slams Boakai Government, Points Out Lapses

By Patrick N. S. Tokpah/0880373457
GBARNGA, BONG COUNTY – Bong County Electoral District#3 Representative J. Marvin Cole has descended on the Joseph Nyuma Boakai and Jeremiah Kpan Koung government for crudely displacing marketers at the Gbarnga Central Market in the County.
The Joseph Nyuma Boakai government, through the Gbarnga City Corporation, demolished the old Gbarnga Central Market, thereby causing the downtrodden marketers to sell in the rain in the County.
The market structures were demolished on the order of Gbarnga City Mayor Gallah Vapliah as a means of relocating the old market to the newly constructed Madam Sirleaf Market site.
Since the demolition of the old market structures, local marketers in Gbarnga have been finding it difficult to rebuild their tables in the new Gbarnga Central Market.
But, speaking on the matter recently, Representative Cole said the first refugees under Joseph Nyuma Boakai and Jeremiah Kpan Koung government are the Gbarnga Central Marketers.
The Bong County Electoral District#3 lawmaker made the statement when he provided 30 bundles of zinc to the displaced marketers, who are trying to build their tables at the new market after their structures were demolished at the old market in Gbarnga.
The Bong County Jorquelleh District #3 Representative noted that thirty (30) bundles of zinc is an addition to the previous one hundred and fifty (150) bundles of zinc and one million Liberian Dollars he presented to the leadership of the aggrieved marketers before for onward distribution to the marketers, who of recent protested in violent of their tables demolition and the refusal of the Liberia Marketing Association leadership Bong chapter to provide spots for them at the new marketplace in the County.
“My work at the National Legislature is to ensure that my citizens of District #3 and the County at large are satisfied,” he added.
He added that once he is a representative at the Liberian Legislature, developments will continue to intensify in Bong County.
According to him, those marketers who were victimized by the action of the Boakai government do not have the means of building their tables in the new market, stating that he decided to help them in the process as a lawmaker.
The Bong County Electoral District#3 Lawmaker, at the same time, slammed the Boakai Administration for the alleged alteration of the country’s National Budget for Fiscal Year 2024.
It can be recalled that the Chairpersons of the Joint Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Legislature, Representative Clarence Gahr of District #5, Margibi County, and Senator Amara Konneh complained of possible alterations of the National Budget approved by the Legislature.
The Legislature approved the country’s National Budget of US$738,859,827 in May 2024, but a 6.7% increment (reportedly amounting to around US$20M) and some discrepancies have been noticed in the printed copy submitted by the Executive branch, through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning by the chairpersons and some members of the Joint Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
He alleged that under the “Rescue Mission” government, 20 million dollars has disappeared in thin air, while UP officials are building mansions for themselves.
“We will be calling on the US government and other international partners to sanction some of those thieves and criminals because it’s important to do that. Look, the law of equitability says those who preach equity must come with clean hands. It’s now time for Senator Prince K. Moye and other rescue officials to tell the Liberian people what happened to the US 20 million that disappeared from the National Budget; when CB Dunbar Hospital, Phebe Hospital, Bong Mines Hospital, and Clinics in the County don’t have medicines or medications for patients,” Rep. Cole noted.
The Bong County tough-talking lawmaker further pointed out that CDCians have been wrongfully dismissed from their jobs by President Boakai and his lieutenants.
He revealed that the wrongful dismissal of CDCians represents poor governance and a disregard for the interests of Liberians.
It’s time for Boakai to wake up and show true leadership because he boosted of his over 40 years of experience in government.
He said, “Just within seven months, President Boakai has violated the law of Liberia”, something he said every Liberian should stand up and demand.
However, Rep. Cole further criticized the Unity Party-led administration for what he termed as “constitutional violations” and “selective justice,” which he believes undermines the integrity of Liberia’s governance structure.
Additionally, the Bong County Lawmaker publicly responded to speculations by rumor mongers that he has been suspended by Speaker Jonathan Fonati Koffa as chairman on Rules, Order, and Administration, something he described as falsehoods.
Rep. Cole said the House of Representatives’ standing rules mandates that once the Speaker appoints an individual to a statutory committee, that individual is beyond the Speaker jurisdiction regarding suspension matters.
He stated that the House of Parliament requires a two-thirds majority of its members to suspend any member; Citing House Speaker Jonathan Fonati Koffa has no grounds for such actions against him.
Rep. Cole attributed the speculation to political motivations, stating that his strong performance and alignment within the legislature can not be negated by any reason for potential suspension.
Furthermore, Rep. Cole condemned the recent police actions against supporters of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) at the party headquarters.
He described the actions as indicative of the tense political climate following statements made by then-presidential candidate Joseph Nyumah Boakai, who suggested that the Unity Party’s defeat could signify an end to peace in Liberia during the 2023 elections campaign.
The Bong District #3 Lawmaker told journalists that under the watch of the Unity Party, the Police continued to take away many innocent lives, citing instances such as the Bea Mountain protest as examples of ongoing police brutality.