PRESIDENT WEAH APPOINTS FIRST BATCH OF CABINET MEMBERS
Ziankahn replaces Brownie Samukai at the defence ministry, which is in the middle of an alleged wasteful spending of “welfare and supplementary pension benefits” of members of the Armed Forces, while Prince Johnson, a brigadier general, takes over from Mr. Ziankahn as the new Chief of Staff of the AFL.
The President appointments also include Nathaniel McGill, Chairman of the now ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), as the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, while Samuel Tweh, a long-time member of the CDC, is to serve as Minister of Finance and Development Planning.
Tweh until his appointment worked as an economic consultant at the Millennium Challenge Corporation under the Ministry of Finance, while in the same vein, the president appointed Charles Gibson as Minister of Justice, and Sam Mannah as Press Secretary with immediate effect.
The President has directed that the heads of other government ministries and agencies remain in place until further notice. However, some Liberians have urged the Weah to honour his promise of holding government officials accountable to the people.
A respondent, Saah Clinton while speaking in Monrovia, advised the President to show courage and do the right thing in the interest of Liberians, stressing that, ’although, I am confident in the president’s ability to crack down on corruption as promised in his inaugural speech, it takes a lot of political will and courage to do that’.
The retired soldier added, “The president should carry the masses along in whatever decision he takes against powerful government officials, and the people will stand by him,’’.
Penpushing recalled that, the Liberian President in his inaugural address, renewed his promise to tackle endemic corruption especially in the public service, vowing to prosecute corrupt government officials “to the full extent of the law’’.
“As officials of government, it is time to put the interest of our people above our own selfish interests. It is time to be honest with our people. For those who do not refrain from enriching themselves at the expense of the people, the law will take its course,’’ Weah said
