An Affront! Senate Describes Liberia's Finance Minister's Dual Roles; Says He is “Impersonating”

Min. Konneh is accused of impersonating

The House of Senate yesterday repeated its distaste for Finance Minister Amara Konneh serving in dual capacities in government: Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs.

The Senate was on Thursday alarmed that Minister Konneh is still signing documents as acting Minister of planning; something senators described as an affront and disrespect to them.

The matter was reawakened by Grand Kru County Senior Senator Cletus Wortorson when he brought to the attention of his colleagues a communication dated February 18, 2013, which he said was signed by Minister Konneh as Acting Minister of Planning.

They said Minister Konneh is “impersonating”; something that landed the Senate in an hour of heated debate before coming to the conclusion that a delegation would be dispatched to go meet with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on the matter.

The senators wonder why Minister Konneh still signs documents as acting minister of planning when in fact the matter had earlier been raised with the President and she had assured them that she would address the matter.

“Why is he still signing that way, we wonder? We condemn it because he is impersonating and we consider this an affront to the Senate,” the senators said during their deliberation.

It may be recalled that in her January 28 annual message, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf informed the Legislature that she would be submitting to them a Bill to Merge the Ministries of Planning and Finance to create the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.

Finance Minister Amara Konneh has been acting as Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs, something legislators in August 2012 raised serious issues with. They grilled Minister Konneh for telling them that he has been serving in both capacities as “Minister of Finance and Planning,” something that aggravated the lawmakers. Their (legislators) point was that the position of “Minister of Finance and Planning” was non-existent in the Liberian government.

The Senate said there was no such position within the Executive Branch of government. The Senate Standing Committee on Planning and Economic Affairs said it was inaccurate for Finance Minister Amara Konneh to ascribe (assign, credit) such a title to himself.

The Committee, in a communication presented to plenary at its Thursday, August 2, 2012 session held on Capitol Hill, Monrovia, described such reference by Minister Konneh as “not only deceptive, but an impersonation.” The senators maintained that “Minister Konneh's service in such dual capacity amounts to a usurpation of functions not legally attributed to him as Minister of Finance.”

But in her annual message delivered to the Legislature on last Monday, the President disclosed her intent to clear the air on that matter, by informing that national body of her intent to have both ministries merged.