-An Insider Reveals
The national chairman of the ruling Unity Party, Rev. Luther Tarpeh, is leading the charge for a cabinet reshuffle in the government to, in his words, ensure efficiency and propel the implementation of the Government’s development agenda, implying that the current composition of the President’s cabinet, is not only ineffective, but also inefficient.
Rev. Tarpeh’s recent call, asking President Joseph Boakai, standard bearer of the ruling UP, to re-arrange his cabinet, did not only spark public debate, but also created uneasiness amongst some members of the President’s cabinet.
Deputy Information Minister for Public Affairs, Daniel Sando, is so far the only member of the President’s cabinet that has publicly reacted to the UP standard bearer’s recommendation in response to a talk show host’s question about his opinion on the matter.
In his response, Deputy Minister Sando did not agree nor disagree with Rev. Tarpeh, but said it was his opinion as National Chairman of the UP.
“As far as I know, Rev. Tarpeh spoke as National Chairman of the Unity Party, but what I can say is, the current cabinet is the most efficient cabinet in recent years,” the Deputy Information Minister noted.
As the public debate and expectations grow, this Paper has received an unconfirmed list of some members of the President’s cabinet and heads of agencies of the government that are likely to be affected by any reshuffle that may be effected by President Boakai in response to the ruling UP’s National Chairman’s recommendation.
The purported list, according to a source in the inner cycle of the government, is already in circulation in the corridors of the Executive Mansion.
Amongst the names on the purported list are, Dr. Augustine Konneh, expected to be named minister of education, to replace current Minister, Jarso M. Jallah, former Mines Minister, Wilmot Paye, Minister of Commerce, to replace current Minister, Magadalene Dagoseh, Lewis Brown, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, to replace Sarah Beysolow Nyanti, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, while Madam Nyanti is expected to go as special envoy to President Boakai.
Others include, Mr. James Dorbor Jallah, head of the Liberia Revenue Authority, is reportedly tipped to go as Minister of Finance and Development Planning, replacing current Minister, Augustine Ngafuan, while Civil Service Director General, Josiah Joekai takes over the Liberia Revenue Authority as Commissioner General, and current Board Chairman of the National Port Authority, NPA, Rev. Luther Tarpeh, the proponent of the cabinet reshuffle, takes over as managing director of the NPA, while current Inspector General of the Liberia National Police, Gregory Coleman, goes to the National Security Agency, NSA, as head.
In a recent social media post, Rev. Tarpeh, National Chairman of the ruling UP, had said he would have compiled a list of underperforming government officials for submission to President Boakai.
“This is long overdue because there are some members in our government, who are not performing well,” the UP National Chairman wrote. Efforts by this Paper to speak to Presidential Press Secretary, Kula Fofana, yielded no results as she has ignored our whatsapp call and voice message.
