20101206
Analyst

When President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf sent her entire cabinet on 'administrative leave' to allow for reflection and to start with new slate as the administration enters a new political track, the public greeted the news with mixed reactions.

For some, the President may have discovered massive corruption; for others, the President may be considering creating an entirely new UP cabinet; for still others, the President was simply exercising her constitutional discretion. None of these conjectures came true – at least the President did not acknowledge any of them. Now, she had completed the reconstitution of the cabinet with 80 per cent retained; and she likes what she saw. The Analyst, reports.

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has introduced a new cabinet that comprises 80 percent of the old cabinet and four new faces.

"This renewed Cabinet team [comprises] the right people for the job [who] will focus all their efforts on making this happen. We thank the Liberian people for their support and understanding, and pledge that we will do even more in the next year to keep our promise to the nation," the Liberia leader said in an address to the nation over the weekend.

The President was quick to note that those who served in the old cabinet over the last five years did so with diligence and commitment.

She however noted further that the November 3, 2010 summary cabinet administrative leave she granted the cabinet has provided her and them the opportunity to reflect on past performances and achievements.

"I am proud of what they have done and they should be too. Liberia is a safer, more prosperous and more open country than it was in 2006. We have thrown off the burden of debt, we have rebuilt schools, roads and hospitals. We have restored electricity and water. We have increased and paid Civil Service compensation on time, and the country is more stable now than it has been for a generation. This is in no small part due to the efforts of my Cabinet," she said.

She said the leave has also provided an opportunity for some of the affected ministers to finalize their decisions to leave the Cabinet to pursue endeavors in politics and private businesses.

The President said Labor Minister Tiawon Gongloe did not form part of the new cabinet because he rejected an offer for transfer while Foreign Minister Olubanke King-Akerele resigned her post, prior to the leave, to seek medical attention abroad.

She said the foreign minister reserved the right to serve the Liberian people in government or in other capacities upon the completion of her medical quest.

She expressed gratitude to the ministers who were retained, but she said nothing regarding the replacements of Lands, Mines, & Energy Minister Eugene Shannon Minister and Dr. Richard V. Tolbert, Chairman of the National Investment Commission (NIC).

Over the past five year, she said, the administration has built a strong foundation but that it regretted that it has not entirely met the expectations of the Liberian people.

"We, as a Government, will go faster and further to build on that foundation to deliver more real and meaningful improvements in the lives of our people. That means building more roads, creating more jobs, expanding the supply of lights in the country, bringing education and healthcare to more people – all the things Liberians need to have a better future," she said.

On November 3 this year, President Sirleaf surprised the nation when she announced that her entire cabinet has been sent on administrative leave to allow members time to reflect on their performance.

The President, who made the announcement on the eve of her private visit to the US, told the nation that the only cabinet minister who remained unaffected by the presidential sanction was the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs.

The President did not explain the state minister's exemption from the compulsory leave, but critics said she took the action to ensure that the Office of the President was not left unattended.

What the administrative leave has achieved for the nation, especially for the fight against corruption and the creation of jobs for struggling Liberians, remains to be seen; but President Sirleaf appeared upbeat over the weekend that her administration was prepared to do the people's job.