Chiefs Insist On

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Thursday, 12 July 2012 12:05

Written by ND Staff

The six-day forum of the National Traditional Council of Liberia Wednesday ended with a 13-count resolution including chiefs’ insistence not to compromise the education system of the country.
This comes in the wake of reports of unqualified teachers in the school system partly attributed to poor performance of students across the country.
Under count four which is Education, the chiefs said: “We will insist that all schools be properly equipped with materials and qualified staff; and we will make sure that the schools in our areas produce qualified students.”
They added: “We will make sure to monitor the operation and administration of schools in our respective areas; we will enforce the compulsory education policy of  the government.”
Concerning the Rule of Law and Justice, the chiefs and elders welcomed the decision of the Central Government to include them in the administration of the country in keeping with the requirements of the Constitution, and under the Rule of Law, for the maintenance of security, public safety, and justice.  We, the Chiefs and Elders are willing to work with the Ministries of Justice and Internal Affairs, as well as all the other agencies of Government, on how best to bring together the traditional and statutory means of justice in the Country.
They expressed happiness that through the decentralization process, the Central Government will make sure that all the counties, all administrative districts, all municipalities, all chiefdoms, all clans and all general towns benefit from the wealth and blessings of the country.
The promised that all those who are responsible for the administration of various areas will use the capacities of their areas to encourage investment and business for the purpose of generating taxes which can be used for development of the country and their areas.
“We want the bulk of the resources to be directed to the communities,” the resolution added.
Concerning Information and Freedom, the chiefs said they “agree and accept that freedom of expression and exchange of information is a very good idea for us and for all the people of Liberia. We will protect and defend the rights of all people to enjoy this freedom but will frown on its abuse.”
They hailed the efforts of the Central Government “to have all civil servants properly trained and paid according to what they know, what they can do, and how long they have been working. We want for all government employees to be paid on time and at their assigned areas; we want the Civil Service to have offices in all counties.”
Ragarding Agriculture and Food Production, the hiefs agreed that “the time has come to move away from the old practice of hand-to-mouth (subsistence) and slash-and-burn (shifting cultivation) farming methods to the method of commercial farming by which agriculture can also become a source of family income and community development.”
They, therefore, urged the government to provide the necessary and sufficient support during the farming season at community levels through the Ministries of Agriculture and Internal Affairs as well as other agencies.  “Liberia must be able to produce what we eat.”