Monrovia — Tension is said to be brewing at the Governance Commission as the acting chairman, Alaric Tokpa, has reportedly threatened to sack employees he singlehandedly deems non-essential.
FrontPageAfrica has gathered that Mr. Tokpa is also bent on usurping the functions of staffers and has introduced the culture of “militancy” at the institution.
A whistleblower, whose name remains withheld, has told FrontPage Africa that Mr. Tokpa is exclusively performing all of the administrative functions of the Executive Director, who is the head of the Secretariat, and who by the mandate and functions enshrined in the Act establishing the Governance Commission, runs the daily administrative activities of the Commission and enjoys a tenure position.
When contacted, the communication department of the Governance Commission didn’t respond to FrontPageAfrica’s inquiry regarding these allegations up to the time of publication. The head of communications acknowledged receipt of the FPA’s letter seeking the Commission’s response, he did not.
The practice in the governance of the country and most especially the Governance Commission Mr. Tokpa reportedly contradicts the “no business as usual” mantra of President Joseph Boakai.
The Governance Commission was created by an Act of Legislation in 2007.
The Commission is mandated to formulate policy recommendations and implementation strategies for the advancement of good governance in Liberia.
Specifically, the Commission is mandated to promote governance by advising, designing, and formulating appropriate policies and institutional frameworks required for achieving good governance, and promoting integrity at all levels of society, with every public and private institution.
Reports suggest that Mr. Tokpa is said to not be reading these Acts and is endeavoring to revive the old memories.
FrontPageAfrica understands that Mr. Tokpa appears to be influenced by Cllr. Stanley Kpaklin, current Vice Chair for Legal Affairs of the Governance Commission to grossly violate these laws.
Cllr. Kpaklin is also the Vice Chair for Administration of the National Patriotic Party and the Vice Chair for Legal Affairs of the 2023 George Weah’s Victory Campaign Team.
Cllr. Kpaklin was appointed to the Governance Commission in July 2023. He is seen as an untouchable violator of the Code of Conduct at the Commission and reportedly the lead architect of Prof. Tokpa’s actions.
Inside sources say Mr. Tokpa is intending to change the Human Resource Manager of the institution, who holds a Master’s degree and appoint an inexperienced staff with first degree on unjustifiable grounds. In addition, Mr. Tokpa has also informed employees of the Commission that he will get rid of all non-essential staff from the payroll. Information in the corridors of the Commission has it that those whom he refers to as “non-essential staff” are those who got employed from 2018 to 2023 (A period that covers the administration of the then CDC-led Government).
This paper has also been hinted that Mr. Tokpa has assigned a government-assigned vehicle to an unknown person – a driver -who is not employed by the Commission.
The Governance has been under the spotlight since the inception of the Boakai-Koung administration. President Boakai suspended Commission’s Chairman Garrison Yealue for administrative reasons and appointed Prof. Tokpah to act as Chairman. This action followed after the President failed to attempt to replace Yealue. He previously appointed Tokpah as Chairman while Yealue while Yealue still served his tenured position. However, Yealue, along with other tenure officials who were affected sought redress to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the President’s action was illegal. However, right after the ruling, the President suspended Yealue, who then ran back to the Supreme. The high court is yet to respond.
Prof Tokpah’s Militant posture
Prof. Tokpa, a former lecturer and Chairman of the Department of Political Science at the University of Liberia, was a key figure in the progressive movement that began in the 1970s and extended into the 1980s. He was an active member of the Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA), a Pan-Africanist pressure group that advocated for social change in Liberia and other parts of Africa.
As a staunch critic of the military regime headed by the late President Samuel K. Doe, Prof. Tokpa and several of his colleagues were subjected to an indefinite prison sentence characterized by hard labor at the infamous Belle Yella Prison in the mid-1980s.
In the last six years, he was a vocal critic of the Weah-Taylor government, branding it as a “dangerous dictatorship that is killing democracy.” Now, as the acting head of the Governance Commission, an integrity institution that has played a pivotal role in advancing Liberia’s democracy, critics say Prof. Tokpa has the opportunity to implement the principles he has advocated for throughout his life.
However, sources have indicated that Prof. Tokpa appears to lack familiarity with the inner workings of the Governance Commission. He is often seen adopting a militant posture and is reportedly instilling a culture of militancy at the Commission.
