More Trouble Brewing In Diaspora Liberian Organization

In what has now been described as a major speech, a ULAA Presidential Aspirant, Abraham G. Massaley has expressed concern over corruption allegations in the Union and the ULAA administration’s so-called silent diplomacy in handling the grave situation facing Liberian refugees in Ghana.

Mr. Massaley said it is troubling to note that the Union in recent years has not been financially transparent especially during the two terms of Mr. Anthony V. Kesselly when he served as Chairman of the ULAA Board of Directors. He said the board has the authority and responsibility to ensure financial accountability and sound fiscal management in the Union but said the Kesselly Board was grossly negligent for more than four years in providing the oversight, check and balance that was desperately needed to improve the financial image of the cash stricken organization.

 Mr. Massaley speaking to a group of Liberians in Bowie, Maryland Saturday said one of the Union’s major problems in attracting funding is its lack of financial transparency, which is critical in gaining the confidence of Liberians and donors to contribute to the organization. Lamentably, Kesselly and others did a terrible disservice to this Union because they deliberately and intentionally failed to hold their friends and associates financially accountable while serving in key leadership positions in ULAA, the Presidential Aspirant said.

“Ideally you would have thought that ULAA would have immediately dispatched a high level delegation to Ghana when the crisis erupted in that country which has the second highest concentration of Liberians outside Liberia”, Massaley said, adding “but the fact is that the Union has not been properly managed (financially) which makes it difficult for ULAA to build the financial capacity it needs to adequately respond to crisis situations such as the one in Ghana”.  

Mr. Massaley said to ensure financial transparency in ULAA, the framers of the Union Constitution provided adequate safeguards in the constitution to protect the financial integrity of the institution but the Kesselly Board was reckless, careless and inept in providing the leadership that was required in protecting those constitutional safeguards, according to a press release.

 Mr. Massaley said Article 80 of the ULAA Constitution provides that regular statements of accounts of receipts and expenditures shall be made available as part of the fiscal reports submitted to the Board and Article 65 calls for the establishment of an independent Audit Commission. He further said that under Article 80, the constitution clearly states that “no money shall be withdrawn from the Treasury of the Union, except for appropriations made by the Board”. “Sadly, these constitutional safeguards were compromised by the Kesselly Board and tossed out of the window”, Massaley said, noting, “Kesselly was more interested in protecting friendship than the ULAA constitution which he took oath to defend".

Mr. Massaley praised the current Board Chairman, Mr. James Larsah for his stand to foster financial accountability in the Union, and referred to the Chairman’s recent letter in which he charged that President Emmanuel Wettee has failed to “submit for the Board’s approval constitutionally required quarterly fiscal performance reports”. The ULAA Presidential Aspirant said Chairman Larsah further charged that President Wettee has failed to “present for the Board’s approval a constitutionally required fiscal year budget covering expenditures and incomes and has further failed to nominate members of the Audit and other autonomous commissions” as well as failed to “obtain constitutionally required Board approval for funds he (Wettee) has been  “withdrawing, disbursing and using for various unapproved adventures such as on your numerous travels, some even wastefully”. He said these charges are impeachable offenses that require thorough investigation by the Board. Mr. Massaley lauded Chairman Larsah for announcing that these grave financial issues will be discussed at the Board’s upcoming meeting.

Mr. Massaley promised that there will be a complete “makeover” of ULAA if he is elected President of the Union, assuring that he will end this culture of financial misadventure, which seems to have engulfed the Union in recent years. Massaley said this reckless financial practice has been so endemic in the Union that it manifested itself during the 2006 ULAA Assembly in Philadelphia in the presence of foreign guests including officials of the city of Philadelphia.

He said during that convention some delegates were visibly seen protesting the than President’s action when he was reporting on the union’s financial activities without  circulating written copies of the financial report to chapter presidents, board members and other delegates at the convention. Massaley said Kesselly swiftly took over the microphone and promised that the full financial report would be submitted to the Board and chapter presidents at a subsequent date as a cover up to safe his man from the embarrassment. The ULAA Presidential Aspirant said he is convinced that a full financial report was not submitted to the Board consistent with the ULAA constitution.

Mr. Massaley said ULAA will not attract the funding it needs with this kind of “irresponsible behavior”. He said it is disheartening to note that ULAA which has clamored for financial transparency in Liberia will be practicing the total opposite of what it preaches, noting that the ULAA administration must at least submit annual financial reports to member chapters and the ULAA Board and submit itself to annual audits. He said ULAA needs sound financial management and the kind of leadership that will engender respect, trust, confidence and a leader that will inspire a change of behavior and attitude to wake up this sleeping giant.

“From the numerous major organizations I have ably served, I have the proven and tested leadership experience to lead the transformation of ULAA into a vibrant organization that will begin to produce tangible results in less than one year”, Massaley said. If you do not begin to see tangible results in ULAA within one year of our leadership, I will not continue to be your president after my first year in office, Massaley boasted.

On the situation of the Liberian refugees in Ghana, Massaley said it is regretted that the Union has largely remained muted. You cannot adopt “silent diplomacy” in the face of great injustices to your own people especially in a foreign land no matter what wrong these Liberians may have committed. When American or British nationals are being subjected to mistreatments abroad, their fellow compatriots rally to their cause so ensure that they are  treated justly no matter the offense, Massaley said.

Consequently, as Liberians we owe it to our fellow compatriots to demand that they are treated with human dignity and respect in a foreign land no matter what acts these Liberians may allegedly commit. Unfortunately, under pressure the current ULAA administration last Sunday said it was studying the situation in Ghana and announced that it may issue a formal statement on the situation within  72-hours. He said the 72-hours has long come and gone and there has been no further comment from the organization.

Massaley said the ULAA administration is playing game, buying time and has not shown the gust to clamor for the rights of our people in Ghana seemingly because it does not want to be viewed as confrontational. ”However, I can assure you that my administration will not desire to look good when the images of our people will not appear good in our naked eyes” Massaley assured admit applauds, promising that “we will speak out in the face of wrong doings against our people anywhere and by whomever” at the same time seek to constructively engage the powers that be.

Mr. Massaley promised that under his presidency, Liberians in the Diaspora and home will fully get the representation they deserve and the voice they are missing, pointing out that “constructive engagement does not mean that we adopt silent diplomacy when the fundamental rights of our people are being violated”. Under our leadership, when wrongs are committed against our people, we will point out those wrongs to the authorities, discuss them with the appropriate authorities, seek ways to avoid re-occurrence and move forward in our engagement to make lives better for all Liberians, Massaley said, noting that this will be a key component of his Policy of Engagement.