Monday, November 4, 2013

Zoe Pennue Linked To Criminal Gang?

Grand Gedeh County Rep. Zoe Pennue - Is he linked to criminal gang?
A Grand Gedean social justice advocate Jackson Zleh Towah has raised suspicion that it is likely that Grand Gedeh Representative Zoe Emmanuel Pennue may be linked to a criminal gang that might be responsible for the killing of seven UN troops and two Ivorian security forces on June 7, 2012 in a cross border attack.

Mr. Towah named two individuals with alleged shady backgrounds who are said to be business partners of Mr. Pennue. The individuals were identified as Yusuf Ibrahim, an Algerian, and Ali Hasan Khwaja a Yemini from the Arabian Peninsula, specifically Yemen.

Our editor placed calls to Rep. Pennue twice but his phone rang and he did not pick up. His political campaign preparation team is yet to react to the allegation.

Read the full text of Mr. Towah’s unedited article below:

Indispensable Partner: Liberia Representative Or Al-Qaeda Operative
By Jackson Zleh Towah

Politics of National Security is a dangerous gimmick for a country in transition. The Government of Liberia in its first official statement on the cross-border attacks said it knew the attackers that killed seven United Nations Peacekeepers and a score of Ivorians.

Liberian Government needs to open their eyes on Grand Gedeh Representative Zoe Emmanuel Pennue, and the United States needs to act swiftly before the Mano River basin becomes a safe haven to emerging Al Qaeda operatives in sub-Saharan Africa targeting western interest under the guise of doing business in a tense border region with officials of government. What happened in Mali may most likely happen in the Mano River basin if the region is left unattended & unchecked.

On Tuesday October 30, 2012 while en-route to Paris, France, Zoe Emmanuel Pennue met with Yusuf Ibrahim (Algerian), & another fellow from the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) by the name of Ali Hasan Khwaja (Yemini) in suburban Abidjan township of Youpogon under the guise that they were his business partners. Yusuf Ibrahim & Ali Hasan Khwaja are believed to be close associates of Benjamin Yeaten (Liberian) a notorious criminal wanted by the Government of Liberia.

Does Zoe Pennue have a business outside of Liberia that we don't know about, or could these gentlemen be the attackers who coordinated and executed the attack against United Nations Mission in a KGB style of operation without a trace? Zoe Emmanuel Pennue is using the Grand Gedeans/Liberians imprisoned to cover up his so-called business partners’ presence in the sub-region. There is a sense of urgency, if not a sense of deja vu for "citizen arrest."

Name: Dagobert Banzio
Position: Member of Parliament, Ivory Coast
Date of Birth: June 21, 1957
Place of Birth: Tinhou, Ivory Coast
Tribe: Krahn
Party: PDCI
Education: Political Science

Name: Zoe Emmanuel Pennue
Position: Member of parliament, Liberia
Date of Birth: Unknown
Place of Birth: Tuzon, Liberia
Tribe: Krahn
Party: Independent
Education: 4th Grade

LIBERIA: ZOE PENNUE & BLOOD MONEY

Grand Gedeans at home & overseas are disoriented as to who is behind the ruckus arrest & detention of several of its citizens; many of whom are former combatants. Here in Washington, Grand Gedeans have peacefully demonstrated at the Liberia Embassy under the leadership of Fred Gwyan. At the United Nations in New York, young Grand Gedeans & Liberians alike took to the streets surrounding the United Nations Headquarters; among the demonstrators was Celue Doe, the daughter of the late Liberian President Samuel K. Doe.

Liberia can only climb out of the pit of "blame games" if national interest can outclass or surpass tribal loyalty. In the early phase of the detention of 29 citizens from Grand Gedeh County, Grand Gedeans believe that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the invisible hand behind the arrest & detention; but the shocking truth came with a revelation from Senator Isaac Nyenabo, an insider from "Tuzon" the hometown of the late President Samuel Doe.

"Senator Nyanebo offensive move against Representative Pennue has continued unabated which requires the immediate intervention of the elders and chiefs of the county. His revelation started yesterday during a press conference when he disclosed that Representative Zoe was a paid agent of the Ivorian government monitoring activities of the Liberian government as it relates to the border crises by which both countries are being threatened. Please read full text below.

http://www.inprofiledaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7851%3Astartling-revelation-in-grand-gedeh-senator-axes-down-representative-&catid=1%3Aheadlines&Itemid=56

Inasmuch as I don't agreed with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf policies on National Security & Judiciary Failure; she may not be responsible for the imprisonment of the 29 Grand Gedeans currently held by the Government of Liberia, rather the people of Grand Gedeh County must hold Zoe Emmanuel Pennue responsible for the imprisonment of their children.

Grand Gedeh County lacks the balance mechanisms that curbs hypocrisy, and invite honesty. Grand Gedeans are in the business of blaming others for our failures. It is my intention to write an open letter concerning this matter; which she may have used to her advantage.

Any reasonable Grand Gedeans with a sense of direction will tell you that Grand Gedeans betrayal of their Mandingoes ally during the course of the Liberian civil war defined us as a "unique tribal community." I mean, the krahn and the Mandingoes were fighting against Charles Taylor. Not So? when they came together to form "the council of State," Grand Gedeans intentionally betrayed their Mandingoes' ally and voted for the NPFL representative ( Isaac Messer). The outcome created military vibration and we paid the price with the lives of our young men. So many young Grand Gedeans died in the process, including my friends and family members.

I don't want to overwhelm you with information you may already know, but it is necessary to look back into history to correct the future. Haven't it been for the death of Elizabeth Pennue, the krahn people billionaire (Zoe Pennue) wasn't going to bring his mother (Old-Lady Tenseo) back from the refugee camp in Ghana to Monrovia, Liberia. Additionally, Tuzon has no electricity, but yet, Zoe Pennue has promised Pouh Town electricity. Tuzon has no elementary school, not to mention childcare, and yet, Zoe is promising villages in Grand Gedeh schools. It is also my hope and prayer that Zoe Pennue will start attending "night school classes" soon.

Many Grand Gedeans both at home & overseas believed that Zoe Emmanuel Pennue has cash to spread, but the interesting truth remains: Zoe Pennue doesn't has a business, the only source of income is his salary as a member of parliament. Liberian lawmakers earn less than two thousand dollars ($ 2,000.00) a month. The lawmaker (Zoe Pennue) monthly expenditures exceed $10,000.00 USD. Where is he getting the extra cash from is a forbidden question to ask in Grand Gedeh County.

In conclusion & beyond comparison, if Zoe Pennue and others are left unchecked the National Security interests of Liberia & the United States alike will be threatened if not hamper. Watch out for our Letter to the France Embassy for the removal of Zoe Pennue's family from Paris France.

P-II: Grand Gedeh Senatorial Aspirants: What’s In Their Briefcases?

Top L-R: Sen. Isaac Nyenabo, Rep. Zoe Pennue and Mr. William K. Glay, Sr.
Bottom: Mr. Samuel K. Doe Jr. and Mr. Edward Slanger

By Gibson W. Jerue
 
“Tuzon Dynasty” and Fragmentation Gedeh
A land mass of 10, 276 square kilometer accommodating 132, 638 people is not a lot considering the country’s population of 3.6 million. The woes are even compounded when all of the number is not a voting strength. But for the people of Grand Gedeh County, no matter how small that number, they can and will choose their leaders. At this time, with eight months to go, Grand Gedeh’s senior senatorial position is up for grab and will be declared vacant like the rest of the 14 political sub-divisions by July next year.

Eleven sons and a daughter are poised; some have declared their intention and others are yet to accept petitions from their kinsmen to enter the race. The race is crowded like one senior Grand Gedeans told me recently. Crowded but not crowing, and the fragmentation continues; it seems everyone remains upbeat and confidence. What remains a glaring attention is what some refer to these days as the “Tuzon Dynasty” bringing head-on five of Tuzon’s sons. We will discuss the Tuzon factor in this piece and focus on the fragmentation in our subsequent article.

Growling Tuzon
A town where a former president is born is certainly prone to being politically conscious. And Tuzon is just that. With the name of former President Samuel Kanyon Doe tagged on the town – some call it village – folks here are fired up to step into the fray. They are doing just that, even long after the slain president visited with the ancestors.

Isaac Nyenabo, a Tuzonite, is the current senior senator of Grand Gedeh. He has occupied this seat for eight years now. But his days of glory hang in the balance – that he may be booted out by one of his Tuzonites or one of the several other aspirants eyeing his position. Isaac knows the challenge and he feels it too.

Nothing is more worrying for a man than when his brothers are at his throat. Well, it’s not his throat but sitting in his gut and stuffing him with “government farina”. Five men, including Mr. Nyenabo are among the now 12 aspirants for a single seat, comes 2014.

Mr. William K. Glay, Sr. is being petitioned to enter the race. According to his admirers, he performed well when he served as representative of the county during the Samuel Doe regime. They say he has contacts and is resourceful, in addition to what they called his philanthropic gestures to students, etc. William is yet to respond to the petition. But comes November 23rd in Philadelphia, Friends of William Glay will converge to “give his flowers”, maybe it is there and then that he will give his formal response. We will be looking specifically at his pros et cons in subsequent articles.

Another son of Tuzon who has been petitioned but has not responded is Samuel K. Doe, Jr. He is the son of the man who raised Tuzon’s name from the ashes of oblivion to a towering limelight. Although he was a child when his father administered the affairs of state, this young man is not only a photocopy of his father genetically; he is ready to enter politics. Recently he traveled to Liberia to assess the ground and he is akin to accepting the petition requesting, or should I say, demanding him to enter the senatorial race. Most Liberians had thought the Glays and Does were related by blood, but it is the contrary – they are not related.

The new comer is the man who is credited to the arrest and execution of Thomas Quiwonkpa. Since the day Quiwonkpa fell to him, his name rose from mediocrity to prominence. He is Edward Slanger. Recently, gossips had it that he had told SKD, Jr. that he would withdraw if the younger Doe was entering the race. But very reliable information has it that Slanger is sharpening his political spears to anchor his tentacles. Where does that leave the early gossip, your guess is as good as mine.

But the most potent challenge that Isaac Nyenabo is to face will come from his cousin Zoe Emmanuel Pennue. Before coming to the United States, Zoe told me at his residence that he would not contest senatorial seat if Isaac Nyenabo was still interested. “He is my own brother. I can’t go against him,” Zoe told me. But the leaf has turned and this is not 2008. Mr. Pennue is so far the only person from Tuzon who has openly declared his intention to oust Nyenabo. In fact, Zoe’s pre-campaign activities are scaring the hell out of his would-be opponents. He is currently the representative of the populous district in Grand Gedeh – Tchien.

Apart from Glay, the rest are said to be related. Zoe is SKD, Jr’s first cousin, so is he cousin of Isaac and distant cousin of Slanger. So then, four brothers at punching each other and are also going to be punching jointly the man who gets his flower this month – William Glay. Where does that leave the rest of Grand Gedeh?

Part 1: Grand Gedeh Senatorial Contenders: What’s In Their Briefcases?

Top L-R; Sen. Isaac Nyenabo, Rep. Zoe Pennue and Mr. Marshall Dennis.
Middle: Mr. George Dweh, Madam Cecelia Towah, Mr. Samuel Doe, Jr., and Charles Breeze.
Bottom: George Boley, Cyrus Cooper (no pic), Thomas Yaya Nimely and William Glay

By Gibson W. Jerue
 

The premise
By July 2014 the National Election Commission will be hosting a nation-wide election for 15 senators. Like Grand Gedeh, created in 1963, is quite a big county with 10, 276 square kilometer. The County has three districts – Tchien, Gbarzon and Konobo. Grand Gedeh’s population is put at 132, 638 but not all are registered voters. This number includes men women and children. For electoral purpose some 11 people will be vying for the county’s senior senatorial seat, seeking to boot out the man who has sat in that seat for nearly eight years – Isaac Nyenabo.

Tchien District is the smallest with 2,028 km2 land mass but with the highest population density placed at 65,130 people. There is good reason for that. Zwedru which is the capital city of the county alone has 23, 903 people living there with 11, 828 male and 12, 075 female, according to research. This is the District that Zoe Emmanuel Pennue represents.

Gbarzon District is the second most populated with 41, 203 people. But it is the second biggest District with the land mass of 4, 048 square kilometer. Although not all of its population is a voting member, most people see this as a plus. That means political campaign here must be huge if anybody should win the 2014 senatorial election for the County. This is the district that Alex Chesia Grant represents.

The biggest District in Grand Gedeh is the Konobo Statutory District. It has 4,200 square kilometer land mass. However, this big land has the least number of Grand Gedeans living it. The District has the population of 26,305. This is the district that Morias Waylee represents.

Now that we have laid the premise, and assuming that all our facts are right, let’s know how many people have the desire to challenge Senior Senator Isaac Nyenabo. But before that, why has Isaac’s position become a hot commodity? Does he have a chance? Why we prefer to look at his chances in subsequent articles, here are the names of those we already know who intend or have declared their intention to run for the 2014 senatorial seat for Grand Gedeh County:

With Mr. Nyenabo in mind, we have Thomas Yaya Nimely, George S. Boley, George Dweh, Marshall Dennis and Zoe E. Pennue. Others are Samuel Kanyon Dor, Jr., Cyrus Cooper, Cecelia Towah, Charles Breeze and William K. Glay.

Which one of these sons and daughter is best suited to represent the people of Grand Gedeh County? We will find out.
other counties, Grand Gedeh County is gearing up for October 2014 to elect a man or woman who would replace Senior Senator Isaac Nyenabo, who has served in that capacity for nearly eight years. Under the Liberian Constitution, a senior senator serves for nine years for the position to be declared vacant. Isaac Nyenabo’s position will be declared vacant in July as the NEC launches what it calls “Project Year”.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Board Bans 5 GGAA Former Election Commissioners

September 2nd was a bad day for members of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) of the Grand Gedeh Association in the Americas; they were slammed with a four-year ban from participating in all electoral processes within the Grand Gedeh Community.
 
Those ban were Mrs. Nora Solo-Moore, Chairperson; Kwame Opa Weeks, Co-chairman; James Youboty, Secretary; and Jeje Jackson and Todd Garlo as members. They oversaw the 2013 election that took place in Dallas, Texas in May this year.
 
Until the Board derived the decision to bar them, in the wake of protest filed by the campaign team of the Dadoua Network, all five commissioners had assured the people of Grand Gedeh that they were credible and solicited the people’s trust.
 
But by the time the elections were over in Dallas, Texas, it was a full blown conclusion that the Nora Moore Commission was probably the most fouled commission ever to handled GGAA elections. The five members of IEC unreservedly drenched their reputations with massive fraud committed by fraudulently passing unto Mr. Tilman Collins a questionable and fouled election victory.
 
On top of their rather very questionable activities during the election, as have been punished by the National Board of Directors, the Commission has in fact done one of the most ineffectual things by writing their report with pen for the Board’s consumption.
 
One board member told me, “This is disgraceful that our commission that was funded could not even type their report and submit it to us….”
 
But in a letter, dated September 2, 2013, signed by Board Chairman Eric Kohn, and addressed to the former Chairperson of the Commission, Mrs. Nora Solo-Moore, the Board of Directors minced no words in declaring that the Commissioner will not take part in election process and/or serving as commissioner of election for any Grand Gedeh organization and community.
 

What was even more ironic but diplomatic was the Board in one breath thanked the five commissioners, but in another breath hammered them with what most Grand Gedeans considered the harshest punitive action taken against any member of the GGAA since its establishment.
 
Says the Board, “…all members of the dissolved IEC including you are barred from participating in any electoral process, elections commissions’ activities within the Grand Gedeh Association in the Americas, Inc. for four years. The reason is that IEC inability to account for the appearance of five (5) excess ballots. This act on the part of IEC created suspicions which almost undermined the integrity of election and tended to loosening cohesiveness of electoral process and community unity.”
 
With this action, the five commissioners are barred from serving as election commissioners, or simply put; they are barred from handling any election portfolio for the next four years.
 
The Board warned, “Mrs. Moore it is the sincere expectation of the National Board of Directors that members of the dissolved IEC will adhere to the above decision.” It is not known what other measures the Board would institute if any member of the dissolved election commission disobeys this punitive action.
 
Observers say, the five men have lost credibility over the handling of election within the Grand Gedeh Community, and one Dadoua supporter puts it rather raw, “They dashed our hope; they destroyed our respect for them; and they created a mess of themselves, so they should learn and recreate a credible reputation for themselves after four years.”

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Final Revised Platform of Team Dadoua



DADOUA

(Ah bli younh, ah kpa DADOUA ah ye Grand Gedeh poh)
National Campaign Headquarters
519 Spruce Avenue, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
19082, (610)203-4276
“Building an Accountable, Transparent and Efficient
Service Delivery Grand Gedeh Association in the
Americas 
is our Vision”



Preamble
We the sons and daughters of Grand Gedeh County, in order to implement needed Services and develop an Inclusive structure that will augment the process of Unification in the Grand Gedeh Association in the Americas, help promote the general welfare of all Grandeans home and abroad and provide a sound leadership that will be Accountable, Transparent and Uphold our Constitution we have organized ourselves as group to be called “DADOUA”

We believe that a totally accountable and transparent entity that operates within the confines of our constitution is bound to succeed at all levels. We will stop at nothing to incorporate views of every sector of our community to help carve a sustainable path to peace unity and harmony amongst us. It is in this regard fellow Grand Gedeans that team “DADOUA” has been formed and organized as a grassroots entity.

Holding firm to the true meaning of “DADOUA” which means togetherness and inclusiveness in the Krahn language, we have banded together to provide a Different direction for this noble organization of ours and lead her to a new place where all Grand Gedeans will be totally incorporated  irrespective of district, clans, section or social/birth year group. We will work to create that environment that will promote the idea of ONE GRAND GEDEH ASSOCIATION in the minds of all our members.
 We will form a common patrimony among all of our people and join forces with other Liberian county associations and the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas, ULAA and other social groups to work for harmonious relationship amongst ourselves in the Diaspora.

Accountability and Transparency

· We will provide a simple, but effective financial management system that will insure financial accountability and transparency.

· our quarterly comprehensive financial report will be made to our chapter leaders, other members that dot not have a chapters and the Board directors within the time frame set forth by our constitution. 

· We will Establish and implement an internal annual financial review of our accounting system and make the findings public.

· We will observe and do proper reporting and filing consistent with internal revenue code for a non-profit organization like ours.

·  For transparency Team Dadoua’s administration, we will make the requirement of the constitution that calls for independent audits mandatory for our administration and all bodies that fall under the umbrella of the association and those audits will be part of the president’s report to the national conference.

· We promised a standard of operation that will be based on the principles of Transparency and Trustworthiness to our membership. We clearly understand that it is our membership that is our most reliant sponsor, so to gain their trust we will be open, honest and frank with them as it relates to the management of our finances.

· In our first 30 days, our Transitional team will do a comprehensive review of the organization’s activities from outstanding contracts, projects-finished and unfinished and make those findings public.

·         In the first (3) three hours of our presidency we will save the people of Grand Gedeh an amount of $8,000.00 (eight thousand dollars), by pledging to cut the president’s compensation package.
·         Team Dadoua, will have an open general monthly meeting with our members across the United States and Canada to augment the process our process Transparency.


Rule of law

   Team Dadoua promise to our membership, our districts organizations i.e.: Gbarzon, Tchien and Konobo, sectional and our Social/birth year organizations is that “we solemnly swear to uphold and protect the laws of GGAA”. Our administration will lead by example, understanding that we do not have prosecutorial power. We will hold supreme every Article and section of our constitution and govern from that stand point.

· We will make the understanding of our constitution a priority, understanding the bond it creates among us when we all feel protected under the law.

· We will provide where it is necessary tools for chapters and our communities to make available copies of the constitution to our members.

· Our chapter’s territorial boundaries will respected by our administration, and members who move from one chapter to another will be given 60 days to regularize the membership with their new chapter. 

 · Our administration will propose a committee of eminent persons, to be comprised of former presidents and our elders.

· We will take a closer look at the way we elect our leaders, our aims are to propose a voting system through constitutional amendments to the board of directors that is smart, economical and unifying in nature, we will argue for a system that will allow Grand Gedeans to vote in their chapters and localities during out national convention.

Sound Leadership
Understanding that the success of any efficiently run organization is based on how sound and organized its leadership team is, Team Dadoua being a group of dedicated Grand Gedeans with an impeccable record of long service to this organization promised to lead this organization in a sound and professional manner; we will lead from a corporate perspective which in our belief is based on productivity, growth and expansion.

· We promised to provide a sound and efficient leadership that can meet the challenges and service need of our membership and develop sound policies that will draw members closer in a consistent manner. Our strength lies in our proven record of service to our beloved GGAA and knowing how to co-exist with every facet of our community.


· Written  sound administrative policies, those that will unify us and create a coherent and vibrant GGAA, will be send to the Board directors for approval in our first 100 days.

· The membership committee will be empowered and funded budget wise to play that role of galvanizing our members. The chairman of the committee will have monthly meetings with chapter’s leaders and all localities to familiarize themselves with activities in those areas.

· The Administration will mandate the committee to raise the membership fee for all members to $10.00 annually. This fee will be paid by every Grand Gedean in every locality and is projected to raise an amount of $20,000.00 per annum. 

· We will allocates funds in our annual budget to be used for chapters, districts organizations, sectional and social organizations to implement well defined and accepted projects in the county.

·         Reconciliation of our people will be prioritize by our administration, we will lead a totally inclusive GGAA, where the rights of every individual be protected. We will propose a memorial service that will coincide with the anniversary of the death of the late president Samuel K. Doe and our people at the Freeport of Monrovia. This service will be climax with Feast of closure in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County. Our aims are to help bring closure in the hearts of our people. The service will commemorate all the lives of our people that we lost during the civil crises.

Efficient Service delivery systems
Team Dadoua promise to create three service delivery systems, these will be:    Educational services, Health and sanitation services and social services.
Education
We are fully aware of our place in the country when it comes to education; we are at the bottom of the pile. We need to be aggressive at all levels to encourage our young boys and girls to make learning to read and write a priority. We at Dadoua will focus our resources mostly on providing the needed foundation for our kids, we will invest heavily in:

· Early childhood education, it is our belief that the foundation that each child gained at the beginning of their educational sojourn is vital to their overall development.

· We will make sure that each student from 6 grades down in the county will get at least the necessities that will encourage them to stay in school, things like exercise books, pencil sharpeners and back packs.

· We will work with our districts officials to obtain basic data on every elementary school in the district. Those data will be used by our Ways and Means and the Education and training committees to do proper planning and come up with ideas as to how we can provide needed services to those schools.

·         Our long term goal will be to create a reading room in every Jr. High school outside the perimeter of Zwedru.

· We will provide incentives for teachers to remain in their areas of assignments in the county especially teachers who reside in the remote areas of the county.

· As a long term goal we will study the possibility of a school lunch programs for our kindergarten and elementary schools kids in the county.

· For our college students we will propose to the board directors of GGAA to stripe our present scholarship program and replace it with a blanket tuition payment for all our students at public universities in the country who can meet our set required guidelines.

· We will seek out our bright students in all Senior high schools in the Diaspora and the country from Grand Gedeh to encourage them through aggressive incentives and scholarships programs to go in the field of Law, medicine and engineering.
     It is our promised to the people of Grand Gedeh, that by 2018 this association will produce 4 lawyers from the Arthur Grimes School of law at the University of Liberia.

· Provide allotment in our budget and collaborate with county officials to provide basic training for skilled and unskilled labor for Grand Gedeans back home. It is our beliefs that for Grand Gedeans to be competitive in acquiring those jobs that will be created from the logging and the mining industries in the county they must have the basic trainings that employers will need to employ Grand Gedeans in the county.

Health and Sanitation  
Team Dadoua been cognizant of the fact that our health care delivery facilities in the county are not in the best state, and also knowing that we cannot fix everything overnight, we will be realistic in our approach. Team Dadaoua will begin work starting on the first day of her administration with international philanthropic and donor organizations to bring to light the terrible conditions of our hospital and other healthcare facilities.
We will put together commission of 12 healthcare professionals that will in 3 months time do a feasibility study of our healthcare delivery facilities in the county. Base on their findings and recommendations, the administration will embark on an aggressive fund raising campaign to start renovation by the summer of 2016.
In the interim we will work along with county officials in order to provide basic services to our hospitals and clinics in the county. Our immediate short term goals will include the followings:

 · We pledged to provide continuous electricity at the hospital; our administration will open a direct line of communication with the hospital where the president in consultation with his advisors on health matters will have a conference call with hospital administrators once a month.

· We will build three public toilets in designated area in the county for sanitation purposes.
·         We will make sure that there is running water at the hospital at all times

· Working with the established presidential commission on health and sanitations the administration will carry out 2 basic drugs drive twice a year to help the hospital with needed over the counter drugs

· Provide incentives for at least 3 trained nurses to remain in the county at all time during our term in office.

· We will designed, managed and host a fully interactive website for the Martha Tubman Memorial hospital in Zwedru to help bring her plight to outside world. By this we hope for donors firsthand the condition of the hospital.
Social services   
· We will identify resources and opportunities that will improve, develop, and enhance the living condition of Grand Gedeans in the Diasporas. Whether it is in the area of education, health, and social welfare, our website will be used as a resourceful tool where our members can go to search for jobs opportunities, help in filling out applications for school, financial aid help, providing basic information on available scholarships programs and articles on adult illiteracy programmed

· We will establish a technical committee in our first 60 days to work with city officials and our law makers to revisit the agreement on the operation of the Putu Mountain. Our focus will be on the social funds, job creation and the environmental impact on the surrounding communities.

·         In the first 2 months of our administration, our liaison office, staff by employees that will be given a stipend by the administration will be up and running in Zwedru. The necessity of said office cannot be overemphasized.

·         One of our long term goals is to study the possibility of refurbishing the water towel in Zwedru to provide clean water to the city and its environs.

· We will empower all our committees, especially our Membership and the Education and Training committee to work with all of our chapters and localities to create a transition for new comers coming in to the US for smooth transition and integration into the American society by orientating them and identifying resources and opportunity to make life easy. Such as identifying and referring them to resource centers and facilities such as Immigration office, government centers, or health care facilities.

  · Empower our Education and Training committee to establish adult education programs in our chapters and localities, to provide the basic tools for some of our members to help in areas like filling out jobs applications where our studies showed has been a problem for most of our people.

·         We will work with the Ways and Means committee to aggressively engage the leaders of the Pennsylvania chapter in the city of Philadelphia our headquarter to
     secure a property to be use as our community center.  Our short term goal will be to get an office space in first 100 days.

      · In the near future it is our hope to secure a piece of land in Zwedru, where a modern office complex will be erected to house the Grand Gedeh Associations in the Americas.

This is the vision of TEAM DADOUA, we are committing ourselves to the total Reformation of the Grand Gedeh Association in the Americas, it is our pledge that we will stop at nothing in the achievement of these service oriented goals for our county and people.  We believe that now is the time to step up to the plate to provide our expertise using our long record of service and using what we have we learned from working at all level with past administrations to  make GGAA the best she can be. TEAM DADOUA has been there, she understands GGAA and knows how to make things happen. All we ask of you is to give us that chance and we will promise you will not regret it, for we firmly believe that we are ready and we are well nurtured for the task. Also we want to stress that it behooves everyone of us to demand from those that are aspiring to lead this noble body to provide a vision that is clear and concise, this is ours to you the people of Grand Gedeh.



Thursday, March 7, 2013

Revised: Dadoua Platform



DADOUA

(Ah bli younh, ah kpa DADOUA ah ye Grand Gedeh poh)
National Campaign Headquarters
519 Spruce Avenue, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
19082, (610)203-4276

"BUILDING AN ACCOUNTABLE, TRANSPARENT AND AN EFFICIENT SERVICE DELIVERY

Preamble
We the sons and daughters of Grand Gedeh County, in order to implement needed Services and develop an Inclusive structure that will augment the process of Unification in the Grand Gedeh Association in the Americas, help promote the general welfare of all Grandeans home and abroad and provide a sound leadership that will be Accountable, Transparent and abide our written rule of law we have organized ourselves as group to be called “DADOUA”

We believe that a totally accountable and transparent entity that operates within the confines of our constitution is bound to succeed at all levels. We will stop at nothing to incorporate views of every sector of community to help carve a sustainable path to peace unity and harmony amongst us. It is in this regard fellow Grand Gedeans that team “DADOUA” has been formed and organized a grassroots entity.

Holding firm to the true meaning of “DADOUA” which means togetherness and inclusiveness in the Krahn language, we have banded together to provide a Different direction for this noble organization of ours and lead her to a new place where all Grand Gedeans will be totally incorporated  irrespective of district, clans, section or social/birth year group. We will work to create that environment that will promote the idea of ONE GRAND GEDEH ASSOCIATION in the minds of all our members.
 We will form a common patrimony among all of our people and join forces with other Liberian county associations and the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas, ULAA and other social groups to work for harmonious relationship amongst ourselves in the Diaspora.

Accountability and Transparency

· We will provide a simple, but effective financial management system that will insure financial accountability and transparency by making sure that

· our quarterly comprehensive financial report is made to our chapter leaders, members and the Board directors within the time frame set forth by our constitution. 

· We will Establish and implement an internal annual financial review of our accounting system and make the findings public.

· We will observe and do proper reporting and filing consistent with internal revenue code for a non-profit organization like ours.

· Transparency been the hallmark of our administration, we will make the requirement of the constitution that calls for independent audits mandatory for our administration and all bodies that fall under the umbrella of the association and those audits will be part of the president’s report to the national conference.

· We promise a standard of operation that will based on principles of Transparency and Trustworthiness to our membership. We clearly understand that it is our membership that is our most reliant sponsor, so to gain their trust we will be open, honest and frank with them as it relates to the management of our finances.

· In our first 30 days, our Transitional team will do a comprehensive review of the organization’s activities from outstanding contracts, projects-finished and unfinished and make those findings public. 

Rule of law

   Team Dadoua promise to our membership, our districts organizations i.e.: Gbarzon, Tchien and Konobo, sectional and our Social/birth year organizations is that “we solemnly swear to uphold and protect the laws of GGAA”. Our administration will lead by example, understanding that we do not have prosecutorial power. We will hold supreme every Article and section of our constitution and govern from that stand point.

· We will make the understanding of our constitution a priority, understanding the bond it creates among us when we all feel protected under the law.

· We will provide where it is necessary tools for chapters and our communities to make available copies of the constitution to our members.

· Our chapter’s territorial boundaries will respected by our administration, and members who move from one chapter to another will be given 60 days to regularize the membership with their new chapter. 

 · Our administration will propose a committee of eminent persons, to be comprised of former presidents and our elders.

· We will take a closer look at the way we elect our leaders, our aims are to propose a voting system through constitution amendment to the board of directors that is smart, economical and unifying in nature, we will argue for a system that will allow Grand Gedeans to vote in their chapters and localities during out national convention.

Sound Leadership
Understanding that the success of any efficiently run organization is based on how sound and organized its leadership team is, Team Dadoua being a group of dedicated Grand Gedeans with an impeccable record of long service to this organization promised to lead this organization in a sound and professional manner; we will lead from a corporate perspective which in our belief is based on productivity, growth and expansion.

· We will provide a sound and efficient leadership that can meet the challenges and service needs of our membership and develop sound policies that will draw members closer in a consistent manner. Our strength lies in our proven record of service to our beloved GGAA and knowing how to co-exist with every facet of our community.


· Our administration will propose sound administrative policies to help her lead and those policies will be sent to the board for approval in the first 100 days of our tenure.

· We will put together a strong membership committee that will be well funded budget wise. The chairman of the committee will have monthly meetings with chapter’s leaders and all localities to familiarize themselves with activities in those areas.

· The Administration will mandate the committee to raise the membership fee for all members to $10.00 annually. This fee will be paid by every Grand Gedean in every locality.  Our administration will propose the elimination of the $300.00 chapter dues that is been paid presently by every chapter. 

· We will allocates funds in our annual budget to be used for chapters, districts organizations, sectional and social organizations to implement well defined and accepted projects in the county.

Efficient Service delivery systems
Team Dadoua promise to create three service delivery systems, these will be:    Educational services, Health and sanitation services and social services.
Education
We are fully aware of our place in the country when it comes to education; we are at the bottom of the pile. We need to be aggressive at all levels to encourage our young boys and girls to make learning to read and write a priority. We at Dadoua will focus our resources mostly on providing the needed foundation for our kids, we will invest heavily in:

· Early childhood education, it is our belief that the foundation that each child gained at the beginning of their educational sojourn is vital to their overall development.

· We will make sure that each student from 6 grades down in the county will get at least the necessities that will encourage them to stay in school, things like exercise books, pencil sharpener and a back pack.

· We will work with our districts officials to obtain basic data on every elementary school in the district. Those data will be used by our Ways and Means and the Education and training committees to do proper planning and come up with ideas as to how we can provide needed services to those schools.

· We will provide incentives for teachers to remain in their areas of assignments in the county especially teachers who reside in the remote areas of the county.

· As a long term goal we will study the possibility of a school lunch programs for our kindergarten and elementary schools kids in the county.

· For our college students we will propose to the board directors of GGAA to stripe our present scholarship program and replace it with a blanket tuition payment for all our students at public universities in the country.

· We will seek out our bright students in all Junior and Senior high schools in the Diaspora and the country from Grand Gedeh to encourage them through aggressive incentives and scholarships programs to go in the field of Law, medicine and engineering.

· Provide allotment in our budget and collaborate with county officials to provide basic training for skilled and unskilled labor for Grand Gedeans back home. It is our beliefs that for Grand Gedeans to be competitive in acquiring those jobs that will be created from the logging and the mining industries in the county they must have the basic trainings that employers will need to employ our people in the county.

Health and Sanitation  
We are cognizant of the fact that our health care delivery facilities in the county are in shambles, we wouldn’t be in the position to fix everything overnight. We have to be realistic in our approach. We will be as consultative as we can be with our officials on the ground in finding ways to alleviate the suffering of our people. Team Dadaoua will begin work starting on the first day of her administration with international philanthropic and donor organization to bring to light the terrible conditions of our hospital and other healthcare facilities.
We will put together commission of 12 healthcare professionals that will in 3 months time do a feasibility study of our healthcare delivery facilities in the county. Base on their findings and recommendations, the administration will embark on an aggressive fund raising campaign to start renovation by the summer of 2016.
In the interim we will work along with county officials in order to provide basic services to our hospitals and clinics in the county. Our immediate short term goals will include the followings:

 · We pledge to provide continuous electricity at the hospital; our administration will open a direct line of communication with the hospital where the president in consultation with his advisors on health matters will have a conference call with hospital administrators once a month.

· We will build three public toilets in designated area in the county for sanitation purposes. We will make sure that there is running water at the hospital at all times

· Working with the established presidential commission on health and sanitations the administration will carry out 2 basic drugs drive twice a year to help the hospital with needed over the counter drugs

· Provide incentives for at least 3 trained nurses to remain in the county at all time during our term in office.

· We will designed, managed and host a fully interactive website for the Martha Tubman Memorial hospital in Zwedru to help bring her plight to outside world. By this we hope for donors firsthand the condition of the hospital.
Social services   
· We will identify resources and opportunities that will improve, develop, and enhance the living condition of Grand Gedeans in the Diasporas. Whether it is in the area of education, health, and social welfare, our website will be used as a resourceful tool where our members can go to search for jobs opportunities, help in filling out applications for school, financial aid help, providing basic information on available scholarships programs and articles on adult illiteracy programmed

· We will establish a technical committee in our first 60 days to work with city officials and our law makers to revisit agreement on the operation of the Putu Mountain. Our focus will be on the social funds, job creation and the environmental impact on the surrounding communities.

· We will empower all our committees, especially our Membership and the Education and Training committee to work with all of our chapters and localities to create a transition for new comers coming in to the US for smooth transition and integration into the American society by orientating them and identifying resources and opportunity to make life easy. Such as identifying and referring them to resource centers and facilities such as Immigration office, government centers, or health care facilities.

· Empowered our Education and Training committee to establish adult education programs in our chapters and localities, to provide the basic tools for some of our members to help in areas like filling out jobs applications where our studies showed has been a problem for our people.

We will work with the Ways and Means committee to aggressively engage the leaders of the Pennsylvania chapter in the city of Philadelphia our headquarter to
· secure a property to be use as our community center.  Our short term goal will be to get an office space in first 100 days.


· In the short term we will collaborate with Zwedru city government to provide us with an office space that will be use as our point of contact and a resource center. This office will be furnished with computers, a fax machines and an internet service. There will be a staff that will be compensated by the union. This office and resource center will be the face of Grand Gedeh association in the Americas in the county

· In the near future it is our hope to secure a piece of land in Zwedru, where a modern office complex will be erected to house the Grand Gedeh Associations in the Americas.

This is the vision of TEAM DADOUA, we are committing ourselves to the total Reformation of the Grand Gedeh Association in the Americas, it is our pledge that we will stop at nothing in the achievement of these service oriented goals for our county and people.  We believe that now is the time to step up to the plate to provide our expertise using our long record of service and using what we have we learned from working at all level with past administrations to  make GGAA the best she can be. TEAM DADOUA has been there, she understands GGAA and knows how to make things happen. All we ask of you is to give us that chance and we will promise you will not regret it, for we firmly believe that we are ready and we are well nurtured for the task. Also we want to stress that it behooves everyone of us to demand from those that are aspiring to lead this noble body to provide a vision that is clear and concise, this is ours to you the people of Grand Gedeh.