By Festus Poquie
“When I am given the chance to serve the people of Liberia, I will be prepared to defend my record and credentials before the Senate,” Sara Beysolow Nyanti
President Joseph Boakai’s potential Foreign Minister pick Sara Beysolow Nyanti’s academic credentials she has used for more than two decades to gain top public and private sector jobs have now come into question.
The former United Nations envoy is in pole position to be nominated to head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to serve as the country’s top Diplomat according to sources within the presidential circle.
Administration insiders concern about the quality of the post-Weah cabinet are voluntarily vetting potential nominees with a goal of formulating a top tier government workforce lacking fraudsters and underachievers.
Sara’s Cuttington undergraduate degree and graduate degree from New Charter University are marked in red facing legitimacy inquest.
After days of internal conversation on the matter, Sara took to her official Facebook account Tuesday to dismiss claims regarding her credentials.
I will defend myself before the Senate, said the renowned Liberian professional who Challenged President Boakai and 19 others for the presidency during the 2023 elections before joining ranks with the Unity Party in the runoff.
“I have read the posts and heard the lies and disinformation being spewed,” she said.
“When I am given the chance to serve the people of Liberia as I have served other nations, I will be prepared to defend my record and my legitimate and hard earned credentials before the Senate.”
One of her social media Followers commented: Maybe you should defend your credentials before being given the chance to serve, ma’am. The vetting committee should be able to do that with you. The Senate is the last stop. Doing the reverse opens a can of worms.
Carlos Tingban Ediso “When I heard it at first, I was disturbed and indecisive on what action to call for, but since my deep and critical conversation with you today, I am overly convinced that you legitimately earned your academic qualifications from reputable institutes.
But the African Liberation League/ALL will duly resubmit to the Liberian people the actual person in Sara Beysolow Nyanti. An acclaimed development and diplomatic expert.”
On Dec. 6, 2021 United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Ms. Sara Beysolow Nyanti as his Deputy Special Representative in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and Resident Coordinator in South Sudan. Ms. Nyanti also served as Humanitarian Coordinator.
This is how the United Nations profiles her:
Ms. Nyanti brings more than 20 years of experience in international development and humanitarian affairs including in conflict and post-conflict settings, most recently serving as Resident Coordinator in Nepal (2021).
She also served as United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Yemen (2019-2020) and in The Gambia (2015-2017).
Prior to her senior-level representational roles, she served in numerous technical capacities in UNICEF and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) related to setting up systems for large scale grant management, social protection/cash transfers, HIV/AIDS, health and education.
Before joining the United Nations in Liberia where she worked during the conflict and transitional government periods, Ms. Nyanti held senior positions in the Ministry of Health of the Government of Liberia (1999-2003).
She served as the Director of the National AIDS Control Programme and prior to that, she served as Special Assistant to the Minister of Health.
Ms. Nyanti holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the New Charter University, USA.
She most recently completed a second Master’s in Management and Leadership from Western Governors University, USA; and is an accredited Broker with the United Kingdom-based international Partnership Broker Association managing and developing collaboration processes. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Transformational Leadership.
