By Sidiki Fofana | Truth In Ink
When news broke that the Legislature planned to secure vehicles for its staff, a few lawmakers were the first to cry foul. Suddenly, hospitals and schools became their favorite talking points.
Representative Yekeh Kolubah, in his usual loud fashion, shouted that “they want to use money to buy cars for their staffers,” adding that JFK Hospital is struggling.
Representative Taa Wongbeh joined the chorus. But the question remains, where was this outrage when these same lawmakers collected vehicle benefits for themselves?
Each lawmaker received about $90,000 for personal vehicles, amounting to roughly $13.14 million across both Houses.
Now, when a fraction of that amount, less than one percent, is proposed to dignify the hundreds of staffers who actually keep the Capitol running, the same beneficiaries of luxury suddenly develop national conscience. That is not concern for priorities; it is pure legislative hypocrisy.
The truth is simple. These staffers work longer hours, show up every day, and handle the real business of the Legislature. They prepare reports, draft bills, and manage proceedings while most lawmakers attend sessions twice a week.’
If there is anyone deserving of a token of respect and recognition, it is these very workers, not those who only appear for roll calls and photo opportunities.
To hear some lawmakers preach about “national priorities” is laughable. If they truly care about hospitals and schools, they should begin by rejecting their own vehicle benefits, travel allowances, gas slips and endless perks that drain millions from the national budget.
Do not pretend to defend the poor only when the poor are the ones set to benefit.
In Liberia’s political circus, hypocrisy has become a craft. Some lawmakers have mastered the art of pretending to oppose something simply because others support it, even when they privately enjoy greater privileges. This selective morality is the rot eating at the foundation of our democracy.
If these self-proclaimed patriots are serious, let them start where it hurts, at the top.
Let them freeze all vehicle benefits for lawmakers and subject every allowance to public scrutiny.
Let them redirect the millions they spend on themselves to the very hospitals and schools they use as shields for their hypocrisy.
Until then, any noise against providing vehicles for staff is nothing more than political deceit dressed in borrowed virtue.
The Liberian people are not fools. They see through the pretense. The real waste sits in the hands of those who talk the loudest about reform but refuse to reform themselves.
Truth In Ink stands firm: stop lecturing staff about national priorities while defending your own $13 million feast. Reform must start where the greed begins, inside the Legislature itself.
