Looking Forward to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's Cabinet Meeting In Grand Cape Mount County
By Abraham L. James
The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
Posted May 12, 2008
The Presidential Cabinet
Last year, the President held her first cabinet meeting in Harper, Maryland County, followed by a second one in Lofa County in March, 2008. The April meeting in Grand Cape Mount, the third in a row to be held away from the capital, seems to suggest an important pattern of cabinet meetings occurring in the counties, outside Monrovia.. The meetings are likely to focus attention on the role of these senior officials of the executive branch who were selected by the President to advise and assist her in carrying out the policies of her administration.
The Constitution of the First Republic, adopted in 1847, empowered the President to nominate and with the advice and consent of the Senate appoint, and commission Secretaries of State, War, the Navy, and the Treasury, as well as and Attorney General and all other officers of state. No mention was made of a Cabinet. President Joseph J. Roberts commenced his administration with only three ministers, namely the Secretaries of State and of the Treasury and an Attorney General. As in the United States, the idea of a presidential cabinet as an institution, developed much later and outside the Constitution as a matter of custom and practical necessity. The nomenclature of the positions was changed during the administration of President William R.Tolbert.
Over the years, the presidential cabinet has grown considerably. As our system of governance evolved, it became absolutely impossible for the President to discharge his or her duties without advice and assistance. Some chiefs of state have relied heavily on cabinet members for advice, others have done so lightly, and some have largely ignored them. Cabinets have been what particular presidents have made them. The President may even accord to others the privilege of attending and participating in cabinet meetings on a regular or ad hoc basis..
However, the cabinet is enshrined as an official institution in the Liberian Constitution extant, drafted by the National Constitution Commission and adopted in 1986. Article 54 states that: “The President shall nominate and with the consent of the Senate, appoint and commission: (a) cabinet ministers, deputy and assistant cabinet ministers”.
The Liberian President’s cabinet differs from the cabinet in the British Parliamentary system in that, in Liberia the executive power is constitutionally vested in the President, whereas in Britain the cabinet as a whole, rather than the Prime Minister who heads it is considered the executive, and the cabinet is collectively responsible to the Parliament for its performance.
The holding of presidential cabinet meetings in the counties will focus attention on the consultative role of the cabinet and help to decentralize executive decision-making process in a governance system traditionally criticized for concentrating power, at the center in Monrovia, and in the hands of the President in particular. It will also help to raise the profile of the cabinet and ensure that whether or not a cabinet member acts as an adviser, he or she retains the responsibility for directing the activities of the administration in specific areas of concern. The decision to hold the President’s third cabinet meeting in Grand Cape Mount will enable the people of the County to meet and discuss important matters with their leader.
Grand Cape Mount
Grand Cape Mount County, originally a district of Montserrado County, was elevated to the status of county in 1924. The county received its name from the Portuguese navigator Pedro de Sintra who reached the Cape and promontory along the West African Coast in 1461, and named it Carbo de Monte (Cape Mount). The area was known as the Grain Coast because of the local cultivation of melegueta pepper, the “grain of paradise,” which was as valuable as gold and the principal item of trade at the time. Cape Mount is considered the earliest known and recorded landmark of the Liberian Coast. It has a promontory which rises 1068 feet above sea level, the highest natural landmark on the Liberian Coast. The peak of the promontory is visible from the Ducor Place Hotel in Monrovia on a clear and sunny day. At the base of the mountain, on the opposite side from the Atlantic Ocean, is Lake Piso, which is about ten miles long and five miles at its widest breadth. It is the largest lake in the country and flows into the Atlantic Ocean by a narrow outlet known as the bar. Lake Piso was used as a seaplane base by the United State during World War II.
Robertsport
Along the shores of Lake Piso and not far from the promontory is Robertsport, a beach city that is surrounded by tropical green hills. The city was founded April 17, 1855, by President Roberts, in whose honor it was named, when he and seventeen volunteers from Montserrado County journeyed to Cape Mount on the Liberian Schooner Lark. It is the county seat of government and was named Wakolor by the Vai inhabitants.
The combination of the promontory, with its dense green foliage sloping downward to the Atlantic Ocean, rocky intrusions along the coast to the west, Lake Piso to the east, and several small islands creates topography of breath-taking beauty.
Sir Harry Johnston, the multi-talented British explorer, botanist and colonial administrator, who sailed along the West African Coast many times, described in his book Liberia the narrow cape, bulging hills and mountains, intrusion of rocks, the most fascinating and noteworthy features on the coast of Liberia. He, is said to have observed that he found it difficult to understand why such a splendid site on a mountainous peninsular with a large lagoon to the east and a half-formed seaport to the west did not tempt the nucleus of the American Settlers of 1822, to choose it for their future capital instead of the less attractive Cape Mesurado. He christened the area the Gibraltar of Liberia.
Inhabitants
The principal inhabitants of the area are the Vais and the descendants of settlers that came from North America, the Caribbean and the African Diaspora. There are also communities of other ethnic groups, including, Bassa, Gola, Fanti, Kru and Mende, and others located in Robertsport and other parts of the county. The majority of the people live in the rural areas in Garwula, Gola Koneh, Pokpa, Tewor and Tombe districts. The interior of the county has large tracts of prime land for future cities and agricultural and industrial activities.
Cultural Heritage
The history, customary laws, folkways, and legends, of the Vais, and the descendents of black American settlers who have lived in the county since it was established, along with those of other ethnic groups in Liberia, were preserved in the Tubman Center for African Culture in Robertsport. Also included in the collections were specimens of Vai Writing and a phonetic chart of the characters of the Vai language and script invented by Mr. Dwalu Bukele.
Scholars from various parts of the country and abroad visited the Center until it was looted during the civil war. Efforts are said to be underway to rehabilitate the Center and retrieve some of the valuable items that were removed. A team of Liberian and American scholars is currently working with Dr. John V. Singler, Professor of Linguistics at New York University and a former teacher and Librarian at the Episcopal High School in Robertsport, to prepare a desktop arrangement of the Vai language, hoping that a computer keyboard for the language will be developed within a year.
Center of Learning
For many decades the county was a major center of learning in the country. Students came to Grand Cape Mount from various parts of Liberia and neighboring Sierra Leone to attend school. The House of Bethany for girls and Saint Johns for boys, boarding institutions of the Episcopal High School in Robertsport, provided quality education, and Saint Timothy’s Hospital served as a good medical center for the area. Father E. Boling Robertson, a great educator, disciplinarian and missionary was principal of the institution. He and his wife, Mother Roberson, who survived him and lives at St. Johns, Robertsport, together with Ms. Marywood Mckenzie, former principal of the House of Bethany, and other missionaries contributed greatly to the academic and spiritual growth of the county.
Reverend Urias B. Freeman, Principal of the Robertsport High School, another great teacher and disciplinarian who was subsequently elected to the Liberian Senate, and his staff of excellent teachers also operated one of the finest high schools in the area. There were also very important preparatory schools at Bendu and Baloma, in the interior of the county. Additionally, buildings were constructed for a technical college at Singe, Gawular District. There are plans for the reconstruction of most of the institutions mentioned above.
The traditional view of the area as an important center of learning, seems to have provided and important inspiration and impetus for the many prominent leaders, public servants, scholars and professionals who had their origins in the county.
Cape Mountainians in the United States
In recent years, the National Association of Cape Mountainians in the Americas, an organization in the United States comprising highly motivated and qualified citizens from Grand Cape Mount, with representatives from Robertsport and most of the districts of the county, has been making important contributions to reconstruction efforts in Grand Cape Mount. And many members have indicated their intent to return home to contribute to the reconstruction and development of the county and the Liberian nation.
Potential for Tourism and Investment
Today, there is a steady increase in the number of Liberian and foreign visitors who find their way to the banks of Lake Piso and the pristine beaches and good surfing conditions at Robertsport. They seem to be alerting the nation to the significant tourism potential of the area. Paving the approximately 44-kilometer road from Medina to Robertsport would be a giant step for tourism. Also, the discovery of iron deposits at the Bea Mountain, part of the Western Cluster initiative, and gold mining activities in the interior of the county, are likely to provide new and important attractions for investment in the area.
Grand Cape Mount County is slowly recovering from the destruction and devastation of the civil war and conflict years. The Department of Public Works and the Engineering Battalion of the United Nations Mission in Liberia have begun a project for the rehabilitation of the Medina-Robersport Road. The government, leaders, youth and friends of the county, are working for the reconstruction and advancement of both Grand Cape Mount County and the Liberian State. There is also evidence that they are planning a warm welcome and Grand Cape Mount hospitality for the President.
The author, Abraham L. James is a son of Grand Cape Mount County.
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