The proposal of Deputy Minister of Labor to his boss on the distribution of petroleum products to senior staff at the Ministry of Labor (MOL), and his ability to pivot from the real issue of streamlining the excesses in government, leaves much to consider. Let’s not forget that the provision of enormous quantity of gasoline to officials at the ministry did not just pop up under the watch of the current Minister of Labor, neither is it only with the MOL. This was an occurrence that goes back to the previous administration which requires much sunshine and clarity. And therefore, the question becomes what did the former Labor Minister Kofi Woods know about the gasoline distribution at the time he was its head? John Josiah’s explanation tends to sweep the past under the carpet, placing the onus on the current Minister of Labor, Gongloe to deal with the question of distribution. This is a travesty as there was a distribution system in place at the ministry and Liberians deserve to know what that system was and who got what.

And so Liberians deserve an explanation from Woods regarding what he knew, if any, about this process; what quantity of gasoline was he given monthly and what of it did he use and what of it did he return to government. Liberians commended Mr. Woods’ audacity when he remitted into government coffers excess travel allowance upon his return from a government sponsored trip abroad and now want to know if he utilized the same principle with gasoline or not! Was gasoline arguably perishable that it could not quantifiably fall within the category of remittance or was there a no return policy on such product? It is important to avoid speculation but given the ratio applied in Josiah’s proposal it can be carefully deduced that Woods may have received about the same amount of gasoline (one thousand gallons) monthly. For all of the reasons plus more as his responsibilities dictate, could he have used all of this in a month given the terrible road conditions around the country is undoubtedly questionable! The answer lies with Kofi and Liberians await his side of the story. Again, Minister Woods under the principle of transparency, accountability and your proven audaciousness to curb waste, what did you know about the gasoline distribution at the Ministry of Labor and what did you receive, consume and return?

By Sam P.  Ajavon, Jr.
tagleparyo@yahoo.com