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ULAA National President Anthony
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State of the Union Address
Delivered by
Anthony V. Kesselly
National President
Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas
Decatur, Georgia
September 26, 2009
Honorable Keynote Speaker, Dr. John Stremlau of the
renowned Carter
Center, Honorable Chairman Sam Garwo and members of the
National Board of Directors, Honorable John N. Brownell
and delegation members from the European Federation of
Liberian Associations (EFLA), Doyen and members of the
National Leadership Council, fellow members of the
National Administration, Madam Chairlady and members of
the ULAA Council of Eminent Persons, delegates from
member chapters, invited guests, fellow Liberians and
friends of Liberia, ladies and gentlemen:
Permit me to begin this State of the Union Address on a
rather sad note. ULAA tradition, re-enforced by our
current circumstance, dictates that we rise in
remembrance of our fallen stalwarts. On May 31, of this
year, the cruel hands of crime and violence snatched
away one of our longest standing ULAA pillars. On that
fateful day, the life of our dear former ULAA President,
Dr. Joseph Mamadee Ghorpu-Dolo Woah-Tee (1982 – 1983),
was abruptly cut short in his resident City of
Baltimore. I beg your consent to please rise at this
time to give this fallen ULAA Hero a moment of silence,
in remembrance of his unbroken years of service and
support to this Union.
It is with honor and pride that I perform my obligation
today to report to you on the state of affairs of our
dear Union. Amidst, but notwithstanding, all the chorus
of distractions that has preceded today, I take great
pride and delight in proclaiming to you today that this
Union, your Union, our Union, is not only viable but
unshakably strong and alive. Even in the face of the
doldrums of misinformation and the huge avalanche of
outright deception, we all have together managed to pull
this Union to this point, steering it dexterously on the
guidepost of firmness, focus, and flexibility.
THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONY
Less than a year ago, in the bustling City of Chicago,
the “ Windy City,” Illinois, we were handed the mantle
of authority to steer the affairs of the Union . It was
on the splendid 15th day of November 2008
when our respected and knowledgeable National President,
Emmanuel S. Wettee, bequeathed upon us the helm of this
umbrella Organization. Just as we are grateful to the
honorable immediate past National President, so also we
are to Reverend Dr. Amos Miamen whose prayers for the
Union on that auspicious day have continued to bless the
ULAA ship of state.
We were thrust into power by the people’s mandate at a
time of great skepticism in the Union. Never did we, for
one second, entertain the illusion that our task was any
less that Herculean. Notwithstanding the odds, we set
sail with a determination as solid as steel and
commitment as boundless as the skies. We summoned the
hearts and minds of our colleagues on the National
Leadership Council at our maiden teleconference meeting
held on December 2, 2008, when we saw what amounted to
an equal match of fortitude of heart on their part. With
this solidification of our collective resolve, we set
sail, expecting nothing short of success in the
execution of the people’s mandate.
ENGAGING SUSPENDED CHAPTERS
We emerged from the 34th National General
Assembly with a tall mandate to engage chapters that had
been suspended due to their inactivity with the Union.
The object here was to bring them back on track and back
in full swing. These chapters included the Liberian
Community Association of New York County, Liberian
Association of Maryland, Liberian Community Association
of Bronx-West Chester, and the Liberian Association of
Washington State .
My fellow Union members, we embarked upon the task of
engaging these Liberian community organizations with
high hopes. We made a flurry of phone calls and went on
a few travels. Our travels took us to Manhattan and the
Bronx, New York, as well as to Baltimore , Maryland. In
our engagements and interactions, we came out with
preliminary observations which we shared with you at the
joint meeting of the Board of Directors and National
Leadership Council held on the day of the Inaugural
Dinner Ball in Philadelphia on March 14, 2009. At the
time we reported to you what appeared to be good
indications from three of the four chapters. There were
positive signs coming out of Manhattan as we had engaged
the feuding parties there and secured some assurances of
their willingness to compromise. We reconnected with our
colleagues in Seattle Washington State. We got clear
indications of the readiness of the chapter leaders to
rejoin the ULAA fold, having momentarily withheld their
activeness due to some misgivings they had developed on
how they felt they were treated by the Union .. As for
our brothers and sisters in Maryland, we were updated on
the new direction of the community which had undertaken
a revitalization exercise, having witnessed a protracted
period of dormancy and inactivity in their operations.
Our efforts reaped very little results in the Bronx-West
Chester Community.
Following the Inaugural Program, we again re-engaged
these communities. To date however much work is still
left to be done. Further progress could not readily be
made on the Manhattan front as positions between the
feuding sides widened. Maryland continues on the course
of its revitalization and, as we speak today, that
chapter is exactly one week away from community-wide
elections. Let me state for the record however that LAM
Interim President Ezax Smith has continued to keep in
touch with the Union and its activities from an
observer’s angle. Not much could be salvaged from the
Bronx-West Chester community. It does not look likely
that the Association will return to its rightful footing
in the near future. And Seattle is still lurking.
LIBERIAN EMBASSY ENGAGEMENTS
My dear compatriots, we recall throwing out a commitment
to you that we will always remain flexible in the face
of actions springing out of disillusionment occasioned
by the failure of some to achieve their ambition of
taking the ULAA leadership. We all did witness that a
wave of maneuvers was launched to deceive the Liberian
people and our friends that there was a sharp division
in the Union. These maneuvers, though largely internet
listserve-based, managed to sway some quarters into
believing in the existence of such division. We received
a somewhat personal invitation from the Liberian Embassy
in Washington , DC , to visit the Ambassador in November
2008 to bring him up to date on the circumstances
surrounding the reported misunderstanding. Though the
invitation was not sent to us in any ULAA leadership
capacity, we sought advice from our national
administrative officers. The visit was paid and it was
an all day affair, featuring two sessions with
Ambassador Nathaniel Barnes, with one in the morning and
the other in the afternoon. The Ambassador indicated
that he had acquired a better appreciation of the issues
surrounding the conflict, promising to get back to use
shortly.
It was not until late January that the Embassy contacted
us again, this time, inviting us to a meeting with
Ambassador Barnes on February 4, 2004. Members of the
National Leadership Council and Board Leadership will
recall that we convened a consultative session on this
invitation at which time it was agreed that I honor the
invitation. In attending this meeting, NLC members and
Board leaders gave me a firm mandate not to countenance
any act or compromise on any arrangements that would
bear the potential of undermining the Union’s democratic
verdict of the 34th Assembly of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
Accordingly we attended a meeting of what the Embassy
considered a group of seven stakeholders. Following
several hours of deliberations, the Ambassador came up
with a proposal that sought to subvert the ULAA
Constitution. We drew attention to the problem and it
was agreed that parties have a time period of about
three weeks for constituency consultations and return to
an exclusive teleconference on February 22, 2009. It is
unfortunate to inform you that all basic agreements
reached at this February 4 discussions were breached by
those who have chosen the path of misinformation and
disruption. By the date that we got on the scheduled
teleconference, they were so fired up to disrupt and
that is exactly what they did. As a result of a foul
language hauled at Ambassador Barnes he stormed out of
the teleconference, thus bringing the mediation effort
to naught. It has since not been resuscitated.
THE HISTORIC INAUGURAL DINNER/BALL
It was on the splendid day of Saturday, March 14, when
the ULAA Family and well-wishers converged on the “City
of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection,” Philadelphia
, for the historic ULAA Inaugural Dinner Ball. The
daytime featured the joint meeting of the National Board
of Directors and the National Leadership Council. This
was a highly successful meeting as these organs of the
Union reached crucial decisions, among them the hosting
of this 35th National Assembly. In a contest
between the Organization of Liberians in Minnesota and
the Liberian Association of Metropolitan Atlanta , the
latter prevailed. That is why we are here today.
The evening of that day witnessed an event of
history-making proportions. ULAA saw an inaugural dinner
that registered the highest number of attendants so far
in the Union ’s history. That such record was set amidst
a massively orchestrated effort to disrupt the Union
spoke volumes of the resilience and security of this
Union. We remain ever so grateful to Chairlady Edith
Walters- Wilson of the Liberian United Women in Progress
and her team of Inaugural Committee members who
obviously I considered are possessed by unsurpassed
dedication.
We seized the momentous occasion of the festive
inaugural to announce the ULAA National Immigration Task
Force and the ULAA National Social Services Council.
THE IMMIGRATION (DED) STRUGGLE:
Fellow delegates, permit me to preface this portion of
my report with a call for your indulgence for us to
observe a moment of silence for the loss of a very
strong voice for immigrants in the US Congress, the late
Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts . Let’s please
rise. Amen.
Let me also remind you that our historic inaugural
dinner program came at a time when Liberians on the
Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) status were on the
cliff of hopelessness. The Union had launched a
sustained and robust campaign to avert a scenario in
which our fellow Liberians could fall in the dreaded
deportation status.
In addition to shuttle missions to congressional offices
in Rhode Island , Washington , DC , Minnesota ,
California , and Pennsylvania , Union representatives
also joined hands with Liberian allies in other states,
including New Jersey. Just two days following the
inaugural dinner in Philadelphia , your humble servant,
was, on Monday, March 16, at the head of a rally in the
streets of Newark, New Jersey, shoulder-to-shoulder with
Newark Councilman Donald Payne, Jr. and leaders of the
Concerned Citizens for Humanity. That rally was a
precursor to a larger one planned for Washington, DC,
for March 25, 2009.
Just days after the Newark Rally, on the run-up to the
DC rally, the good tidings came from the Barrack Obama
White House on March 20, giving an extension of twelve
months for the DED. Amidst the jubilation over the
extension, ULAA, in consultation with other rally
organizing allies, reached a decision to proceed with
the DC rally on March 25. On that day, hundreds of
Liberians poured on the steps of the Capitol Building to
voice their appreciation for the extension and, in the
same breadth, pray for a more permanent solution to the
temporary status quagmire. A stream of U.S. legislators
led by New Jersey Congressman Donald M. Payne, Sr.,
addressed the marchers. Your humble servant was among
the leaders of the rally organizing partners who
addressed the impressive gathering of Liberians. Other
U.S. Legislators addressing the gathering were the
Chairlady of the Congressional Black Caucus, Honorable
Barbara Lee of California, Congresswoman Sheila
Lee-Jackson of Texas, Congresswoman Corrine Brown of
Florida, Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota, and
Congressman Michael McMahon of New York.
While we acknowledge gains that have been made relative
to the extension of DED until March of 2010, we are
still confronted with the over-arching question of the
fate of thousands of Liberians still left hanging in the
balance. These Liberians still endure the fear of being
separated from their families.
As you are aware, steps have been taken to address this
problem both from a micro and macro levels within the
context of pushing for both Liberia-specific bills as
well as for Comprehensive Immigration Reform ( CIR ). As
most, if not all, of you are aware, the respective
Liberian immigration bills have been re-introduced in
Congress. In the Senate, S-656 is being championed by
long-time ally, Senator Jack Reed, while in the House of
Representatives, HR-2258 (which was previously HR-1941)
is been pushed by Congressman Patrick Kennedy.
As we form partnership with Senator Reed and Congressman
Kennedy and other Congressional allies on these Liberian
bills, we have also formed partnerships and
collaboration with state-wide and national immigration
campaigns to push for legislation for CIR. This global
legislation, if passed, will provide permanent
immigration status for the multitudes of undocumented
immigrants in the United States. As we speak here today,
efforts are underway to ensure the inclusion of
appropriate language in the CIR legislation that will
fully address the Liberian immigration quagmire. Our
partners in this national immigration struggle for CIR
include Reform Immigration for America Campaign, HAIS,
Advocates for Human Rights in Minnesota , and a
coalition group, Coalition for Permanent Residency
(CPR), the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship
Coalition. You can look forward to more information
sharing on this subject from Immigration Task Force
Chairman, Honorable Kerper Dwayen, who will be backed by
External Affairs Chairman Sam Togba Slewion at the
deliberative session.
ULAA GOES TO COURT
Ladies and gentlemen, You may have been astounded to
observe that, at a time such as described above when
well-meaning Liberians and their allies were submerged
in relentless efforts to find solutions to the myriads
of problems bedeviling our people, the same group of
individuals continued to dig their heels into acts of
misinformation, impersonation, and outright
insults. Weeks before the inaugural dinner therefore we
launched a series of consultations to determine how best
the situation could be contained. National
Administration meetings, National Leadership Council
meetings, as well as a session of the National Board of
Directors were convened. At the end of the exercise, it
was resolved that, the United States being a country of
laws, the Union should seek recourse in the court
system. The Union retained an attorney who had become
familiar with the ULAA question, dating back when ULAA
was surreptitiously taken to court in September 2008. A
contractual agreement dubbed “Fee Agreement” was entered
into with the decision of the National Administration,
the blessing of the National Leadership Council and the
approval of the Board. It was against this background
that on May 14, 2009 this Washington, DC, Attorney filed
a complaint in the Superior Court of the District of
Columbia for “Conversion” against seven defendants,
namely, James N. Larsah, Mariah Y. Seton, Jessey S.
Phillips, Joseph T. Tehmeh, James Tambah, Celia Cuffy-Brown,
and Benoni T. Grimes.
The initial scheduling conference date was set for
August 14, 2009. At that conference, Judge Maurice Ross
urged the parties to first pursue the path of
mediation. Strangely though only two of the seven
defendants showed up. The other five defendants,
including the one purporting to be the “appointed” ULAA
national executive president, were unaccounted for. An
attorney brought in the court by one of the principal
defendants clarified to the Judge that he represented no
other defendant other than this particular defendant.
In his admonition to the parties, the Judge pleaded that
another attempt be made with the involvement of the two
attorneys to see whether a breakthrough could be
obtained and a mediated settlement is achieved. All
parties in the Court consented.
Regarding the motions for default judgment and
preliminary injunction before the Judge, the defendant’s
attorney prayed the Court to give him additional time to
file an appropriate answer for his client since he had
just entered his retention the previous day, August
13. The ULAA Attorney did not object. The Judge
therefore said he was giving the defendants 10 days to
file their answers while at the same time looking
forward to the mediation. On that basis the Judge said
he could neither grant the default judgment nor the
preliminary injunction. The Judge then asked the two
defendants in court to inform the absent defendants to
show their interest in participating in the mediation
while making sure to file their answers to the
Plaintiff’s Complaint.
The date for the Mediation Session was set at August 26,
2009 at 1:00 p.m. in Washington , DC .
As was required of all parties, we proceeded to develop
our proposal on how we believed the matter could be
amicably resolved. You, NLC members and Board leaders,
will recall consultative meetings we held to define what
the contents, context, and parameters of the proposal
should be. The proposal we developed sought a
democratic approach by which the voices of the various
member organizations of ULAA could serve as the
determining factor in the resolution of the matter.
Copies of the ULAA Mediation Proposal were served to all
member chapters through their heads. Copies are also
available today for the taking upon request.
The Union was represented at the Mediation Session on
August 26 by a delegation comprising of Board First Vice
Chairman Wilmot W. Kunney, National General Secretary
Isaac S. Zawolo, with your humble servant as the head.
The same two defendants who had appeared in Court were
the only ones present—James N. Larsah and Celia C.
Brown. In the discussions that ensued, the defendants
out-rightly rejected ULAA’s widely acclaimed Proposal in
favor of theirs which totally objected to any further
mediation attempt. They now adopted a position against
mediation, arguing instead that only binding arbitration
was acceptable to them.
The Union informed the Mediator that at the close of
this mediation session, its focus would turn to the
ensuing 35th National General Assembly and
would therefore not pay any more attention to the court
issues until at least 30 days following the Atlanta,
Georgia, Assembly.
Those present agreed tentatively to the concept of
binding arbitration, with the caveat that the absentee
defendants be given fifteen days to indicate their
interest in this arbitration process. Names of possible
arbitrators were tossed around on the basis of the
requirement set that the arbitrator must be a practicing
attorney under the Washington, DC, Bar. As a fall back
position the Mediator set a date for a possible second
mediation session for October 22, 2009. It was
anticipated that upon the agreement of all parties,
including the absent defendants, a detailed agreement
would be signed in which the specifics would be
outlined. To date, fellow Liberians, no such agreement
has yet been signed. We are yet to be officially
notified of the consent of the absentee defendants to
the concept of binding arbitration.
CONFRONTING THE CONSTITUTION REVIEW QUESTION
Esteemed Delegates, my dear ladies and gentlemen, on
April 1, 2009 , we announced a crack team of 15
brilliant community activists to constitute the ULAA
National Constitution Review Committee. You will all
note that this move was in strict fulfillment of one of
the key platform planks of our 2008 Union wide elections
campaign.
The men and women of the Committee hit the ground of
their responsibility not only running but speeding. They
endured countless numbers of sleepless nights glued to
teleconferences as they meticulously crafted a document
that this Assembly will act upon today. With this level
of total submersion into their task, we are proud today
to proclaim that the National Administration was able to
make available copies of the new Draft Constitution to
all member chapters for their review in line with
constitutional requirements.
In crediting these fine Liberians, we need to recall
that they have finally brought some degree of success in
this constitution review craving that the Union has
borne for so long. We can count a couple of previous
attempts at this task that did not reap the desired
outcome. The Union , today, in one thunderous chorus to
these fine Liberians, “A Big Thank You, Yah!”
I pray that you, honorable delegates, will do justice to
the Committee and to the Union in general, by examining
the Draft with open mind and eking out a new and more
relevant organic law for our dear Union. No doubt,
Committee Chairman Samuel J’Blee Tiah with thus feel
fulfilled.
VISIT TO LIBERIA
Delegates, friends, in mid June we received an official
invitation from the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation
Commission ( TRC ), through its Executive Director, to
attend the Commission’s National Conference on
Reconciliation at the Unity Conference Center in
Monrovia. The Conference was set to run from June 16 –
20, 2009. Upon consultations with the Union ’s organs,
we accepted the invitation. Our visit was highly
successful. We not only participated fully in the
Conference, we pursued our Diaspora concerns with the
relevant movers and shakers in Monrovia. We met with
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, House of
Representatives Speaker J. Alex Tyler, Senate President
Pro-Tempore Cletus Wortoson, House Judicial Affairs
Committee Chairman Armah Sarnor, as well as National
Elections Commission Chairman James Fromayan and two of
his Commissioners, David Meyongai and Della I.K. Reeves
along with the Commission’s Executive Director John
Langley. As we have already provided a detailed report
on this visit, I will stop short of going into the
specifics. The comprehensive report on the National
President’s Visit to Liberia is available here today on
request.
NETWORKING WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
Our Union has undertaken productive engagements with
other Liberian community organizations in advancing the
cause of Liberians. When your humble servant was alerted
by the Cable News Network (CNN) on the Phoenix, Arizona,
rape case involving an 8-year old Liberian girl and four
Liberian boys, we immediately got our Western Regional
leaders, including the Regional Vice President and the
ACFLi (California) President, in motion to reach out and
alert the community leaders in that area. This
engagement was productive as it instantly put the
Liberian Association of Arizona (LAA) leaders in direct
and constant contact with ULAA. To the point when the
issue subsided, the LAA President frequently updated us
on developments and courses of action.
A nearly similar situation erupted in Oklahoma and is
still ongoing. There we have the issue of some Liberian
children who, had been adopted, being subjected to
unheard of abuse. We promptly got in touch with the
leaders of the Conference of Liberian Organizations in
Southwestern United States (COLOSUS) to push for the
protection and interest of the children. Today, thanks
to the sustained involvement of Judge Melvin Johnson of
Georgia , and the COLOSUS Leadership, the situation is
under appropriate monitoring.
OUTREACH AND TRAVELS
This Administration has not taken lightly the need for a
more effective salesmanship of the Union both within and
beyond its circle of member organizations. Accordingly,
we have spared no opportunity that has popped up to keep
in touch with events in our member chapters as well as
to take the message of the Union to Liberian communities
currently outside ULAA membership.
During the period under review, we were opportune to
visit with our member chapters in Georgia , Illinois ,
California , Staten Island , Central New Jersey , and
North New Jersey . We with to note the following
developments in our member chapters. Since the last
General Assembly, there have been elections in the
Staten Island Liberian Community Association (SILCA),
the Liberian Community Association of Connecticut (LCAC),
the Association of Citizens and Friends of Liberia (ACFLi),
the Liberian Association of Pennsylvania (LAP), the
Organization of the Liberian Community in Illinois (OLCI),
and the Liberian Association of Michigan (LAM-Detroit).
In ACFLi and LAP, Presidents Bendu Hunter and J. Shiwoh
Kamara were re-elected to second terms respectively. In
SILCA, Deacon Telee Brown is the new President. In LCAC,
Mr. Alex Quemorllue is the new President. In OLCI, Mr.
Mohammad Toure is the new President. In LAM-Detroit, Mr.
Pei Boayue is the President-Elect. In the Liberian
Community Association of Greater Pittsburgh (LCAGP), Mr.
George Toto is now Interim President pending
community-wide elections, based on a decision of the
Chapter’s general membership. The Liberian Community
Association of Rhode Island , unfortunately, is mired in
a legal fracas in which, we are informed, the Leadership
of the Association is under Court Receivership at this
time.
In our outreach efforts, we made visits to Canada as
guest of the Liberian Canadian Organization of
Hamilton-Niagara and to Kentucky as guest of the
Liberian Association of Kentuckiana. We are pleased to
report that we were appropriately treated. These
communities continue to express their interest in
joining the Union as soon as their own internal dynamics
permit.
In this same outreach effort, we have been able to
remain positively engaged with many other national
Diaspora organizations in the United States . Our
relations are on good footing with many national county,
alumni association, women, and religious groupings.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Honorable Chairman of the Board, our compatriots from
Europe , my colleagues on the National Leadership
Council, we are convened here today to take another look
at our Union . Our gathering here today has been so
blissfully blessed by the presence in our midst of our
compatriots from another continent. This affords us the
rare opportunity to sit and compare notes, drawing upon
the experiences and aspirations from near and far, from
within and from without.
We need to seize this moment to re-examine the depths of
our cohesion as a Union . We need to measure the extent
of our relevance as it relates to our role in both
Diaspora and home affairs. Even more so, we need to
assess our vibrancy as an umbrella organization that has
existed for over one score and a decade.
This Union will become more cohesive, even more
relevant, and increasingly vibrant if we are prepared to
dare into new vistas of challenges. We must arm
ourselves with the fortitude or an entrepreneurial mind
of dare-devil risk taking. In so doing, we must be
prepared to trade the “too much ranting” for “daring to
do more.” We must cease to be the cynics we are fast
becoming and, instead transform into the optimists and
positive thinkers that it will take to elevate this
Union . More often than not, many of us are fond of
making unremitting criticisms of the organization’s
financial mobilization and management approaches.
Strangely however we find these same critics to be
largely the one’s who have invested nothing, or very
little, into the institution.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Compatriots, there is a lot that we can do. It’s so
overwhelming that we at times may not know where to
start. And so we step up here today to put before you a
few recommendations on some of the challenges we can
begin to confront. My recommendations will come in the
following order:
1:
ON THE CONSTITUTION
Delegates should thoroughly review the new draft
constitution and adopt a new one that
takes effect so as to remove some of the loopholes
that play in the hands of those who
do not mean well for our Union .
2.
ON DIASPORA VOTING & DUAL CITIZENSHIP
In full collaboration with our European and other
Diaspora counterpart organizations in other parts of the
world, we should establish an International Diaspora
Task Force on Diaspora Voting and Dual Citizenship.
This Body will liaise with the National Elections
Commission, the relevant international agencies, and
Liberian Embassies abroad to plot out the modalities for
the implementation of Diaspora Voting. The Force will
also spearhead the legislative effort in the Liberian
Legislature for the relevant constitutional amendment to
allow for Dual Citizenship. It will build partnerships
and collaboration with civil rights and advocacy groups
in Liberia to ensure an effective advocacy to accomplish
this mission. In the implementation of its assigned
task, it is expected that this body will be internally
stratified into two working structures with each
structure focusing on one of the specific task.
3.
ON ULAA’S RELEVANCE
This Assembly should move forward with the
establishment of a Liberia Diaspora
Development Fund. The Union should mobilize the
widest spectrum of the American Diaspora
population to voluntarily allocate $10.00 each per
month through salary deductions. This Fund
shall be grounded on the tax exempt status of the
ULAA Foundation and shall have credible,
reputable, and respectable Diaspora personalities
to administer. In large part, money coming
into this Fund shall be used primarily to finance
professionally assessed projects in the
Diaspora and in Liberia that benefit large
populations.
As a way of kicking off this Fund, Union national
leaders, regional leaders, elected chapter
officials, as well as any others who volunteer
should forthwith sign up for these deductions
that will commence effect January 2010. The
deductions shall be $5.00 per pay period for those
who receive bi-weekly wages. We could set our
initial target number of volunteer donors for
the January kick off date at 1,200. We are driven
to believe that this number will be a serious
and encouraging start.
Granted that you, my dear delegates, will buy into
this proposal, I am calling on all of you in
these halls today, official and ordinary alike, to
sign up with the National Treasurer who will
compile the data and supply it to the Fund
Directorate that will subsequently be established.
4.
ON ULAA’S COHESION AND VIBRANCY
a) That greater voice be given the Union in
intervening in inter-chapter conflicts,
particularly those arising out of elections
disputes. The ULAA National Elections
Commission should be charged with the
responsibility to promulgate a new Elections
Law for approval of the National Board of
Directors that gives clarity to the role of the
national Union in the conduct of chapter
elections.
b) That member-organizations be made to do more
in the area of making chapter
members aware of developments in the
undertakings of the Union . Each chapter of the
Union must develop a mechanism by which the
chapter’s representatives on the
National Leadership Council and the National
Board of Directors make periodic report
to the general membership on ULAA
engagements. Such reports should be written and
copies filed with the office of the National
General Secretary.
c) That member organizations be required to pay
their annual membership dues at least 30
days before any given National General
Assembly and not at the Assembly.
These recommendations are made in the context of
constituting a mere small step in the direction we all
know we should be going. It is far from being
exhaustive. Delegates, I am hopeful, have come with
ideas of their own. Let us put the cards on the table
and compare notes. I am hopeful that the outcome we
derive from here today will nudge the Union one
qualitative step forward.
I cannot conclude without extending heartfelt thanks and
appreciations to our host Chapter and the Assembly
Planning Committee. The Liberian Association of
Metropolitan Atlanta (LAMA), headed by President Walter
B. Skinner and Board Chairman Paul Muah, deserve all the
accolades from the Union for a hosting well done.
Assembly Planning Committee Chairman Robert G. Garguah
has indeed unveiled the texture of the fine and strong
fiber he is made of. He and his Committee members have
the gratitude of the Union .
And to you delegates and our esteemed guests, we say
thank you for coming. We wish for you rewarding
deliberations and safe return to your various
destinations. ULAA cherishes every moment we are all
assembled here, “Reasoning together for Peace, Unity,
and Reconciliation” in the supreme interest of our dear
umbrella Organization, ULAA, and, yea, our Diaspora
Liberian community at large..
Patriotic salutations to you all!
Please have my best wishes for productive, enjoyable,
and frank deliberations!
“Together We Struggle for A Better Liberia ”
Thank you very much!
