Information Minister Jerolinmek M. Piah / Photo credit: Vision Online TV
[By Pewu Y. Sumo]
Monrovia – Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) Jerolinmek Matthew Piah has lauded his Deputy Minister for Public Affairs, Daniel Otis Sando, just a day after returning from an official duty in the United States.
Speaking today at the MICAT briefing in Monrovia, Minister Piah commended Deputy Minister Sando for effectively filling the void he left while in the US. The Minister’s foreign engagement was multifaceted, having been a member of President Boakai’s delegation that attended the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80) last month, followed by attendance at the All Liberian Diaspora Conference, and finally, the 13th Conference of the Association of All Liberian Journalists in the Americas.
“Let me thank Deputy Minister Sando who has been holding the torch in my absence,” Minister Piah stated. He added that he believes Min. Sando has fitted well into the role assigned to him by President Boakai.
Minister Piah’s statement comes in the wake of recent criticism regarding the Ministry’s often “fire for fire” response to opposition figures and government critics.
Critics have accused the ministry of using ‘obnoxious’ language against key political opponents, with some, like the Chairman of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) party headquarters construction committee, Rep. J. Fonatti Koffa, mockingly referring to the entity as the “Ministry of Ma and Pa Cause.”
Min. Piah, however, countered those accusations, querying whether critics expect MICAT, as the government’s official spokesperson, to simply sit and watch “unfair and biased” criticisms and “lies” go unaddressed.
He cited infrastructure as an example: “LEC now has nine counties connected to the national power grid in just under two years but for someone to come and say nothing has changed since this government took office, and you expect us (MICAT) to sit?”
“If you intentionally or for the sake of politics look at these things, then somebody comes and says nothing has changed, and you expect that what we (MICAT) do in response is clap and sing,” Min. Piah argued, stressing that no government’s mouth-piece would allow such misinformation to stand.
The Information Minister went on to reference the transformation currently underway at MICAT itself as an example of the development taking place across Liberia under the current administration.
“You know what we inherited at this ministry,” he reminded his audience.
Minister Piah concluded with a demand for accountability from critics: “All we demand, criticize us all you want but when there are basis for the criticism. Push us, because when no one is pushing you, you will not see the need to work hard but don’t manufacture falsehood.”
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