OLM TOWN HALL MEETING HELD, BUT SOME REPORTS DEFERRED TO NEXT TOWN HALL MEETING

The much anticipated Town Hall meeting called by the OLM was held according to schedule at the


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Center.  After several shaky starts with regards to parliamentary procedure and in reference to the facilitation of the meeting which was initially being done by Mr. Momolu Sirleaf, the body insisted that the President conduct the meeting since it is enshrined in the organization’s constitution as her responsibility.

 

                               

                                               Cross Section of the Audience

 

After getting over the hurdle of reading the minutes of the last town hall meeting, which was summarized and not read in detail by the Secretary General, the body moved to table further discussions due to the fact that the minutes read were not actually written, but presented in an ad-lib fashion and therefore could not form part of the archives.  

The President then proceeded to present her reports about her activities.  She presented the OLM report for the period, January to March, 2006.  She mentioned the formation of various standing committees and about the March 25^th meeting with the county heads and the Memorandum of Understanding which was being drawn up for review. 

 

                                                      

                                                                              Mr. Kugmeh Makes A Point 

She also touched on the Community Center and her efforts in that direction and the expiration of the $250,000 from the office of Senator Mark Dayton.  A technical team has been set up to pursue the center issues.  

The treasurer’s report was not included in this meeting since the report was not available.  The report was given to committee head Mr. Francis Zayzay who is currently in

Atlanta.  The report will be made in the next town hall meeting. 

 

The July 26^th Program Committee thanked the community for attendance and admonished the community to attend their 26^th events in the future.  Mr. Kamaty Diahn also addressed himself to a statement by Mr. Robert Sayon Morris about the conduct of the events.  He clarified issues surrounding the printing of the brochure which Mr. Robert Sayon Morris charged $3,500.00 and another Liberian charged 65% less, he clarified also that Mr. Morris refused to advertise the program and also boycotted the July 26^th day events. Mr. Diahn then went on to clarify that the speaker’s speech was his opinion and can be discussed, but the committee did not and could not impose on what the speaker’s speech would have been.  The deadline for the 26th report is August 15th.

 

The meeting which was anti-climactic did not provide answers for the issues in the community.  The president clarified a question about the OLM audit report and mentioned that the report should have never appeared on BC’s website.  She outlined the process of how such a document should have been handled.  The issue about the audit though has never been finalized. 

 

Mrs. Marie Hayes, Chair of the Board also spoke at the program.  She clarified issues about the 501C3 status and raised questions about the current constitution with regards to this new status.  She also referred to the AIDs awareness program being conducted by Mr. Wynfred Russell and encouraged Liberians to attend them and get information about this scourge which has affected up to 80 Liberians. 

 

Several members of the body referred questions to the President about youth programs, formality of reports, and other issues regarding the OLM.   The meeting had not been officially declared final but the hall was empty as people trickled out due to the disappointment of the conduct of the general meeting. 

 

Several members of the body walked out due to confusion about parliamentary procedures.  Mr. Patrick Sawyer and Mr. Grimes got into a heated exchange after which Mr. Grimes apologized to the body, Mr. Sawyer left the meeting.  Mr. Sayon Nyawleh also left after having an incident about his turn to speak and correct a part of the General Secretary’s minutes. 

 

After the meeting, while in the parking lot, a shouting match erupted when the Co Chairman of the Board and the General Secretary accosted the BC’s publisher about the rebuttal that fell short and was not published.  

 

The OLM mentioned that several documents are available for the public and can be picked up at the new offices.  Those documents were not brought to the town hall meeting.   The issue of the OLM offices was not touched nor clarified, neither was the issue of the MoneyGram payment and the subsequent allocation of that amount.

 

Finally, the President has appointed the Vice President as in charge of all standing committees.  The VP will be assisted by the Secretary General and a host of other officers.  The VP had to leave the meeting early due to an emergency situation. 

 

Conspicuously absent from the town hall meeting were members of the clergy and others of the elders council who were present at the first town hall meeting.  There were several youths in attendance, one of them making a statement that if the current meeting as was being conducted was what the others would be, he can see that the next meetings would be attended by less and less people.