The Organization of Liberians in Minnesota on Friday, the 5th of August held a joint Board and Executive meeting. The meeting, which was called by the Board of Directors, was directed at preparing for the upcoming Town Hall meeting and to check the progress of the executive.
The meeting, which was dramatic, was also attended by the Vice President of the OLM who is currently at odds with the President over his role in managing the affairs of the organization.
There were several issues raised by the Board and presented for resolution or information to the executive. In remarks made by the VP to a board member, he accused the President of being inept and not working in the interest of the community. In his presentation, and to counter the president assertions that he was not doing his job, he produced several project documents, which he had in a portfolio and had previously presented to the executive for action.
During the meeting, the Board also mandated the executive to finalize the constitution of several other standing committees. One such committee that hasn’t been constituted is the Constitutional Review Committee which work should have been completed by July of 2006.
One other issue addressed was the $1150.00 paid by Money gram to the OLM and intercepted and cashed by the General Secretary, Mr. Writhers Nyenea-wea. The money, which was not channeled correctly through the organization, was also budgeted for the payment of two young ladies for services during the inauguration. It is stated that the Secretary General paid the two ladies with a personal check. The President is reported to have expressed ignorance about the issue of the money with regards to the General Secretary’s actions.
The meeting also addressed the issue of the Community Center. It is also of concern that the committee responsible for the building of the Community Center is dormant and may also be contemplating resigning.
The Board in one of its question and answer periods asked the President why the Constitution Committee was not formed at this time, and she replied, “I can’t find people who want to volunteer”, to which a member responded, “What kind of people are you looking for?”
Finally, the Board gave the Executive two weeks to provide information on a variety of activities or reports. The Constitution Committee if not constituted and working within two weeks, will be taken over by the Board.
It must be noted that the constitution of the OLM is currently not in tune with the fact that the OLM is now a 501C3 organization and cannot continue to operate with the old constitution, which is still not completed.
In a previous report, a Board member also chastised the President for still not relinquishing her position as Vice President of the Northern Region, which she promised to do during elections in order to provide full attention governing the OLM.
As with regard to the OLM offices, the Board has also refused to legitimize the transaction until the President can come up with the proper paper work and channel it via the Board since it is the Board members that will bear the consequence in the case that there is a default. The Board out rightly rejected the President’s plea for acceptance of the office space.
The Independence Day report and other reports like the audit report by the Keykpo committee and other issues are expected to be hot topics during the Town Hall meeting on the 13th of August, which will be held at the Bethel Outreach Center.
Sources attending the meeting said that the President promptly exited the hall after the meeting in a very sad mood.
Disclosure:
The story as written above is the result of an interview held with a participant of the joint board and executive meeting and not the opinion of BushChicken. The story as written serves to galvanize the public and bring out those issues that will be discussed at the Town Hall meeting on the 13th of August.
Must also note that, the general public is not on the list serve, and the OLM does not regularly send out releases about their held meetings. The public should know the issues that are keeping the OLM from functioning or those issues that helps it function. Being secretive about everything is what has kept our country and community down for so long.
This is one in a series of attempts to bring the OLM to the community or vice versa.
Stanford Peabody
The BC
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