Summary: In recent weeks, claims and counterclaims about providing Executive Protection Service (EPS) officers for the protection of ex-presidents have surfaced. Some claim the law provides for former presidents to be protected by EPS officers while others argue that it is not backed by law. We checked the Executive Laws and found no provision that mandates the government to protect ex-presidents.
On Monday, March 18, Liberia’s Information Minister Jerolinmek Matthew Piah, claimed in a post on the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Information Cultural Affairs & Tourism that no law compels the government to protect former Presidents.
Minister Piah was giving the government’s position on former president George Weah‘s request for additional executive protection service agents.
According to the newly confirmed Information Minister, the assignment of EPS officers to former presidents is at the discretion of the President of Liberia and that there is no law that compels the government to protect former presidents.
The Claim
“There is no law compelling the government to protect former President”
Rating Justification
To verify this claim, we obtained a copy of the Executive Law. In the law, Part I, section 1.4, paragraph 1 highlights the annuity of the President and Vice President after retirement.
According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, an annuity is a fixed amount of money paid to somebody each year, usually for the rest of their life.
And, in the Executive Law, an ex-president, who is not employed by the government, shall receive an annuity of $12,500. This means the ex-president only receives benefits in monetary value of $12,500.
To further verify, we found a press release published on Friday, December 29, 2017, by the Embassy of the Republic of Liberia in the United States and The New Dawn titled “President Sirleaf Issues Executive Order No. 91 – Establishing the Joint Presidential Transition Team (JPTT) of 2017.”
In section 8 of the 2017 Executive Mansion release issued by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the JPTT is urged to provide assets and services to the incumbent president and vice president including but not limited to, two vehicles and a chauffeur each, VIP Protection (EPS and Police Services), logistics, allowances, other benefits and services to be determined by the JPTT.
The order was forwarded to the legislature to be acted upon.
To ascertain if the legislature concurred with the 2017 executive order, our fact check desk again launched another inquiry. This time we found an August 23, 2017 publication by The New Dawn. In the publication, former President Sirleaf had written the Legislature submitting a bill titled, “The Presidential Transition Act, 2017,” for passage. The Act, if enacted into law, shall ensure that services are provided to ex-presidents including but not limited to chauffeur-driven vehicles, VIP Protection (EPS and Police Services), logistics, and allowances among others.
However, “The Presidential Transition Act, 2017,” was sent to the committee room and there is no report to show that the Legislature passed the Bill (Act) into law.
Conclusion
Based on these findings, we therefore conclude that no law compels the government of Liberia to provide security for ex-presidents. However, Part I, section 1.4, number 1, of the Executive Law mandates the government to provide an amount of $12,500 to the ex-president as an annuity.
Even though, former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf issued Executive Order No. 91 to establish the Joint Presidential Transition Team (JPTT) in 2017 and wrote the legislature to enact the Bill into law, that Bill was never passed by the Legislature. Therefore, we conclude that the claim by Minister Piah is correct. No law mandates the government to provide EPS guards for former president.