Summary:
- Former Representative Acarous Moses Gray has claimed that President Joseph Boakai refused to present his legislative agenda for the current sitting of the Legislature on bills he intends to propose to the Legislature for enactment.
- We have fact-checked this claim by reading through the speech delivered by President Boakai
- President Boakai said he will submit new legislative proposals, including the Amended Payment Systems Act, the Liberia Insurance Regulatory Commission Act, and the Revised Code of Conduct for Public Officials.
- We conclude that Mr. Gray’s statement is misleading
On January 27, Acarus Moses Gray, former Montserrado County District #8 Representative, claimed on Facebook that President Joseph N. Boakai “refused to present his legislative agenda” to the current Legislature on bills he intends to propose for enactment.
Gray made the claim following President Boakai’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Capitol on Monday, January 27.
The SONA is in keeping with Article 58 of the Liberian Constitution which mandates the President to deliver an annual message outlining the legislative agenda, report on the state of the economy, and the general affairs of the Republic.
The Claim
An excerpt of Mr. Gray’s post reads: “He refused to present his legislative agenda for the current sitting of the Legislature on bills he intends to propose to the Legislature, except for the CSA bill already with the Legislature that he urged them to pass on.”
Rating Justification
To verify this claim, we reviewed the President’s message published on the official Facebook page of the Executive Mansion.
In the President’s message, under “Legislative Agenda” he outlined that he would “be submitting new legislative proposals, including the Amended Payment Systems Act, the Liberia Insurance Regulatory Commission Act, and the Revised Code of Conduct for Public Officials.”
In addition, the President also noted that he would “propose reforms for state-owned enterprises through the establishment of the State-Owned Enterprises Authority of Liberia (SEAL),” he said this will “improve governance, foster growth, promote transparency, and empower our citizens, paving the way for a better future for all.”
Conclusion
Based on these findings, we conclude that the claim made by Mr. Gray, former District #8 Representative, that President Boakai did not present his Legislative Agenda on bills that he intends to propose for legislation is misleading.
The President said he would be submitting new legislative proposals, including the Amended Payment Systems Act, the Liberia Insurance Regulatory Commission Act, and the Revised Code of Conduct for Public Officials.
