30/06/2013
Uninvited African leader Show up at G 8 Summit-Liberia’s Sirleaf Claims Invitation
Monday, 24 June 2013 14:42 Festus Poquie
G 8 Leaders
Liberia's President Sirleaf walks with others at the G 8 meeting
Leaders from four African countries were invited for the G 8 summit an official statement from the summit indicated but an uninvited guest Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf facing pressure at home over corruption and poverty showoff at the summit for a row show telling her people back home that she was invited by British Prime Minister David Cameroon.
An official statement from the G 8 summit named the invited African leaders as the leaders of Tanzania, Senegal, Ghana and Guinea were invited
On 16 June, the office of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf issued a public statement announcing that she has been invited to participate and speak at the just concluded G8 summit and that she will speak on transparency and trade.
The Statement” President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has departed the country to participate, at the invitation of British Prime Minister David Cameron, in a luncheon meeting of the G8 Summit in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland – the first time that Liberia has been included among African leaders invited to the Summit of the world’s leading economies.
“This year’s G8 Summit, taking place at the Lough Erne Golf Resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, from June 17-18, has as its theme: “Taxes, Trade and Transparency.” President Sirleaf has been invited to speak on transparency and trade.
“According to an Executive Mansion release, the Liberian leader will join three other African leaders invited to the Summit: the Chairman of the African Union, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn; the President of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma; and President Macky Sall of Senegal.”
But an internet research, which the African Standard conducted, shows that the President did not say a word at the Summit and there is no clear evidence that she was invited. The official event documents of the summit did not name Johnson -Sirleaf as one of the Speakers.
Besides since the President retuned from the G8 Summit she claimed to have been invited for, her office has not published the statement she delivered on transparency and trade at the ceremony. The President however seems like a journalist who covered the event and filed home his report.
See “London, UK - President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has returned home after successfully participating in this year’s G8 Summit of world leaders. The Summit was held at the Lough Erne Resort, in Northern Ireland.
According to President Johnson Sirleaf, the Summit’s deliberations focused on three key areas that are crucial to developing the global economy and reducing the level of poverty around the world. The discussion centered on trade, transparency and taxes.
Speaking on the outcome of the Summit, the Liberian leader noted that the G8 had a very good focus and provided the opportunity for Africa and G8 member countries to find an amicable solution to the lost opportunities that could be harnessed for the good of developing countries.
She said, the G8 members will work globally to ensure that there is fairer deal for African countries in their relationship with the private sector. “The African Progress Report, which was chaired by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, shows that African countries lost about US$850 billion in 2010 in taxes due to tax evasion.
The President noted that G8 member countries promised to work with global companies to develop and improve the existing reporting systems and make them more transparent, and that monies generated from taxes will benefit the citizens.
“On the issue of transparency, President Sirleaf said the onus is on African countries to ensure that their transactions are in line with their own laws and that those laws are credible and acceptable to the people they served. “The responsibility is on us (African leaders) to develop sound financial managements systems that are transparent and accountable to the people and country we serve,” she said.
“On the issue of trade, the G8 countries promised fairer trade links with Africa, noting that free trade will serve as an engine of growth and transformation of the continent.
She did not say what she said on transparency there thus indicating that she and her office did not tell the nation the truth about her alleged G8 Summit saga. Also there is no clear evidence that she was invited. In support of this observation is a statement from the office of the President of the Republic of Tanzania. The Statement said the leaders of Tanzania, Senegal, Ghana and Guinea were invited. It said nothing about Liberia being invited.
“President Jakaya Kikwete arrived here yesterday ahead of the Summit, which the British Prime Minister David Cameron has said would mark a shift in the G8 relationship with Africa, dubbing it "a transparency revolution."
“Tanzania's High Commissioner in the UK, Ambassador Peter Kallaghe, said here yesterday Mr Cameron had invited President Kikwete alongside heads of states from Ghana, Senegal and Guinea for the main pre-Summit, which seeks to set the 3Ts agenda (advancing trade, ensuring tax compliance and promoting greater transparency.
Also posted on President Sirleaf’s official website is a photograph which her office claimed is the photo of World leaders and President Sirleaf. That photo, is posted here along with the official photo of G8 leaders. Please examine these photos and tell us who President Sirleaf is walking with?
This story about the President alleged invitation to speak at the recently concluded G8 Summit is similar to that of the Vice Chairman o the opposition Congress for Democratic Change Mulbah Morlu’s unproven claim that he was invited to meet with President Barrack Obama during his visit to Ghanan in 2009 and that he met and discussed with the US president.
