EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW SEN. JOHN A. BALLOUT II SR. SENATOR - MARYLAND COUNTY WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2010

John A. Ballout II, senior senator of Maryland County and an executive of the Unity Party, recently had an exclusive interview with www.liberiainformation.com. During the interview, he went in depth, giving clarity of many issues affecting the National Legislature, the Government, and the people of the county he represents, Maryland County. Many refer to him as the Barack Obama of Liberian politics. From his "change" centered messages, to the intellectualism exhibited during public speaking, to his composure during press conferences this new breed in Liberian politics has won the admiration of many.

Liberia Information: Sen. Ballout, can you give us an insight on the last Executive Session held by the senate?



Sen. Ballout: Our last session held, Monday July 19, 2010, was an attempt to deal with the issue of the Threshold, because this is a very pressing matter for the entire country right now. However, at the end of the day we were able to arrive to a conclusion that was meant to find a way forward, of which was sent to the House of Representative where they will have some amendments and we'll come up with the conclusions soon.

Liberia Information: What's your opinion on the Threshold?



Sen. Ballout: I represent a region that don't have that much people, but when you speak of representation in parliament it's all about the population of the people. We've managed all sorts of compromise to ensure that no county has a single seat in the House of Representative, but sadly two of those bills have been vetoed by the President (Ellen Johnson Sirleaf), because of constitutional and financial reasons. My own position have always been that this issue must be treated holistically and not on constituent bases. Because it's impossible to satisfy Grand Kru County population of fifty four thousand to that of Montserrado's one and a half million people. The geo-political differences that we find in our various constituents are widely apart. We have just come from fourteen years of war, and the priorities are so many. There is a huge gap in the health, education, security and infrastructure sectors. At this point, Liberia cannot afford the luxury of a huge political representation. The best that we can do is to continue the work that has taken civil servants salary from US$ 20 to US$ 80. Again, I'll like to say that we maintain the current amount of sixty four representatives.

Liberia Information: There are rumors that some of your colleagues only want the Threshold to take effect for developmental purposes, are you of the same conviction?



Sen. Ballout: Firstly, the census was conducted for two reasons: one, for planning purposes and for proper representation of the people. Now, because these bigger counties know that they have a larger population, they will demand more representation which is understandable, but the fact remains that this entire issue of the Threshold is more of party interest than national interest. We've to protect the state and our generation unborn. I believe that all resources shall benefit every Liberian no matter his/her county of heritage.

"At present, Liberia cannot afford the luxury of a huge political representation."

Liberia Information: A few months back, there was a calamity in Maryland County, where a ship wrecked taking the lives of many and injuring many. How far has this investigation gone in determining the cause of this incident?



Sen. Ballout: Well, the President Madame Sirleaf just return, and I'm waiting for the reports from the committee commissioned to do the investigation, after their findings from we will know the next step to take, because the people of Maryland County wants a better response.

Liberia Information: Are you suspecting any foul play in the process?



Sen. Ballout: No! There is no reason of suspecting any foul play yet until the actual cause is identified by the committee responsible. All I can say is that those trusted with the safety regulation of the vessel did not behave responsible. As the matter of fact, ships will always go down; even the best ships do get wrecked. But what we are concern about is that those minimum safety measures must be in place. How can you run a vessel without any life jacket, or life boats? That doesn't make sense at all!

Liberia Information: There are media reports that one of your kinsmen was killed recently in Grand Gedeh County. What are the facts surrounding this report?



Sen. Ballout: It's true that a Grebo man was found dead in Grand Gedeh County, but on the contrary to media reports, this man was not a Grebo Governor, nor a Chief. He was a permanent resident of Grand Gedeh, as a matter of fact he had the largest cassava farm in the county, he also had some businesses there and had a town named in his honor. So that clear to see how he was accepted among the people. I don't want this issue to be seen as a tribal scenario, though it is presumed to be homicide but let's wait until the matter is fully investigated.