By By: Staff Writer
Gbarpolu County Senator Amara Konneh has welcomed President Boakai’s appointment of retired Major General Daniel Dee Ziankahn, Jr. as the new Director General of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency. The Senator said Gen. Ziankahn’s record as former AFL Chief of Staff, Defense Minister, and Presidential Military Advisor gives him the experience to bring order to an agency in crisis. “He can count on my full support in the Liberian Senate,” Konneh stated on August 10.
But the Senator warned that a change of leadership will not fix the bigger problem. “Let us be clear: Changing the leadership at LDEA does not automatically fix the cancer eating away at our security system,” he said. Konneh pointed to ongoing, high-profile drug investigations involving senior security and law enforcement officials. According to him, putting a new face at the top cannot hide the rot inside.
Konneh said real reform must go deeper. He called for three actions: no self-policing by institutions accused of corruption, a full and independent public inquiry into all senior officials linked to the drug trade, and a system-wide cleanup that removes complicity at every level. “Fixing the LDEA involves removing complicity at every level, not just replacing the figurehead who is currently under investigation for complicity in Liberia’s record cocaine bust,” he added.
President Boakai on Monday appointed Gen. Ziankahn, along with Ms. Precious Rue and Mr. Prince Mulbah as deputies, to take over LDEA in acting capacity pending Senate confirmation. The President also suspended former LDEA Officer-in-Charge Fitzgerald Biago and promised “zero tolerance” for drugs and corruption. Senator Konneh said he wishes the new team success, but vowed to hold them accountable. “The fight against illicit drugs in Liberia will only be taken seriously when no official — regardless of rank — is above true accountability.”
