Based on commitment to our many valuable subscribers to detail individual lawmaker’s activities and their professional background, the Daily Observer brings to your eyes Representatives of the 73 electoral districts and the 30 Senators of the 15 counties.
Note: This profiling is based on roll call in both Chambers of the Legislature that begins with (House of Representatives) the Speaker, Deputy, Montserrado and preceding counties as per statues creating those counties, (Liberian Senate) the President Pro-Tempore, Montserrado and preceding counties as well.
In today’s edition, we are playing host to the leadership of both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the absence of Speaker J. Alex Tyler, who is not in the country at the moment.
PROFILE OF:
Hon. Gbehzohngar Milton Findley
President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate
and Senior Senator of Grand Bassa County
Personal Data:
Name: Gbehzohngar Milton Findley
Date of Birth: July 2, 1960
Place of Birth: Buchanan City, Grand Bassa County
Father’s Name: Cllr. Joseph Findley (Deceased)
Mother’s Name: Mrs. Gertrude Findley
Marital Status: Married
Religion: Christian (Episcopalian)
Office: 2nd Floor/Room #202/203
Educational Background:
Primary: Buchanan Demonstration Elementary School-Buchanan City
St. Peter Lutheran School-Monrovia
Secondary: William V.S Tubman High School-Monrovia
Tertiary: BSC in Electrical Engineering-Franklin University, USA
Advance: Master’s Degree in Sociology-Lund University, Sweden
Experience in Government:
Member-Senate Statutory Committee on Executive
Member-Senate Standing Committee on Education and Public Administration
Member-Senate Statutory Committee on Ways, Means, Finance & Budget
Member-Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture Forestry & Fisheries
Member-Joint Legislative Modernization Committee (JLMC)
Co-Chairman-Senate Standing Committee on Lands, Mines & Energy
Chairman-Senate Standing Committee on Posts and Telecommunications
Chairman-Senate Subcommittee on Revenue
Chairman-Senate Subcommittee on Procurement
Member-Board of Directors of Grand Bassa County Community College
Member-Multi Stakeholder Steering Group LEITI
Member-Board of Directors of the University of Liberia
Contribution to Bassa over the past 12 Months:
- In April 2012, Pro-Temp Findley made available 1.4 million Liberian Dollars to markets in Grand Bassa County in micro loans. This amount has since doubled due to the huge demand from several groups across the county.
- Increased the number of scholarship students to 123 in 2012. These students attend various Universities in Monrovia and the Grand Bassa Community College in Buchanan.
- Personally sponsored the construction of a hand pump in the Joe Quarter Community in Buchanan which cost 71,850LD. Residents of Joe Quarter Community had been without safe drinking water for a protracted period of time and reports said at least eight persons had died from water borne diseases over the past decades.
- Constructed a community latrine in the Tarr Bar Community in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County
- Donated a cow to the Muslim Community in Bassa during the 2012 Ramadan feast
- Made an initial contribution of USD2, 000 (Two thousand dollars) towards the construction of the Compound District #4 high school.
- Led a four-man delegation from SEA –Invest, Europe’s largest bulk and fruit shipment Company, which toured the Buchanan Port to identify possible areas of investment.
- Donated one hundred bags of cement towards the completion of the Blezee Administrative District community hall which was under construction in Barzi-Giah Town, District #3, GrandBassa County.
- Paid all WAEC Fees for both 9th& 12th Graders for the 2012/2013 school year.
- Donated 100 bags of cement toward the school construction project in Zadoegbo Town, #4 District, Grand Bassa County.
- Donated 50 bags of Cement towards the EC Church school construction project in District #4, Grand Bassa County.
- Donated eight bundles of zinc towards the women and youth centers in District #2, Grand Bassa County.
- Donated LD50, 000 towards the Barcorlin Women skill training program.
- Lobbied for scholarships and curriculum, student and faculty exchange programs at universities in the States of Maryland, California and Ohio in the USA during his visit there in September 2012.
Achievement at the Senate over the past 11 months during the 1st Session of the 53rd Legislature
- There were a total of 64 Sittings during the 1st Session of the 53rd Legislature presided over by Senate Pro-Tempore Gbehzohngar M. Findley.
- The Liberian Senate passed a total of forty bills.
- Concurred with 11 bills from the House of Representatives.
- As of the date of closing in September 2012, the Senate confirmed 250 nominees from the executive.
PROFILE OF:Deputy House Speaker Hans Barchue
Deputy House Speaker Hans Barchue represents Grand Bassa County Electoral District # 1 and got elected in the 2011 Presidential and Legislative Elections, the only constitutional election conducted after all provisions of the 1986 Constitution came into effect.
Education background
Representative Barchue was born on February 6, 1962 in Liberia. He attended the American Corporative School (ACS) and Ricks Institute during his early days of education.
In 1979, he graduated from high school at age 17 from the Lutheran Training Institute (LTI) located in Lofa County.
He later studied at the University of Liberia where he obtained his Bachelors of Science (BSC) degree in Economics in 1985.
Amongst many of his studies, Rep. Barchue is still a student of the Cuttington University Master Program and Lewis Arthur Grimes School of Law of the University of Liberia.
He holds certificates in Financial Management programs from Sierra Leone’s West African Institute of Financial Management in the study of Financial Management in a Post-Conflict Country; and Certificate from Gambia’s African Development Bank and other Accounting studies institutions across the region.
Commitment to Nation
Deputy Speaker Barchue returned to LTI to teach the younger generation where he headed the department of Social Studies for several years before joining the Fortsville School in Grand Bassa County as Principal for a number of years.
He joined the National Security Agency (NSA) as Chief Accountant in 1991 and was promoted to Comptroller in 1993, a position he occupied up to 1999 when he got connected to the National Reconciliation and Reunification Commission (NRRC) to head the personnel department.
The Deputy Speaker later received employment at the Ministry of Justice as Comptroller, a post he served for a brief period and later accepted an offer from the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs to serve in a similar capacity from 2001 to 2009.
He headed the ECOWAS National Unit at the Planning Ministry with the responsibility of coordinating all ECOWAS activities between the ECOWAS Commission and the Liberian Government.
With the extensive travel experience of visiting 13 of the 15 countries in West Africa, Rep. Barchue is also president of ECOWAS Volunteer Program, a system instituted to encourage foreign teachers to take up jobs in Liberia’s school system.
Dreams and Aspirations
He supports a holistic district development approach that would provide economic stability in all 73 Electoral Districts. He also dreams strengthening local governance for collective participation and wants government presence in his district felt like it is done in other parts of the country.
Finally, Rep. Barchue became Deputy Speaker of the 53rd National Legislature in 2012, replacing Bong County Representative Tokpah J. Mulbah who occupied the position for several years.
