Aggrieved kartees' family's letter to the us emb for redress

Chocolate City, Gardnersville Monrovia, Liberia March 10, 2016 Ambassador Mark Boulward Chargé d’Affaires US Embassy P. O. Box 98 502 Benson Street Monrovia, Liberia Dear Amb. Boulward: Kindly accept first off my warmest gratitude for America’s unflinching commitment to upholding the rights and dignities of all human beings, at all times, irrespective of race, nationality or otherwise, as demonstrated in your April 2014 telephone response through (0777084337 from one Jenkins of your staff, I’m sorry I didn’t get his surname) to a 27 page caseload involving the level of economic waste and human rights abuse going on at the so-called Liberia Petroleum Refining Company. I had compiled this case documentary, inclusive of 17 corruption allegations against authorities of LPRC and addressed it to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, but decided to copy about 41 key national and international stakeholders based on my conviction that CORRUPTION in our country is beyond measure, and as such, requires a serious collective action approach. My conviction was also informed by the fact and fear that what was happening, and continues to happen at the LPRC today, is just symptomatic of the HORRIBLE realities existing at every entity across our country, both business and otherwise – a condition which spells complete DOOM for ourselves and generations after us.

Interestingly, I myself was victimized to some extent by the abuses talked about above, although my personal pains or interests have not been of much concern since I began the process of seeking redress for these, and many more wastes and abuses at the LPRC, and yea, the whole country. The communication – or case – in question was received at your Embassy on March 10, 2014, and signed for by Precious Zeegar.

Fortunately, true to another conviction of mine that the objectivity of America is far unparalleled, even in disagreements, or with opposing parties, the US Embassy was one of the less than 4 stakeholders out of the over 40 mentioned above, that ever cordially responded to this call for intervention when Jenkins was categorical, that Ambassador Deborah Malac even instructed him to request my cooperation in regularly providing the Embassy updates every step of the way on how the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) will go about handling these allegations, which Jenkins said, the Ambassador described as so grave, and was concerned about them. I remain so indebted in my

appreciation to the great People and Government of the United States of America for proving this conviction of mine right by this response from Ambassador Malac.

Exactly three years into my personal ordeal with the company (LPRC), which has brought a complete breakdown of my young family’s economic and social life; and, exactly 24 months since this well documented corruption case was handed to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, with copies to authorities of the Executive and Legislative Branches of our country’s Government, I have received no redress, and just no concern at all from any of these authorities, including President Sirleaf’s Office, that has been engaged more than four different times (though not in the usual ‘Liberian’ fashion) since then. In addition to all these developments, civic actions (direct actions) have been taken; the first, by me and my immediate family, and the second, by me and a few concerned/sympathizing citizens seeking redress for these unheard of economic abuses going on at the LPRC – all to no avail. The Liberia National Police is aware of these April 22, 2013 and December 10, 2013 Direct Actions at the LPRC. Determined to only seek administrative redress for the aspect of these abuses that affect me and my family’s life directly, while we seek God’s direction for how to use our limited Civic Education Knowledge to further assess those aspects that affect our country at large, I had persistently told LPRC that even if they were to fail, which will not be strange to me, to account for their witch-hunt action, plus the other administrative missteps that combined to deal me their raw blow of January 25, 2013, as you will see in some of the communications attached here, I was mainly interested in getting my errorfree and authentic dismissal letter, so as to set me and my family’s lifetime record straight, and to this particular request, I still remain very unbending by the grace of God. But just to acquaint you with a summary of the substantives, let me please take up a little bit of your precious time as follows: After some moderate encounter over policy/administrative issues between me and my top management, something that had been gradually and modestly building up over a couple of months; this time around, in less than 24 hours of a week in which Managing Director Thomas Nelson Williams strangely summoned me to his office for all sorts of trivial things, he ultimately designed some rash and sudden case against me, based upon which my ‘dismissal’ was decided immediately, with a communication so fake in terms of argument and authority to effect this so-called dismissal. This professed ‘firing’ went on without any formal investigation; the detailed reasons for the ‘firing’ were released to me 10 days after the action, in another carelessly prepared communication they sent me when I wrote a protest/appeal letter. In addition, after almost 7 months of seeking administrative redress from the LPRC Management and Board of Directors, the Board Chairman, Rev. Dr. Herman Brown, who said he had been investigating me in absentia, or looking into the complaint in my

absence, closed up the case on July 15, 2013 with yet another carelessly prepared communication.

Still determined to remain administrative in my search for redress, upon the relief of Mr. Thomas Nelson Williams of the LPRC Managing Director post in 2015, I sent a detailed communication to the new MD, Mr. Sumo Kupee, on this issue, with a stressed request for my error-free and realistic dismissal letter, since indeed all parties were now convinced that I had been handed a fake firing letter. For more than 7 months now, Mr. Kupee has failed to respond to this communication. But even more shamefully and criminally on the part of the LPRC Management, just the next working day after their bogus, witch-hunt action, a smart whistleblower went to the press, specifically the Microscope Newspaper, on January 28, 2013, and reported the incident, including the fake dismissal, and all of the motivations behind the action. LPRC, two days later, went to the People Newspaper, wasting taxpayers’ money again, and denied every claim made by the Microscope Newspaper, including the allegation of even handing a dismissal instrument to anyone called Roland Kartee, while further describing the whistleblower’s claims and the paper’s report as condescending, false, misleading, and with no iota of truth. But in just few months again, LPRC was all in the press, in more than three local dailies reportedly, publishing public service announcements that they had terminated the services of one Roland Kartee, though without any clue about the time or reason for such termination etc. Politely enclosed here are copies of all of the most relevant documents substantiating these claims, for your perusal.

Finally, the decision to keep seeking your (i.e. America’s) intervention in these issues of purely domestic nature stems from several convictions of mine, including: a. All the key players calling the shot at LPRC, and those directly responsible for these incredible abuses of economic resources which I’m alluding to here, including the very abuse that was meted out against myself, are relatively Americans, or have very strong American attachments. For example, the Thomas Nelson Williams that took his rash action against me that fateful Friday of January 25, 2013 does reportedly come from Atlanta, Georgia; the Jackson F. Doe that effected Mr. Williams’ action against me comes too from Chicago, Illinois etc.; and, the Board Chairman, Rev. Dr. Herman Brown, who approved all this bogus action, is an original Americo-Liberian. b. I believe you have an unmatched influence over the Government of Liberia c. I believe we should all work together now to solve the major problems of this country, which normally will start at the domestic/family level. This belief is inspired by available facts and experiences, all of which suggest that we, in this country, would never overcome any of our major troubles if we EVER leave you, America, out of the

main solution equation, but we must invite you constructively, however. Note that these convictions are all constructive and are without any prejudice. d. Lastly and personally, I have always felt a strong, natural sense of attachment to America, which stems from circumstances that surrounded my very birth and infancy, although my part of American attachment is not in the regular Liberian logic.

Moreover, throughout my few years of educational and professional sojourn thus far, I have felt the greatest of impact from different people and sources of American background etc.

All this, in addition to the many beautiful things I know about America, including the United States’ boldness, respect for all human dignity, and its civility and maturity, even in disagreements etc., leaves me with the option of seeking no one else’s intervention other America, or going nowhere else for a reliable recourse, other than to America (i.e. the US Embassy), apart from God Almighty.

Thank you so much, America, for kindly ensuring that you prevail upon the Government of Liberia, through the LPRC, for me to get my error-free and realistic dismissal letter in the shortest possible time, so as to afford me and my family an opportunity to turn a new page in our already shattered professional, social and economic lives. Thanks for letting them (i.e. the GOL and LPRC) know that in this life, “you can’t have your cake and eat it at the same time”; meaning, they can’t decide to kick a ‘Roland Kartee’ out of his job for no genuine reason; ‘shatter his, and his family’s future professionally and otherwise’; and then want to do all this with some fake communication in the name of making mistakes or committing procedural errors, as it is the case with almost ALL of Liberian Government’s activities. Our family just can’t conduce to this overused trick of theirs.

Once more, thanks, America, for promptly responding to this request of mine for intervention, at your soonest possible convenience, and for always living up to your everpowerful values of showing love and respect to all mankind, and affording all, freedom of thought and expression.

Yours respectfully,

Roland S. Kartee Business Applications Manager/LPRC/0886761008