By: Frank P. Martin
MONROVIA: Ambassador Laurent Delahousse, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Liberia, has sharply reacted to comments by some members of the Liberian public when they responded to his previous assertion that “Monrovia is the dirtiest place” he has ever visited.
The EU Envoy made the statement months ago and later retracted same.
However, the Ambassador said, while it is true he apologized to the people of Liberia for saying “Monrovia is the dirtiest place” he has ever visited, “the message went through.”
According to the EU Ambassador, his statement was to send a “wakeup call” to people living in Monrovia to change their practices of littering dirt and to improve the city’s waste management system.
“I had to apology for having hurt the people but, I didn’t remove the message I was sending and that message, I know was acknowledged and supported by all the people who talked to me”, Ambassador Delahousse revealed.
According to the EU Diplomat, he had to apology to Liberians because of the manner in which his language was used and not appropriate at the time.
“I should not have used that language because that language was undiplomatic. And that language rightfully hurts,” the diplomat acknowledged yesterday, in an interview by state-owned broadcaster, Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS).
He said, though his message speaks truth to the overall look of Monrovia City in terms of its current unsanitary and other unpleasant conditions, his description of the city at the time went “a bit too far” but met its objectives.
“I am who I am; convinced by what I say. And I invest a lot personally in my actions; If I feel that is the best way, the message must be passed,” the EU Ambassador expressed.
Accentuating on issues that prevent diplomats from expressing themselves freely, he noted: “The problem with diplomacy is that sometimes you’re on a level where it is like a cat pouring. And you don’t get your message across because you need to keep this policy polished.”
Ambassador Delahousse expressed regret relative to why some of these foreign policies are tired to polishing messages instead of speaking truth to power for improvement and good governance that would effectuate the lives of the ordinary citizenry.
“I like to talk truth to power sometimes, and where I have reached, I think a level of confidence and quality of work with some of my interlocutors where we can say things together,” Ambassador Delahousse noted.
It can be recalled that in 2021, Ambassador Delahousse apologized to Liberians for saying that “Monrovia is the dirtiest place” he has ever visited.
His statement, which was made at the Monrovia City Forum bordering on Solid Waste Management, was immediately refuted by Monrovia City Mayor, Jefferson Tamba Koijee.
“I sincerely apologize to the Government of Liberia and anyone feeling misrepresented by these remarks and willingly retracted the exaggerated wordings I used,” Delahousse said, three days after he made the controversial remarks.
“In no way were my remarks intended to disparage anyone or to affect the reputation of the beautiful capital city of Liberia. In no way was my intention to take a political stance that would be absolutely contrary to my ethics and mission as a diplomat,” he clarified.
The European Union is one of the biggest investors in Liberia’s solid waste management sector, investing US$5 million Euros in the Greater Monrovia area.
The money provides support to community-based enterprises and organizations.
However, solid waste management continues to elude the capital, with garbage littering the streets and blocking drainages on major routes.
The markets are even worst, some garbage pilling up for marketplaces for months or even more than a year, other residents said.
Koijee, speaking after Delahousse at the forum, blamed the over-crowdedness of Monrovia which is home to more than a million people for the city’s garbage problems.
Representative Acarous Gray of District No.8 of Montserrado County also refuted the European envoy’s assertions, then.
“Monrovia in Africa by all environmental standards and scientific research is not the dirtiest of African cities,” said Gray, whose constituency falls within the heart of the city.
“There are public research records to disprove such an unfortunate assertion,’’ he added, then.