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A TRIBUTE DAVID DOWER KPOMAKPOR:
1935-2010 By: D. Elwood Dunn 23 August, 2010  As
Liberia mourns the passing of a distinguished son and as we join in
condolences to family and friends, the passing of Professor David
Kpomakpor is a teachable moment for the nation. In his own words: “May
the life I live speak for me,” a most fitting epitaph that speaks
volumes.I never came personally to know Professor Kpomakpor, but since his time on the law faculty of the University of Liberia I have acquired an appreciation of his profile and followed his career. I have come to appreciate a gifted Liberian, a teacher, a lawyer, and a public servant. The knowledge and values he imparted in his teaching remain with scores of his students, many of them now lawyers themselves challenged to help fix our broken rule of law system. The examples of his lawyer-ing might inform today’s national conversation about ethical issues in that noble profession. And the cues from his brief public service could as well profitably infuse public debate especially as we approach a crucial year of general presidential and legislative elections. And so the passing of this distinguished son of Liberia might occasion for Liberia and Liberians a teachable moment on at least two levels – the quality of his teaching, and the quality of his public service as it relates to the issue of corruption in high office. His students and colleagues can more credibly speak to his legacy as a teacher of the law. His public service, even if brief, and the dehumanizing circumstances he lived in his last days should cause his country and his fellow Liberians to ponder. Have we put in place equitable and just systems of benefits for both serving and retired public officials? Do we operate such systems, even allowing for the disruptions of a quarter century of instability and war, in ways that ennoble public service and assure post-service human dignity? What I have gleaned from my few years of service to the Government of Liberia in the 1970s as well as from research suggest to me that the culture of patronage has been the hallmark of remuneration and benefits for public servants. There was certainly no uniform system of benefits, such as a social security system, that assured a livable income. One way, then, to address the current public corruption problematic is precisely to craft a clear strategy of public policy that would complement the much talked-about “Code of Conduct for Public Officials.” As we bid farewell to Professor Kpomakpor and pray for the peaceful repose of his soul, may our country take this moment of his passing to give voice to his now silent voice by redoubling our national efforts toward systematizing legitimate benefits of public servants, present and past. No genuine fight against corruption in high places can succeed otherwise. |
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