Gbarnga Bong County – Gbarnga City was a place to be for the Unity Party, (UP) as thousands of partisans gathered for the convention and the turning over of the UP present leadership to the incoming standard bearer and elections for new officials of the party.
Report by: Mae Azango [email protected]
Serving as presiding chairman of the convention, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said, it was time they ensure that the convention was inclusive, participatory and democratic, saying it is the only way to move Unity party forward.
Outgoing party Chairman, Cllr. Varney Sharman, during the convention said while the party is on its way to elections, it should receive committee’s report with the condition that no member is elected as standard bearer of the party.
He said they need to re-intervene for the work of the committee to come up with a comprehensive platform for election in 2017.
“I say this because our experience from 2010 is that we had a platform then at the end of the day, there was deviations because, I believe the government was not involved at the level that it should have been when the platform was adopted.
To ensure that we do not have similar problem, I would suggest that we receive the committee’s report on conditions that our standard bearer when elected, will meet the committee and come up with his or her own ideas incorporate them in the report, so that we have one platform for both the party and our executive,” said Chairman Sherman.
According to the Unity Party’s report, it has achieved in the past eleven years and indisputable and enviable platform that centered around ten key areas: job creation and increase employment, building an economy that is inclusive, cultivating Agriculture and food security, improving infrastructures to enhance the quality of lives, consolidating peace and security, enhancing national reconciliation and healing, intensifying the fight against corruption, inventing in the Liberian people, Disability and strengthening a political environmental. And the overall aim of building a viable society where everyone can live in peace.
During the convention, many partisans raised comments to be addressed by the committee. Cllr. Gloria M. Scott, National outgoing member of the National executive officer of the UP said “I like the outline on the platform let it go forward to be clear on the party’s position on the place of women in governance”.
Lawrence Flomo, District five Youth coordinator, said he did not hear anything mentioned in the committee’s report concerning youth, and suggested that youth be included.