Monrovia – A Senatorial candidate in the upcoming Montserrado County Senatorial by-election MacDella Cooper says it is better to have foreign direct investments rather than depending on donors to strengthen Liberia’s struggling economy.
Cooper was a former presidential candidate in the 2017 general and presidential election. She is now contesting for the Montserrado County Senatorial seat.
Cooper says when elected, she will use her connection to find people who have international relation to call on international investors and will not focus on donors.
The Senatorial candidate said when the donors’ funds are depleted; expatriates will always turn their back on the country.
She made the disclosure when she served as a special guest at the Center for the Exchange of Intellectual Opinion (CEO) on Carey Street Tuesday, June 18, 2019.
“I come from a generation that does not believe in donors’ funds. What I am interested in is foreign direct investment,” Cooper said.
She added: “With my international contact, I am going to bring as many investors to Montserrado County and I will host an investment conference for each sector for Liberians entrepreneurs to meet international dollars and built a partnership, so they can have foreign direct investment in their country.”
According to Cooper, she had informed the National Investment Commission (NIC) that there should be an investment conference but said advice has not been fruitful.
“Since then, has there been any investment conference as of today?” she asked.
Also, as the race to fill the vacuum in the Senate heats up, Cooper has promised to solve the many problems Montserrado County is faced with.
“I don’t have to be part of the problem but I can be a solution to the problems,” the Montserrado Senatorial candidate said.
According to Cooper, unemployment, education, healthcare and lack of investments are the many problems that the county faces.
Cooper: “There are more people who are unemployed in Montserrado County than ever before in our history. There are more kids that are out of schools today than ever in our history. We are lacking healthcare and also investments in Montserrado County than ever before.”