Monrovia – President George Manneh Weah Wednesday, September 26, pitched his agenda for the country to the world, through his first address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Report by Alaskai Moore Johnson, [email protected]
Mounting that famous podium to deliver his quota of 15-minute speech as is required of leaders of every member state of the UN, President Weah stated that his agenda, which is under his administration’s umbrella program — Pro-poor Agenda for Development and Prosperity — is a policy framework that gives priority to the alleviation of poverty.
“This is not an agenda only for the poor; it is for the benefit of all Liberians. But it is policy framework that gives priority to the alleviation of poverty, and its core objective and focus is to reduce the marginalization of most vulnerable, whilst at the same time creating a conducive atmosphere for the middle and upper income Liberian to grow and prosper,” the Liberian leader stated.
Mr. Weah further told the world that through this agenda, his administration wants to build a harmonious society, based on the goal of economic empowerment, especially for the underprivileged; adding: “Our pro-poor agenda is therefore designed to give power to the people, promote economic diversification, protect sustainable peace and encourage good governance.”
To successfully achieve his agenda, he used his UNGA address to appeal to friends of Liberia, bilateral partners, and private investors to support his administration’s program.
Aware of Youthful Population Vulnerability
The President told the UNGA President, Madam María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés that his administration is acutely aware of the vulnerability of his country’s youthful population, who are clearly disadvantaged. According to the President, this is so, as a result of high unemployment, and a lack of access to quality education opportunities.
“Our plan is to reverse their unfortunate situation and make them productive citizens through the provision of adequate educational facilities at the high school and college levels, for those who still have interest in pursuing academic programs.”
He also stated that for young people left behind due to the 15 years of civil war and who have outgrown their school years, his administration is investing in technical vocational education and training programs in order to build their entrepreneurial and marketable skill-sets.
Importance of Infrastructure on Development
According to the Liberian leader, being cognizant of the infrastructural importance and its impact on social and economic development, his regime has identified investment in roads, energy and ports as key priorities. In this line, he is soliciting funding and other technical expertise to undertake these projects in pursuit of this goal to connect cities and towns.
In President Weah’s first annual message to the Liberian legislature in late January 2018, he disclosed that his administration would need at least US$3 billion in order to have all of Liberia’s major roads paved and main cities connected. He also spoke of building a coastal highway. However, after securing two loan deals with Eton and EBOMAF, it is now clear that those two deals, which were passed into law by Liberian lawmakers, have hit rock bottom and might not produce the desired result. The President has also turned to China, which recently promised a US$2.5 billion, but is conditioned on Liberia’s natural resource swap. This, too, is being heavily criticized by the President’s critics, who think that if this deal goes ahead, he would be mortgaging the entire nation.
Agriculture: Poverty-Alleviation Instrument
According to the President, agriculture, which he thinks is one area that Liberia has comparative advantage, has been identified as a major poverty-alleviation instrument; adding: “It will lead us to self-sufficiency in food production and self-employment, as well as open doors for industrialization.”
He disclosed that he is going to use a new law on economic zone, to attract labor-intensive light manufacturing.
Plan for His Nation’s Health
He informed the UNGA President that his administration, for the next five years, intends to efficiently and properly organize the healthcare delivery system in order to ensure that the health and wellbeing of Liberians is improved, especially looking back at the deadly Ebola virus disease outbreak in 2014.
During the Ebola crisis, Liberia was the worst hit with almost 5000 recorded deaths.
Placing Emphasizing on Security and Peace
Over the next five years, President Weah’s Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC)-led government will place emphasis on national security in order to enable Liberians and foreign nationals within its borders, move and live freely without fear.
“With the recent withdrawal of the United Nations Peace-keeping Mission in Liberia, we are now in charge of our own security,” he said. The President used the occasion to thank the UN peacekeepers for the sacrifices they made in securing and maintaining the peace in Liberia after a protracted civil conflict.
“We thank the members of the Security Council of the United Nations for the UNMIL Peacekeeping Mission which brought stability and helped us rebuild our institutions and communities. We are a peacekeeping success story and we are grateful for the support given.”
He, however, warned that Liberia must never take peace for granted having experienced civil war and the long shadow that the years of conflict still cast over Liberians’ lives.
Peace Dialogues over War Crimes
The President’s ‘National Peace Dialogues,’ which he intends to initiate throughout the nation, is probably preferred over the idea of a war and economic crimes court setup.
Over 80 local and international organizations had urged the Liberian leader to use his UNGA address to announce that his government supports the establishment of war and economic crimes court in Liberia.
Major campaigners including human rights lawyer Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe, Danieletta Sleyon of the Foundation for Human Rights and Democracy, Hassan Bility, Director of Global Justice and Research Project, and Adama Dempster, Secretary General of the National Civil Society Human Rights Advocacy have all spoken calling on the government to declare its support for the court to be set up in Liberia.
However, the President is not keened on looking that direction but is intended to initiate series of national peace dialogues throughout Liberia; adding: “We must restart those difficult conversations at the local level, and include our youth, so that they — and we — do not repeat the costly mistakes of the past.”
According to the President, those frank exchanges are essential steps in bringing lasting healing reconciliation and unity to his people.
“Our agenda is not one of division, but rather, it is an agenda that intends to provide an enabling environment for a united people to be able to benefit and prosper from the economic dividends of peace,” he stressed.
However, this agenda of the President runs contrary to many, including Liberians and other in the international community, who have called for the government’s support for the establishment of a war and economic crimes court.
During her visit to Liberia late March, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, told the media that lasting peace in Liberia would be dependent on the full and true reconciliation.
She said it was “critical to implement the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and for the legislature to pass key bills that will support local inclusion and reconciliation.”
She warned that peace would “remain fragile as long as people feel excluded from the economic and political life of the country, and as long as corruption undermines confidence in institutions.”