The Editor,
The midterm senatorial election is just a few months away, and once again, Liberians will be heading to the polls to vote for their candidates of choice. There is no question that our votes will have an impact on our livelihood. Therefore, we must be mindful of the decision we will be making for the future of our children and that of the entire country. We must not vote for just anyone because of party affiliation. It is time to open our eyes beyond party affiliation and individual loyalty, and instead look for men of integrity who will put the interests of their people above their own.
In less than six years into President George Weah’s first term, we find ourselves entrenched in corruption and economic hardship. Many patriotic yet poor Liberians continue to express their outrage and disappointment in our lawmakers who are not fully exercising their responsibilities for oversight. These lawmakers have refused to learn from the past and continue to exhibit characteristics that impede the growth of a nation and its inhabitants. Sadly, all 15 senators [.1] are up for reelection, and some greedy members of the Lower House are now desperate to be elected into the Liberian senate.
Recently, some of these failed representatives have been masquerading as philanthropists and giving handouts in exchange for votes. We should be reminded that the use of money and material distributions as an assurance of electoral victory is an insult to the electorate’s sensibilities. Money Man Mr. Robert Sirleaf could relate. Lawmakers should articulate the burning issues affecting ordinary people and proudly tell us about their achievements in the House of Representatives. They should present their platforms with reasons to convince the voters to support them instead of distributing cash, rice, and red palm oil to earn our votes.
Poor Liberians don’t need charity; they need good leadership. Thus, it would be in the best interests of the voters, especially the people of Montserrado County, if the Press Union of Liberia were to independently organize a debate among the Montserrado County contenders. We are fully aware that this is the seat representing the region with the highest unemployment rate, along with high schools and colleges lacking libraries, and government schools without qualified teachers and low monthly salaries. We see the mass failure of our students when seeking admission at the University of Liberia. Our 12th graders are poorly prepared for the West African Exam, making it impossible for them to compete with other students in the sub-region.
Our poor transportation system causes those fortunate enough to be employed to have to wake up at 4:00 am to catch public transportation from different cities around Montserrado County to central Monrovia, the nation’s capital. There is a lack of decent public toilets in the towns, and more adequate medical facilities need to be provided for our ordinary citizens who cannot seek medical treatment outside of Liberia, unlike our government officials, who are frequently flown out of the country. Unstable electricity and pipe-borne water can be attributed to a lack of adequate infrastructure, insufficient funding, weak governance, and a flawed regulatory framework.
Mentally ill individuals are walking nude on the streets in central Monrovia, and the daily rapes of babies and young girls has become widespread in Montserrado County. Victims are not getting justice or compensation. Some of our government officials and school teachers have even become sexual predators with impunity, leaving young school-age girls pregnant without support and therefore destroying their futures. To make matters worse, unskilled young men and women are prostituting themselves to make ends meet. There is no zoning for nuisance entertainment centers [.2] in Monrovia[.3] . Dangerous substance abuse is occurring among our young people, and there are no proper treatment facilities. Homeless young men and women referred to as “zogoes” are using the cemetery in central Monrovia as their place of residence. [.4]
As you walk around in most areas of Monrovia, you will see gutters with dirty stagnant water producing pungent odors. Because clogged drains hold plenty of stagnant water, they are an ideal habitat and breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes, causing most of our residents to suffer from malaria. Since after the civil war, the population of Montserrado County has increased tremendously, especially in Monrovia. Because the additional sewage pipes that were planted underground during the Tubman and Tolbert administrations no longer have the same carrying capacity, we can see the spilling of human feces onto the streets in the heart of Monrovia. The risk of the poor contracting diseases is very high, and this is one of the reasons why typhoid has become so common in Monrovia these days.
The concerns and issues mentioned above are essential to the people of Montserrado County, and they should be debated by the candidates so that we can know where they stand on these crucial issues affecting us all.
During each budget year, district development funds are allocated to projects that will benefit their districts’ people. Disappointingly, the allocations have been mismanaged, with some of our lawmakers creating bogus companies and award contracts for kickbacks, thereby denying the people the benefits of district development. To add insult to injury, some lawmakers construct schools and illegally withdraw support from the District Development Fund to pay the tuition for students enrolled in their private schools. Let me emphasize once again that a well-organized debate would allow each candidate to adequately address these fundamental issues affecting citizens of the nation’s capital in Montserrado County. Our legislators must understand that they play a critical role in examining and challenging the government’s work and passing legislation that will best serve their constituents’ interests.
As the ruling party has proclaimed that they seek to win back Montserrado County at all costs, we have witnessed the deliberate and reckless violation of the codes of conduct by officials of the ruling party. In contrast, the opposition parties and the National Election Commission have remained silent. We are also seeing acts of electoral violence being carried out by young men and women loyal to the Congress for Democratic Change and President George Weah. Nevertheless, they find themselves in abject poverty.
We see these supporters drumming and dancing for the very same people who have subjected them to the conditions that they find themselves in. Too many of these supporters do not even have bank accounts or own bikes, yet they shout and dance for politicians who ride in the best of cars and build beautiful homes with their large bank accounts.
Liberia is rich in natural and mineral resources, and we should not have so many people in poverty. I feel sorry for most of our people who became victims of the war and continue to be abused by government officials. The war lasted for 15 long years, and our children, who were between 5 and 10 at that time, are now young adults without having received any formal education. Fortunately, they all can vote! They were traumatized by the war[.5] , and the only therapy available at the time was watching George Opong Weah playing soccer. Most of these young Liberians do not understand how a country is governed, and so Liberia has fallen into the hands of corrupt and incompetent men with questionable character.
Nevertheless, it is difficult for some younger and even older adults to make an informed choice when voting if they have been consumed by abject poverty. Today, we see the formerly indicted[.6] House Speaker Alex Tyler, who violated the Government of Liberia’s policy on contracts, once again seeking to be elected, and most of our people are comfortable with him. When we celebrate criminals and choose them as our leaders, we deny ourselves good governance. Those unscrupulous so-called politicians who we elect as our leaders do not serve our interests. They serve because occupying leadership positions makes them superior to us, and in such positions, they are unaccountable to the public.
The war on corruption and bad governance cannot be won if eligible voters are not educated and enabled to act as crusaders of anti-corruption and bad governance. We see in our society today how young adults continue to organize support groups as a means of procuring handouts in exchange for electing men who seek to benefit themselves and become rich within a short period of time, while their supporters remain in abject poverty. The key to ensuring government effectiveness, strong leadership, and improvements in our conditions[.7] lies in the choices we make beginning on December 8, 2020. [.8]
Charles Russell
[email protected]
Pennsylvania
[.1]This is okay if there are only 15 senators, but if not, you need to clarify which 15 you are referring to.
[.2]Your intended meaning is not clear. Please clarify.
[.3]Please check that the intended meaning has been maintained here, as the original sentence was not entirely clear.
[.4]Please note that I have moved these sections here together since I think things flow more effectively this way.
[.5]Please check that the intended meaning has been maintained here, as the original sentence was not entirely clear.
[.6]Please check that the intended meaning has been maintained here, as the original sentence was not entirely clear.
[.7]I have made some slight revisions here to facilitate readability; please check that I haven’t changed your intended meaning.
[.8]You may want to add a sentence before this one emphasizing once again the need for a public debate (which I see as a central concern in this article).