MONROVIA – With less than eight months to conduct the much anticipated October 2023 general and presidential elections in Liberia, Presidential aspirant Counselor Tiawan Gongloe has disclosed that he has not been officially requested by any opposition political leaders to serve as running mate on a ticket.
By Obediah Johnson, [email protected]
Counselor Gongloe is the Standard Bearer of the opposition Liberian People’s Party (LPP). He’s a human and social rights Advocate and former President of the Liberia National Bar Association.
For months now, there have been mounting calls from partisans and supporters of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) and the former ruling Unity Party (UP) for their political leaders Alexander Benedict Cummings and Joseph Nyuma Boakai to handpick Counselor Gongloe as their running mate as political marriage between the pair not seems to be working.
The citizens have been calling for collaboration among opposition political parties as the best way forward to democratically unseat President George Manneh Weah.
But speaking when he appeared on a local radio talk show in Monroviaa recently, Counselor Gongloe disclosed that though he has been holding telephone conversations with the political leaders of the Unity Party (UP) and the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), no official request has been made to him to serve as running mate.
He said despite visiting and spending time with ex-Vice President Boakai when he was admitted at a hospital in the country recently, no discussion was held or request made to him to come second to Ambassador Boakai.
“I heard people saying that they want me to go as running mate. Henry Costa in 2019 started harboring this idea that the only way George Weah can be defeated is for the opposition to hold together or form collaboration. It has stuck in people’s minds. And now people are saying with collaboration, there will be no opposition. I have not been directly requested to serve as running mate yet. But we will listen to any discussion that comes.”
He maintained that though he has not been approached by anyone, he continues to receive the blessings and support from his kinsmen and other citizens across the country to contest for the presidency.
LPP will decide
Counselor Gongloe pointed out that his consent to any proposal to contest as a running mate to any of the presidential candidates would be based upon a decision from his party.
“I don’t own my political party. If my party decides something, there is something wrong with me when I say I don’t agree. So, these things require discussions among people. History has not been kind to that view of people coming together in Liberia. I am the only presidential candidate who walks the streets. I can’t compete with anyone when it comes to money. But we should also know in this country that people have spent huge monies and lost elections.”
He disclosed that his ambition to contest the presidency is to serve as a “Project Manager to change the story of the country.”
Mechanized farming for rice production
For some time now, Counselor Gongloe has been touring Liberia and holding discussions with citizens ahead of the elections.
He disclosed that his tour across the country is intended to ensure that the elections are based on a message of transformation.
According to him, the move is also intended to discourage the electorates from casting their votes for candidates for money, rice or material things.
Counselor Gongloe observed that the only way Liberia cannot run out of its staple food rice, is to grow the commodity in the nation.
He disclosed that mechanized farming for rice production will be prioritized by his government, and supervised by the Cooperative Development Agency (CDA) of Liberia to avoid the consistent shortage of rice on the local market.
He said local farmers would also be made to back for the cost of equipment provided them by government through their respective produce.
Counselor Gongloe stated that apart from providing security at border points of the country, soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) will also be empowered to produce rice in large quantity in various counties in the country.
This, he said, is intended to buttress the efforts of local farmers and ensure that Liberia is sufficient in food production.
“If the farmers are producing and the army is also producing, there is no way that we will not have surpluses of rice here. Liberia will become a rice exporter and the price of rice will be low. That is a message of redemption on transformation because without food you can’t go to school work, take medicines or do anything.”
Counselor Gongloe pointed out that access to adequate healthcare delivery will be provided to vulnerable citizens in the country.
He observed that the rate of death among pregnant women remains high in the nation.
“Among ten countries in the world that report very high incident of deaths among pregnant women, Liberia is number seven. This is a national disaster. When I become President, all pregnant women and children under the ages of five will go to government hospital free of charge.”
He pointed out that old folks above 65 years will also be accorded similar offer under his administration.
He stressed the need for Liberians to favor or endorse his ambition based upon his track records as former Solicitor General, Minister of Labor and former President of the Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA).
Education
Quoting Article 6 of the 1986 Liberian constitution, Counselor Gongloe disclosed that it remains the responsibility of the government to educate all Liberian children and eliminate illiteracy in society.
He vowed to ensure that all children and youths from kindergarten to grade 12 are enrolled at public schools free of charge.
He pointed out that illiteracy will be eliminated in a two-year period through the provision of stipends to junior, senior high school, and university students and graduates to teach in their respective communities after their studies at their various campuses.
“With that radical program, there is a chance for eliminating illiteracy. It’s important for people to know how to read and write.”
Counselor Gongloe maintained that vocational skills training schools will be established across the country to empower young Liberians.
He frowned at the awarding of contracts to foreigners in the midst of competent and trained Liberian professionals who have acquired similar skills and training.
Roads
He said the Ministry of Public Works will be reactivated in all counties across Liberia.
According to him, this will help enhance the regular rehabilitation and maintenance of roads, especially in the leeward areas.
Counselor Gongloe observed that citizens and others will be able to frequently visit their family members and others when roads are properly maintained by the government.
Call for mediation between Weah and Johnson
For now, war of words has ensued between President Weah and Senator Johnson.
Senator Johnson, who is the Founder and the current Chairman of the National Governing Council of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR), accused President Weah and his government of planning to assassinate him due to his decision taken to withdraw his support from the governing Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) ahead of the presidential and legislative elections in Liberia this year.
According to him, the party’s newly elected Standard Bearer Senator Jeremiah Koung of Nimba County will contest for the presidency on the ticket of the MDR because, President Weah has allegedly failed to live up to the agreement he signed to support him during the 2017 elections.
Counselor Gongloe expressed dismay over the impasse between the two political leaders.
He observed that the current situation would spark up confusion between supporters of the President Weah and Senator Johnson when it is not arrested.
He called on authorities of the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) to immediately intervene in the matter.
Both President Weah and Senator Johnson are ordained as Pastors.
Counselor Gongloe proposed the setting up of an inter-mediation committee to resolve the verbal attacks between the two statesmen.
Anger descends to followers
“I want to say something about maintaining the peace. Our people say when two elephants fight, the grass suffers. There is an evolving conflict between President George Weah and our Senator Prince Johnson. Both of them are using the pulpits and using words that anger each other. This is not good because the anger that they are expressing descends to their followers.”
He maintained that Liberia and its citizens do not want the impasse to escalate and fuel conflict in the nation, noting that, “these are powerful people.”
“Competing has nothing to do with anarchy. Political opponents should not be enemies. We should even joke with each other sometimes.”
Counselor Gongloe emphasized that the sharing of jokes among those vying for elected offices in Liberia will help reduce tension not only among them as contenders, but also among their supporters.