Monrovia – Representative Samuel Enders (Independent, District #6, Montserrado County) on Tuesday submitted five bills before the House of Representatives for enactment into law.
One of them, ‘The Liberian Great Gift Act Of 2021’ seeks to empower the President of Liberia to take a one-time loan in the tune of US$200 million for industrial transformation of Liberia in line with the Government’s Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD).
The bill outlines several projects to be undertaken by the Government of Liberia. The bill, among other things, calls for the use of US$30 million to establish a football academy to train and market players and to create jobs to improve the lives of young people.
The legislative instrument also called for job creation, national food security, economic and infrastructural sustainable development initiatives to be given top priority, and shall be indicative by the full implementation of the national independence and development stimulus package.
Out of the proposed US$200 million loan, the bill apportions US$120 million to be distributed at US$8 million to each county with the remaining US$80 million to be used for construction of five small factories and other infrastructural developments spread throughout the country.
It calls for each county to receive US$5 million to be divided as follows: US$1 million for the construction of a housing complex to include a community school and a clinic managed by both the community citizens and the county leadership; US$1 million for county endowment and financial backing which shall be kept in an escrow account for the county; adding that usage of said funds shall be determined by the citizens for development purposes and only the interest accrued shall be used for such development purposes. While the balance US$3 million for agriculture purposes; adding that each county will select one or two agriculture products to grow, and the county will be the only one growing such products in the country.
In addition, it called for US$50 million to be used to build 10 small factories around the country. The first set of factories, the bill outlined, will focus on food production and preservation as well as the production of shoes, clothing, sugar, chicken cubes and rubber, among others.
It continued: “The balance US$30,000,000.00 (Thirty Million United States Dollars) shall be used to build a national soccer academy for training and marketing of players and to create jobs and improve the lives of our youthful population, thus producing 50 or 100 more George Weah.”
The Liberian leader is the most decorated football player on the African Continent. He is the only African recipient, and the first non-European to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or award in 1995. That same year he won the FIFA World Player of the Year and African Best awards. His popularity, mostly among the young people helped him to win the 2017 presidential election.