Montserrado County — An eminent citizen of Montserrado County, District 10, Mr. Y. Solomon W. Watkins has called on residents of the District to ensure that in competent leaders are not elected or reelected ahead of 2023 general and presidential elections.
“Realizing that the development of our district and the improvement of the lives of our people depend primarily on the political atmosphere under which they do exist, we recommend to the resilient people of Montserrado County, District 10 to reject incompetent leaders as she has demonstrated over decades but in a more different way.
“Don’t be carried away by their physical appearances and self-pronounced overnight acquired wealth. You can’t be fooled again. Building your markets today and destroying it after election is not what you wealth. Putting food on your tables, sending your children to school now and insulting you after elections, we don’t think it’s what you want again. What you want is better policies and systems that will help address the bread and butter issues. Job creation, economic revitalization and the promotion and maintenance of peace and security of our state and people, should be our paramount concern moving forward.
“Residents of our district, leaders of our communities who are the victim of the compound complex bad governance of this district which has shown a sign of lack of leadership by those at the hand of power, it’s time to unite and speak out now. You have the right to demand what is for yours.
“We wish to sound out this wondering that District 10 is not for jokers. We need a good political atmosphere to drive the development of our country and people,” Mr. Watkins noted.
Mr. Watkins, a Liberian journalist and vision bearer of the Watkins Initiative For Nations (WIN) made the declaration on occasion marking the organization’s first nationwide engagement with journalists with focus on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and potential threats, as well as the way forward for Montserrado County, District 10, as Liberia moves toward 2023 general and presidential elections on Friday, December 31, 2021 (New Year Eve).
According to him, it is recognized that the last two year have brought residents of the district and Liberia many challenges, remarkably the repeated waves of COVID 19 and its many associated deaths, hardship and depression, thus adding more pressure on Liberians already existing economic situation.
“But we can’t give up. Giving up today is giving up on the generation of people who believe in us. It will be about the unborn generation and those hungry and thirsty for the true liberation of a Liberia but do not have the voice to speak out to challenge the system for the development and prosperity. It is about time to put action to work and bring ideas to realities. No more time for big dreams without appropriate action.
“This is because there is a future ahead. I do believed the years to come will be a year of milestone significance for the people of our District and the Republic of Liberia signaling growth and prosperity if we take the right actions and not being deliberate to taking the same usual actions that have brought us where we are today,” Mr. Watkins intoned.
Reading the results of the SWOT analysis conducted by the Watkins Initiative For Nations, which covers health, education, security, environment, access to safe drinking water, sanitation, economic growth and holistic development of our District, including Sexual and Gender Based Violence and Human Trafficking, Mr. Watkins highlighted the followings:
Strengths
- Resilient – Our people are very resilient as demonstrated by the fight against COVID 19 and repeatedly demonstrated in removing bad or failed leadership from power through the Ballot box.
- Democracy– The people of District 10 are peaceful. Our people are supporters of democracy.
- The most political district in the republic is district ten. (She has hosted the power of Liberia since 1997-2021)
- Private sector partnership in educational programs; such as: FMCA, CKCS, HAYWOOD, BLUECREST, CUTTINGTON University etc.
- Private sector partnership in health programs. There are many private health facilities
- Clean and safe drinking water is available LWSC.
- Major roads have been worked on, excluding smaller roads.
- Youthful population interested in education and development
Weakness(es)
- Low income earners – majority residents of our district are low income earners
- Our people have limited access to safe drinking water despite water being available by LWSC.
- Lack of public hospital to provide quality of health care given that the fees charged by private sector are very high.
- Poor sanitation system and lack of plan (ie): Everywhere that marked by MCC for waste deposal have resulted into havoc and all forms of hazard and diseases as such we request the MCC remove the diets from our district given that we are in a global pandemic (fighting COVID) .
- No public high school, and college.
- Lack a district owned office for operations of the people to host district assembly.
- Lack of research and/or recreation center for youths and student to enhance residents’ mental and psychological development
- Lack of accountability – a created system which results to no legislative report and insight on financial income and expenses during the tenures of past and current leaders.
- Increasing wave of insecurity – Terror, Threats, Assaults, Insults, harassments, etc. have continuously live in district 10 without any steps of positive solution.
- Lack of good governance, competence, and knowledgeable leadership
Opportunities
- Massive business to enhance citizens’ contribution to their own economy.
- Willingness and zest in community leaders and members to drive district-wide development, if only they are engaged.
- District 10 is a classified hub for many institutions, organizations, NGOs, embassies, etc.
Threats
- Many occurrences of fire and storm disaster, every year in almost everywhere in district ten. Just between 2020&2021, the District experienced more than 10 situations of fire disasters, resulting into at least 4 deaths.
- Increasing crimes rate despite police presence. (Zone 3, Vai Town & Peace Island Police Stations)
- Increasing level of under-privilege youths, high rate of unemployment, and less opportunities for earning of ones living.
- Decline in student enrollment due to increasing poverty and hardship.
- Dollarization of the District politics (Trucking and buying of votes by aspirants)
- The continuous elections and power trust to incompetent and heartless leaders.
- Constant violation of the code of conduct, and electoral guidelines which impede good decision making process.
- Increasing wave of sexual and gender based violence and human trafficking.