“The 2023 elections will be a defining moment for generations to come; as such, it cannot be based on favorite political parties, friendships or the desires and aspirations of our tribes and religions, but rather about love for country and to rescue the nation from the failed and broken promises of President George Weah,” the Political Leader of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), Alexander Cummings, has cautioned.
Cummings said Liberia is deeply hurt, and is bleeding profusely due to dishonesty in government, gross mismanagement, as well as cheaply and selfishly giving away its resources.
He warned, “Unless Liberians change this trend by voting right in 2023, Liberians will continue to be poor, begging other nations to do for us what we can and should be doing for ourselves.
“I have repeatedly said Liberia is too rich for its citizens to be poor, but the lacked of honest leadership in government, combined with the mismanagement of the resources God has blessed our country to have, including giving it away cheaply and selfishly, are responsible for the sad reality of the poor living conditions that many Liberians continue to face daily.”
He made the observation on Monday, June 20, 2022 at a special media engagement with journalists in Monrovia.
According to Cummings, in the last five years, President George Weah’s administration has proved to be incapable of leading and continues to engage in massive corruption and wasteful spending, and that the international community can no longer trust and tolerate his leadership.
He made specific reference to the missing L$16 billion, the US$25 million mop-up fund, the US$25 million Road Fund, the unaccounted Global Fund, the COVID-19 Relief Fund, as well as a report by 11 foreign missions and international organizations that warned the Weah administration to stop unauthorizingly taking money from their account at the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL).
The ANC Political Leader said these alarming rates of theft and corruption are embarrassingly turning away international investments, badly needed to create jobs that will pay Liberians decent living wages, to neighboring countries.
Cummings accused the Weah administration of massive budget paddling, disguising millions of taxpayers’ money as “security money” or “special presidential project”, and amassing huge allotment to the President and a few officials while depriving the vast majority of basic and essential social services.
“While the national budget allocated US$15.4 million for the President and his four top officials, it gives 12 teacher training institutes and community colleges a combined budget of US$9.3 million, and a combined budget of US$10.7 million to four major referral hospitals: JFK hospital in Monrovia, Phebe hospital in Bong County, Jackson Doe hospital in Nimba County and the Redemption hospital in New Kru Town, Monrovia.
Cummings described such unfair distribution of the nation’s wealth as irresponsible and outright legalized stealing, which he said must be stopped by voting out Weah in 2023.
He said, in the last five years the Weah administration has not only failed to create jobs as promised, but rather proceeded to cut salaries of civil servants, which has pressurized the private sector to also pay Liberians less, thereby subjecting families to difficult economic conditions and more suffering.
The ANC Political Leader blamed the rising cost of living and soaring prices of food, transportation, medicine and other basic services to the arbitrary hike in government fees and charges on gasoline and fuel importations, thereby deepening the social challenges and suffering of Liberians.
Cummings observed that there are more Liberians begging today for survival than since the end of the country’s 14 years civil war.