President George M. Weah has approved US$650,000 (six hundred and fifty thousand United States dollars) to the Joint Presidential Transitional Team (JPTT) for the inaugural activities of President-elect, Ambassador Joseph Nyumah Boakai; Cynthia Quinisier writes.
Speaking at a press conference Thursday, January 4, 2024 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ C. Cecil Dennis Auditorium following the climax of the JPTT meeting, Co-Chairperson of the JPTT, Cllr. Samuel Kofi Woods, said the Government of Liberia (GOL), through President Weah, approved the budget of the JPTT recently.
“We are grateful to the President for this step taken. It’s also important to note that what all we recommend to President Weah has been approved. It was approved December 8. We extoll the out-going administration for the cooperation,” he stated.
Cllr. Woods said that their meeting on yesterday focused on the report from the inaugural committee, noting that the budget of the committee has been approved by the Weah administration.
According to him, President Weah has committed to ensuring that the process is accelerated and the full cooperation of the government is in place, adding that all mechanisms that should be in place to accelerate the process and ensure the full implementation are authorized and informed to come together to make the inauguration second to none.
Cllr. Woods further indicated that they have also received reports from the various working groups, adding that they have established over twelve clusters which have been working with various government ministries and agencies on systematic areas of governance.
“We noted the level of cooperation so far and the level of compliance engagement. We also noted that every other situation we know, and they were discussed. We expect that by the next meeting we will get all the information moving forward. We received what was outlined for the final reporting. We have a committee that have been setup. We want to report to all Liberians that significant progress has been made. We will ensure that we have a peaceful transition,” she stated.
For his part, Foreign Minister Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemaya expressed excitement and appreciation to the in-coming leadership for their level of cooperation and cordial working relationship in an effort to usher in a new leadership.
“We will continue to give the public the necessary information with regards to the progress of the JPTT. We had a meeting with the President of Liberia, Mr. Weah, and Ambassador Boakai, and it was very fruitful and productive. We are not doing favor to the Liberian people; rather, it’s an unconditional obligating. This is not the last and there will be many. But we are very pleased with the level of cooperation and spirit of nationalism,” he concluded.
