The Vanguard Student Unification Party (SUP), University of Liberia (UL), has warned President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to pass into legislation the Free Tuition Policy or get ready to sit his first public exam; Cynthia Quinisier reports.
SUP Chairman, Hagginson Kwein W. Kwein, said education is a fundamental right that should be non-negotiable and accessible to all, regardless of socioeconomic status.
Speaking during a press conference on Monday, February 19, 2024, Kwein said the implementation of a free tuition policy will not only alleviate the financial burden on students and their families, but will also promote equal opportunities for academic advancement and national development.
According to him, those who might argue that the Free tuition at the University of Liberia is a burden on the government should be reminded of the allocation of the national budget and daily spending of key public officials, including “Mr. Boakai”.
He noted that if Boakai can spend nearly half a million just to entertain his partisans, what is wrong with fully providing free and quality education to students at public universities.
At the same time, Chairman Kwein disclosed that SUP has been alarmed over what it calls a detection of early contradictions under the Boakai-Koung administration, specifically the president’s “deliberate refusal” to declare his assets before taking office.
Chairman Kwein said President Boakai is mandated by Part 10.1 of the National Code of Conduct of the Republic of Liberia to publish his asset.
Part 10.1 of the National Code of Conduct of the Republic of Liberia states, “All public officials and employees of the Government are mandated to declare their assets and liabilities before taking office and thereafter.”
However, Kwein noted that President Boakai and his Vice President have “miserably failed” to pass such a simple test of integrity when they have threaded on integrity all through their campaign era.
“Therefore, SUP sees the asset declaration by Boakai, nearly 17 days after his inauguration without publishing it as nothing, but the same business as usual which Boakai has since promised not to be,” Chairman Kwein noted.
Kwein has vowed to ensure that SUP takes unspecified actions if President Boakai refuses to publish his asset, including compelling him to take a public test at the University of Liberia campus on asset declaration.
SUP described President Boakai’s asset declaration without publication as a mere bluff and a publicity stunt intended to blindfold the public in what appears to be “business as usual”.
“Fellow compatriots, Mr. Boakai is noted for crowning himself as a very poor man who lives on loan and could not even afford his medical bill, to the extent that a GoFundMe was organized to pay his bills and provide food for him,” Kwein observed.
The SUP Chairman further termed as alarming that the same Boakai, who could not afford a simple meal a day and with little medical bill a few months back, has turned into what they characterized as “a philanthropist and a millionaire” just weeks after he was elected President.
“This self-proclaimed poor man in Mr. Boakai donated L$10 million without disclosing the source of the funds,” Kwein asserted.
“Similarly, the Unity Party could not afford to pay the rent of its headquarters but dished out nearly half of a million to its district leadership for uncontrollable amusement when the state-run University of Liberia is struggling to pay,” the SUP Chairman wondered.
The Vanguard Student Unification Party said, just as it unanimously engineered the election of President Boakai, it remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing the interests of the Liberian people and fostering positive change within the society.