The Patriotic Entrepreneurs of Liberia (PATEL), an advocacy group championing the cause of the downtrodden citizenry, is expected to hold a major protest this week at the National Legislature against that august body’s failure to enact laws to improve the living standards of the Liberian people.
PATEL, through its leader, Dominic Nimley, opined that the pending protest to be taken to the door steps of the National Legislature and held concomitantly across the nation is important to checkmate members of the lower/upper Houses of the Legislature, who have oversight, but are not ably representing the people for whom they were elected.
Nimley blamed the legislators for being solely responsible for the downward trend or impoverished living condition of the people of the country because, as he put it, the National Legislature’s failure to enact good laws has deprived the citizens from being active participants in their ailing economy, making them mere spectators.
In an interview with the Hot Pepper, Nimley vowed that PATEL will not cut off the pending protest action when it gets in full-swing later this week at the National Legislature until the lawmakers of both houses can right the wrongs and ensure that laws enacted, such as the Liberianization Policy, are implemented to the letter.
He frowned at some Liberians fronting for foreigner/aliens by venturing into some of the 21 businesses allotted to only Liberians under the Liberianization Policy, recommending that such persons be canned for three consecutive years and foreigners/aliens be deported for violation of the law.
On the overall, Nimley voiced that the lawmakers are “self-centered” and only concerned about their fabulous paychecks/benefits, but not the welfare or increment of civil servants, judicial and health workers’ salaries, among others.
PATEL’s boss also decried the high tariff being imposed by APM Terminals which, to date, he noted, is creating difficulties for Liberian businesses in clearing their containers at the Freeport of Monrovia, in time, due to the bureaucratic bottlenecks involved in clearing their containers.
According to him, due to the imposition of high tariff by APM Terminals coupled with bureaucracy at the offices of the Customs Commissioner and workings of the management of the National Port Authority (NPA), the containers of Liberians at home and in the diaspora are oftentimes auctioned by the NPA, leading to the frustration of those importers of goods/services into the country.
The PATEL leader also wants the contractual agreement entered into between the Government of Liberia (GoL) and APM Terminals thoroughly reviewed because, in his wisdom, the company does not mean well for a Third World country like Liberia. “If need be, I ask that APM Terminals leave our country due to its exploit of Liberian businesses as a result of the high tariff,” he stated.