The keynote speaker of the Congress for Democratic Change’s 22nd anniversary and Political Leader of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), Alexander B. Cummings, has accused the Unity Party government of allowing Liberia to regress into dangerous tribal cleavages and partisan extremism instead of building bridges across ethnic and political lines, thereby deepening the cracks that already existed.
“We are being reduced to tribesmen and partisans, rather than citizens bound by a common destiny,” Cummings observed.
He said this betrayal of leadership by the Unity Party government is unacceptable, noting that true leadership demands setting new standards, meeting higher goals, and taking responsibility—not hiding behind the failures of past regimes.
Speaking on three cardinal points that have been the hallmark of the failure to change the country for the better, Cummings said the Liberian government has been a “a government of the few”.
“We have failed because what should be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has become a government for the few. Governments in and governments out have prioritized only a few.
“Political tension and civil strife in Liberia have always been rooted in unequal access to the nation’s wealth, and the deliberate exclusion of citizens from national decision-making. It is even more rife under this Unity Party government, which is no different.
“This cannot be excused as just a policy gap. Rather, it is a profound failure of past and current leadership,” he noted.
Cummings observed that, at every stage of development, bold and visionary decisions are required to ensure fair distribution of resources and to foster reconciliation. “Yet our leaders have consistently chosen the path of division over unity; favoritism over fairness; and expediency over justice,” he said.
He then told all those aspiring for leadership that Liberia cannot afford leaders who excuse incompetence. “We need leaders who embrace accountability, drive social cohesion, and champion inclusive socio-economic development as the foundation of lasting peace, prosperity, and change.”
The ANC leader used the opportunity to call on the opposition community to close ranks in holding this government accountable for upholding the rule of law, in a fair and transparent manner, and for managing and distributing national resources in ways that benefit all—not just the privileged few. “Our strength lies in opposition solidarity. The ANC, CDC, CMC, MPC, NPP, LPP, ALP, and all opposition parties together can create the change we seek for Liberia,” he added.
He said the fear of opposition unity is real. “I hear some people say that Cummings only wants to be President. I have said and will continue to say that nobody contests to be Vice President. But let me be very clear—the kind of change we seek is bigger than any one person; it is about all of us putting our personal ambitions aside, our superiority complex of individuals or parties aside, and recognizing that our strength lies in unity and not in individuals.
“If I have to be the driver or the car boy to get us to our destination of a better Liberia, I will. That is evident by my willingness to be here today as your keynote speaker. I don’t know which one hurting them,” he stated.
Read Full Speech Below:
Statement of Alexander B. Cummings, Political Leader of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), at the 22nd Anniversary of the Congress for Democratic Change in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County
Former President George Manneh Weah, Standard Bearer, Executives and Members of the Congress for Democratic Change; Hon. Jewel Howard Taylor, former Vice President and Standard Bearer of the National Patriotic Party; Hon. Musa Bility, Political Leader of the Citizen Movement for Change; Hon. Simeon Freeman, Political Leader of the Movement for Progressive Change; Hon. Benoni Urey of the All Liberian Party; Former Justice Kabineh Janeh; Executives and Members of all parties present; Executives and Members of my party, the Alternative National Congress; all members of the opposition; fellow Liberians,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, On behalf of the Alternative National Congress, and in my own name, please accept our congratulations on this historic occasion of the 22nd anniversary of the Congress for Democratic Change.
We are honored by your invitation to serve as keynote speaker, and we hope we will do this moment justice.
This moment speaks not only to the growing strength and maturity of our democracy, but to the perseverance and triumph of a people’s movement.
The formation of the Congress for Democratic Change was a pivotal moment in the course of our political dispensation. This party of the masses, led by former President. George Weah, gave voice to the voiceless, hope to the hopeless, and courage to the downtrodden.
This party gave sons and daughters of low-income and neglected communities an opportunity to serve — out of West Point and New Kru Town, Clara Town and Logan Town, and across the nation, came Ministers, Commissioners, Directors, Representatives, Senators, and a President.
This is symbolic of the power and resilience of a people overlooked, underestimated, and treated like outsiders in their own home.
I know that all too well, as I have also been overlooked, underestimated, and treated like an outsider too.
From a young boy with 3 sisters who grew up in Point Four in a humble Christian home—a mother who sold women’s underwear and an educator who later became a preacher, competing in a foreign country and rising to the second-highest position in a global company valued at 355 billion US Dollars.
I was overlooked and underestimated when I returned home ten years ago to serve my country, and was embraced by my people, but was called an outsider and a stranger by the political elites.
I have been labeled arrogant, proud, stuck up, disconnected, elitist by those who fear change, when, in fact, I am just a simple man blessed by God—a young boy from Point Four, who attended Demonstration government school, became President of CWA graduating class, attended Cuttington, worked at LBDI Bank, like many Liberians, before the global business successes.
Similarly with your Standard Bearer and our former President, George Weah — a simple man blessed by God; a young talented man from Clara Town, who played football so well for local teams before the global football successes, who came back to serve his people.
That’s what this moment is about. Triumph, resilience, perseverance of people overlooked and underestimated.
This moment is also a living testament to a traditional Liberian proverb: although a tree may grow into many branches, it is never separated from its roots.
In our multiparty democracy, we may each be identified by different party labels. But from one root — Liberia — which remains our common denominator. Our destinies are inseparably linked, and so our future must be built together.
Today, as a nation and people, we face a struggle that is as old as our country itself. Some have termed it a struggle for rice and rights. Others have named it a struggle for social justice. But at its core, Liberia’s struggle has always been for equality of opportunity.
For too long, poverty, inequality, exclusion, marginalization, and outright economic deprivation have plagued our nation. These evils have dominated our political space and undermined our quest for nation-building and sustained development since the foundation of the Liberian state.
Our struggle has taken many forms, including civil wars, public dissent, mass protests by our people, and lofty promises of political leaders. Yet time and again, the State has failed to adequately address these issues, leading more Liberians into distrust and cynicism.
The question before the conscience of our nation is not whether we need to change. The real question is: why have we failed to change this country?
To answer that question, we must face some inconvenient truths. Permit me to name a few that exist even now:
1. A Government for the Few
We have failed because what should be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has become a government for the few. Governments in and governments out have prioritized only a few.
Political tension and civil strife in Liberia have always been rooted in unequal access to the nation’s wealth, and the deliberate exclusion of citizens from national decision-making. It is even more rife under this Unity Party government, which is no different.
This cannot be excused as just a policy gap. Rather, it is a profound failure of past and current leadership.
At every stage of our development, bold and visionary decisions are required to ensure fair distribution of resources and to foster reconciliation. Yet our leaders have consistently chosen the path of division over unity; favoritism over fairness; and expediency over justice.
Instead of building bridges across ethnic and political lines, the Unity Party government has deepened the cracks, allowing Liberia to regress into dangerous tribal cleavages and partisan extremism. We are being reduced to tribesmen and partisans, rather than citizens bound by a common destiny.
This betrayal of leadership by the Unity Party government is unacceptable.
True leadership demands setting new standards, meeting higher goals, and taking responsibility — not hiding behind the failures of past regimes.
To all of us aspiring for leadership, Liberia cannot afford leaders who excuse incompetence. We need leaders who embrace accountability, drive social cohesion, and champion inclusive socio-economic development as the foundation of lasting peace, prosperity, and change.
2. Weak Institutions
The dysfunction of the Liberian state and the continuance of bad governance are not the exclusive practice of one regime or one class of elites. But it is just as prevalent even now: the failure to reform weak institutions into resilient ones, capable of enforcing the rule of law without selective treatment; providing security for all, without fear or favor; and delivering innovative policies that create opportunities for all Liberians.
When institutions are weak, accountability collapses, and abuse of power thrives.
We have seen this manifested many times: in our government’s deliberate, illegal termination of tenured officials; the reckless disregard for rulings of our highest court; daylight political witch-hunts; selective fights against corruption; underfunding integrity institutions; and now, the creeping menace of transnational drug proliferation, under suspicion of collusion by state actors.
When a government accuses lawmakers of burning our nation’s capital but withdraws charges on the one lawmaker who supports them, it appears partisan. When a government loses a major case against a former official but seeks to undo such acquittal under jury tampering accusations, it appears selective. When a government removes an elected sitting speaker to replace them with its own “regime speaker” in an ultra vires approach, it appears unserious.
Unless we build strong and effective institutions, free from interference and partisanship, our dream of shared prosperity will remain an illusion, and our country will not change.
3. Last but not least, Sustained Poverty and Inequality
Our gross and intentional failure to address poverty, inequality, and equal access to opportunities continues to erode social cohesion, weaken inclusive economic development, and threaten sustainable peace.
While our national policymakers boast of GDP growth and a national budget of 1.2 billion US Dollars, over half of our population suffers multidimensional poverty, with rural poverty soaring to 81 percent. 50.9 percent of Liberians live below the national poverty line. 50.9 percent! Nearly half of Liberian households are food insecure, ranking us among the hungriest nations in the world. Our literacy rate is below 50 percent, with rural dropout rates alarmingly high.
These are not just statistics. They are the painful realities of our compatriots — the haunting cries of children who go to bed hungry, night after night, their dreams stifled before they can even begin. They are the frustrations of our youth, restless and disillusioned, wandering the streets without jobs, without hope, and without a future to claim. They are the anguish of mothers who lie awake in the darkness, staring into the void, wondering how to protect their children from a tomorrow that seems more uncertain than today. They are the despair of families who cannot afford healthcare and are forced to choose between food and medicine, watching helplessly as loved ones suffer, because healthcare is beyond their reach.
These are not numbers on a page. They are the human faces of Liberia’s failure, still waiting to be rescued as promised by this government — and they demand our conscience, our compassion, and our courage to act.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS. FELLOW LIBERIANS.
In the face of our growing national tragedies — what must we do? Firstly, we call on the opposition community to close ranks in holding this government accountable for upholding the rule of law, in a fair and transparent manner, and for managing and distributing national resources in ways that benefit all — not just the privileged few. Our strength lies in opposition solidarity. The ANC, CDC, CMC, MPC, NPP, LPP, ALP, and all opposition parties together can create the change we seek for Liberia.
To this end, we must begin by demanding nothing less than an independent and transparent investigation of the recent 19 million US Dollar drug bust at the RIA, and accountability for all those found culpable. If we are serious about fighting drugs, this would be a good start.
The proliferation of drugs is no joke, and no one will be allowed to “eat show” on us with this case. We will use our reach far and near, call on our friends in the international community, and friends of Liberia to ensure that this government does not get away with protecting any “big hand” in this case.
We must demand an independent investigation of the Foyah Project and the causes of the recent tension at the Liberian-Guinean border. We also call on Civil Society Organizations, the religious society, and all well-meaning Liberians, to join the call: to hold our government accountable for their stewardship of our Country.
We must insist on the independence of our judiciary, and check the growing excesses and intolerance of our Legislature, as Legislative tyranny is just as dangerous to democracy as Executive tyranny.
We must also demand greater investment in education and civics: teaching our children the values of unity and citizenship. We must reject mediocrity and demand excellence from our leaders.
Clearly, we can’t keep doing the same things and expect different results. Repeating the past is cowardly. It fears new solutions and new ideas for a different future.
The fear of opposition unity is real. I hear some people say that Cummings only wants to be President. I have said and will continue to say that nobody contests to be Vice President.
But let me be very clear—the kind of change we seek is bigger than any one person; it is about all of us putting our personal ambitions aside, our superiority complex of individuals or parties aside, and recognizing that our strength lies in unity and not in individuals.
If I have to be the driver or the car boy to get us to our destination of a better Liberia, I will. That is evident by my willingness to be here today as your keynote speaker. I don’t know which one hurting them!
I truly believe Liberia deserves bold leadership: leadership that dares to dream, dares to act, and dares to deliver. Liberia deserves a leadership that treats all Liberians like one family, not one where some people are “special and privileged” and others are treated like “strangers and outsiders.” Leadership that provides opportunities to all and not a few. Leadership that makes you celebrate your citizenship and not question it.
Finally, my fellow Liberians, Liberia is our shared responsibility, and as such, we cannot continue to be divided on party lines; for what affects CDC partisans affect ANC partisans; hardship knows no party lines; bad roads know no partisan; poor healthcare knows no difference between CDCians and UPists. This is why the transformation we seek is intended to benefit all Liberians, and we must work together to ensure a better Liberia for all.
Equality, democracy, social justice, and inclusive development are not optional. They are our charge to keep.
We must invest in our people, and our people will develop the country.
We must insist that the state machinery leads the right way. But each of us must also stand up and do our part. The farmer in Lofa. The fisherman in Grand Kru. The entrepreneur in Maryland. The teacher in Bassa. The tapper in Margibi. The hunter in Grand Gedeh. ALL of us must rise to the challenge.
Together, we can break the vicious cycle of poverty and deprivation.
Together, we can build a Liberia where opportunity is not the privilege of a few — but the right of all.
Together, we can replace the failed Rescue Mission in 2029 and begin the mission to FIX Liberia! 2029 that bomb.
May God bless us all. And may God save the State!
