Residents of the Slipway Community, district#8, Montserrado County, were seen in a jubilant mood on Thursday, June 18, 2020 for receiving their share of the government COVID-19 stimulus package from the World Food Program (WFP) and the Presidential Steering Committee of the food distribution.
“I am very happy today for receiving rice, oil and beans from the government I personally voted for in 2017. People say this government was a ‘419’ government and the COVID-19 stimulus package was not coming true but today I believe my President loves the country,” Esther James, a resident of Slipway, explained.
An old lady, Oldma Beatrice Teah, told the Hot Pepper in an interview that since she moved in Monrovia in the late 1970s no government has provided free rice for the citizens. According to her, in 2014 during the Ebola crisis her family did not receive a cup of rice from the government, and so this was a surprise. She vowed to vote for President George M. Weah for his second term in 2023. Teah urged the President to be focused on doing the Liberian people’s work, which he was elected to do, despite the criticism.
The government through the COVID-19 Food Distribution Steering Committee recently began the distribution of the COVID-19 Household Food Supply Process (COHFSP). The process started on Saturday, June 13, 2020 in Bassa Town Community, district#8, Montserrado County, with the most vulnerable citizens.
The Chairman of the Steering Committee, Minister Wilson Tarpeh, Ministry of Commerce, told residents of Slipway that the supply comes from President George Manneh Weah. He emphasized that during the global pandemic the President, being a people-centered President, thought about his citizens during this period. He applauded the government and international partners for the effort of securing the food. The Minister maintained that the entire process will be community-driven and not only the affair of the Steering Committee. He cautioned residents of the beneficiary communities across the country to cooperate with the committee and take ownership of the distribution. Some of the beneficiaries who received the government’s stimulus distribution are George Kai, Esther James, Paul Dennis, Sarah Davis, among others. The beneficiaries praised President George M. Weah for the gesture.
