EVEN THOUGH LIBERIA is yet to recover from the scars and the COVID-19 scourge, authorities of government are apparently burying the interest of the country and its people and conniving with wealthy rice importers, majority of whom are foreigners, to steal from the poor masses and inflict harsh economic ramification on their daily lives.
IT COULD HAVE been argued that, because India and other rice-producing countries reduced the production of the commodity due to the plague, importers of rice would be skeptical of giving out all their goods amidst difficulties in re-obtaining the commodity, but this is not the case.
RUMOR IN THE public is that certain officials of government are advising the rice importers to hoard the rice with a claim that the commodity is expected to fall short on the global market, and accumulate more money, but with a certain percentage to these government officials.
AMIDST THE GROWING difficulty in consumers obtaining the commodity along with the increase in the price of the staple, major rice importers continue to insist that they are selling the rice at US$13.00 although the evidence says the contrary.
A RECENT SURVEY conducted between September 1—10, 2021 shows that the price of rice has escalated from L$2,400 to L$3,440 in central Monrovia. Sadly, there is not any hope that the price of the commodity would reduce anytime soon, leaving the majority non-working class of the society to wander for their daily survival, as many of them depend on rice as a meal to keep them up.
IT APPEARS LIKE the administration of President George M. Weah is fast-forgetting that rice is not only a consumable commodity but also a political one that has the propensity to instigate anger, hate and a rise-up. On the other hand, the administration may be giving reason to the Liberian people to easily retire them at the 2023 general and presidential elections, as there is no tangible reason being observed for the hike in the price of rice.