Opposition decries state of Liberia, moves against Johnson-Sirleaf

[TGD]

 A COALITION of political parties in Liberia has expressed dissatisfaction with the state of their nation and have begun move to jointly install a new leader that will effectively tackle the myriad of challenges confronting the country.

At its first national convention at the weekend in Monrovia, capital of Liberia, described as historic, the opposition parties vowed to remain united in their common goal to defeat the ruling Unity Party and the government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, which they alleged "has promised so much but delivered so little."

The protem chairman of the group, under the umbrella of the National Democratic Coalition (NDC), Louis Brown, said "it is the first time in a long time we have successfully assembled a large number of opposition parties in a grand coalition under the umbrella of the NDC to effect a change of leadership in Liberia.

The convention elected the national officers and Standard Bearer (presidential candidate) of the NDC. In his acceptance speech, the presidential candidate, Prof. Dew Tuan-Wleh Mayson, who is an international businessman and former Liberian ambassador to France, Spain, Switzerland, UNESCO and Greece noted that the challenge before the coalition is "not to make the next six years look like the last six years."

The manifesto titled "Draft General Declaration For Jobs, Rice and Rights," outlined other challenges facing the coalition. The party secretary, Abraham Mitchell, claimed that President Johnson-Sirleaf has proved incapable of effecting the reconciliation and rehabilitation, which the people needed earnestly after the long years of civil strife.

He stated: "Our people are today unwilling victims of an administration which has promised much but delivered little, an administration whose policies have failed to provide for the masses of our people adequate food, shelter, education, health and basic elements of modernity, thus keeping our people in a permanent state of poverty and backwardness."

According to the coalition, "corruption in high places is so rampart that in recent years the government itself has been forced to protest. But corruption cannot be eliminated through denunciations. We eliminate corruption though bold and decisive action and exemplary leadership."

While decrying high level of insecurity in the country, the coalition concluded that "to resolve the burning issues which hang over our country, we need a properly constituted sovereign national conference in which our people will participate and discuss the political, economic, social, cultural and religious realities of our country. It is at this conference that historic errors can be corrected; errors such as the assertion in our Declaration of Independence that we 'were originally inhabitants of the United States."

Pointing out the historical significance of the coalition, Brown, who is also a senatorial aspirant for the Montserrado County, said, "we are putting together who will think together; we will disagree, but ultimately we will agree that the interests of Liberia are higher than any other interests. The NDC is on a new journey and the road we are on, has never being travelled before. We don't know where it will lead us, but we have an obligation to be faithful. Many people did not believe that it is possible to form such a strong coalition but today, we have done it. Working together is a new thing in Liberia, and today we have done a new thing. NDC is the biggest coalition in Liberia and if we don't get there, then the people have failed."

Mayson, who was unanimously elected to lead the party in the October presidential election, noted that the present situation "in our Liberia is so tragically ironic. Here is a country with a relatively small population but endowed with huge natural resources, including oil. Yet the major indices of human development are most alarming: high unemployment, extremely high infant mortality rate, widespread poverty, high rate of illiteracy, inadequate schools and even more inadequate health centres, growing inequality and insecurity. Then there is the corruption so rampant that our country is now listed as 'of the most corrupt in the world. In a word, we are a very rich country but with a very poor people. That is why we need to change this leadership."

He continued: "We need a leadership that understands the importance of putting our people back to work because when our people are unemployed, they cannot provide enough food for their families; they cannot pay their children's school fees; they cannot pay hospital bills when they and their children are sick. And most importantly, our unemployed people lose the dignity and pride to which every Liberian is entitled."

Mayson appealed to parties yet to join the coalition to "put aside the unnecessary hesitancy and join the NDC because it is only through the progressive unity of our people that we shall achieve victory in the elections in October."

 



The Guardian