Some Business People Say State of Emergency Undermines Socio-economic Growth
By Edwin M. Fayia, III, edwinfayia@gmail.com
The systematic official lockdown of the country by the Liberian government without effective practical testing and contact tracing has sparked grave and outright public outcries from Liberians and the greater business community.
Many Liberians, especially those in the business arena, have angrily reacted to the extension of the State of Emergency. They claim it undermine the overall development, growth and progress of the Liberian economy, thus increasing socio-economic hardship throughout the country.
In a random survey amongst Liberians and businessmen and women in Monrovia and Paynesville cities, there is indeed a oneness of purpose that the lockdown has some socioeconomic hardships of many economic stressed parts of the population.
The Liberians who spoke to this news outlet on June 22, 2020 pointed out that their suffering through various means will indeed intensify as a result of the current lock down of the country, thus restricting movement of people, goods and services in several parts of the country.
They have underscored the urgent need to launch intensive testing and active tracing of COVID-19 cases in communities, aimed at beating back the global pandemic plaguing nations and killing millions of peoples around the world.
The Liberians also stressed that in the absence of extensive testing and active tracing of suspected cases of the Coronavirus pandemic in all parts of the country, no systematic degree of lockdown will contain the spread of the COVID-19 in the country.
They further called on the Liberian government security sectors to consider the enforcement of the health protocols not with brutality and heavy handedness as the ways to contain the COVID19 spread in the country.
Liberians also cautioned security sector actors to begin to exercise some degree of professionalism in the overall discharge of their duties especially when enforcing the health protocols announced by health authorities in Liberia and international support partners.
Mrs. Betty B. Williams, president of the used clothes dealers at the Red-Light General Market in Paynesville urged security personnel to rise above the ugly acts of beating business women and men as well as ordinary Liberians in the name of enforcing COVID-19 health restrictions in the country.
In separate interviews with businessmen and women at the commercial hubs of Red-Light outside Monrovia and Waterside in the city centre, they stressed the need to checkmate and reprimand security agents who get involved in beating Liberians, especially the struggling business community.
Mr. Herrick G. Flomoku, 48, of the Waterside Market in Monrovia told this news organ on June 23, 2020 that will definitely affect the sales of his wholesale flour business due to the short hours allotted by the Liberian Government.
Businessman Flomoku intoned, “My business outlet will indeed suffer another loses due to the short period I will be spending to sell my flour to the retail customers at this market place in Monrovia.”
“We do not envisage another round of beating of business people, petty traders and ordinary Liberians by security forces deployed at the various check points in our country,” Mrs. Betty B. Williams pleaded.