By Kokpar B. Wohwoh,
a Liberian currently residing in Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Liberians need to draw a line and use 2019 to pursue progression. Our leaders should revisit their strategy and try to improve the livelihood of the masses.
Liberians who play their part in their community should have the opportunity to get a decent job, afford their own homes and rely on good public services, with a government on their side.
The government should stand as parents to the children of the nation. If the system of cultivating is broken-down, then the result is defective. If the people above the triangle are defective, and so the people at the bottom can’t be expected to be non-faulty.
We should ensure a real opportunity this year to press for unity, rather than bitter division. We should live with our neighbors in every quarter of our nation because through partnership we can attain and then much more.
Pushing power away from central government and into communities is important too, if we are to reflect the rich diversity of our nation. We must renew that founding spirit, and that power can mean actual change for the majority and not only for the few with authority to bear in abundance.
In the past 12 months, the Liberian government has been suspected by local and international bodies of allegedly being submerged into suspected grand corruptions at every level of our nation.
When the government is corrupt, then it is impossible for government to end corruption. Whenever someone assumes a right to control the peaceful life of another person or persons, they have crossed into corruption. They have assumed that they are morally superior to those that they seek to lead. They denied the inherent honest benefits all other persons.
We have no doubt that bad governance is being increasingly regarded as one of the root causes of all evil and suffering within our nation. It is the complete opposite of good governance and involves abuse of human rights, corruption, lack of transparency, lack of responsiveness, and lack of accountability.
We want to considerably remind the CDC led government to ensure good governance, transparency and accountability. This suggests that decisions made by the government should be in accordance with the rules and regulations at all times, and that equitable resource distributions and or allocations should be the hallmark of the Weah’s leadership.
It is an open secret that press freedom and individual expressions have encountered explicit menace from government officials. The freedom of expressions in Liberia is hanging in the balance: This is closely linked to abuse of human rights, in that when people’s freedom of expressions is not respected, their views will equally not be heard. Citizen are not really allowed to comment on government affairs.
In such a case, the communication process is top-down, meaning that the public only receives instruction and command on what to do but can never make suggestions. This is not the kind of change we were expected in multi democracy, that father G. Baccus Matthews, Tipotteh, D. Tweh and other Liberians fought for.
Infants in Liberia today could speak about the economy in Liberia if given the chance thereof.
Everyone recognizes that the economic system has shifted downward trends. The sudden loss of confidence in investing in Liberia is creating a subsequent disorderly market, draining capital out of businesses. This may cause our market to crash. The fall in our gross domestic product growth is a signal that a niche may be underway.
As may be aware, the next few months will be an earth-shattering moment in Liberia – and none of us can anticipate exactly how it is going to turn out. I am convinced that we all have just reason/s to behave so with a well-grounded hopefulness for our time to come.
We are very much aware that this is an uncertain time in Liberia and Liberians are standing at the crossroad.
However, I also want you to recognize that our individual contributions to our national life – to our economy, communities and society – is hugely appreciated. History will judge us in our effort. History is also replete with events that we must remember so as to not repeat them, but we wish had never happened. Liberia will never visit the past AGAIN. God forbids!