Says Public Debt Increased By 8.67% To US$2.1 Billion
Falls Short Of Pronouncing Asset Declaration, But Commits Himself And VP Koung To Lead In Submitting To Illicit Drugs Test
PHOTO: Pres Joe Boakai delivering his first State of the Nation Address on Monday
By Frank Sainworla, Jr., fsainworla@yahoo.com
In his first State of the Nation Address to the joint session of the 55th Legislature today at the Capitol Building in Monrovia, Liberia’ new President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has told Liberians that he has inherited a socioeconomic and governance condition not in a good shape.
The new President’s report on the state of the country’s economy contradicts the account given to the nation on the eve of Boakai’s inauguration by his predecessor, former President George Manneh Weah on the eve of the January 22, 2024 handover of power.
Weah told Liberians in his farewell message on radio and television January 1, 2024:
“I must report to you that we are leaving behind a better economy than we inherited. Tomorrow, president-elect Joseph N. Boakai, will inherit a stronger economy than I inherited. There is a bigger net international reserve position than was handed to me in 2018. I inherited about NINETY-FOUR MILLION, NINE HUNDRED, AND NINETY-NINE THOUSAND United States dollars in net international reserves, and I am handing over to the next administration a net international reserve position of TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO MILLION, SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND United States dollars. This is a 136 percent increase in net international reserve position. The total cash balance in the Government’s Consolidated accounts is UNITED STATES FORTY MILLION, FORTY-FOUR THOUSAND, THREE HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE DOLLARS AND NINETY CENTS. In 2018, my government inherited a Consolidated cash position of about SEVEN MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS.
Ex=President Weah
The next administration thus has more resources to deal with emergency macroeconomic challenges than my administration had at its disposal in 2018, the former President said at the end of his six-year reign. Full Text: President Weah’s Farewell Message (liberianobserver.com)
But speaking to the nation on Monday, January 29, 2024, President Bakai said;
“It’s important to report that the state of nation is not what we desire.The state of our nation is in distress, but the hope of our people is alive. We have all it takes to overcome the burden we have imposed on ourselves through greed and corruption. When we work together, there is nothing we cannot overcome as a people/”
The new Liberian leader then reported to the joint session of the Legislature: “The net international reserves position reported at the end of December 2023 was US$220 million. The report of US $40 million as the GoL’s consolidated account balance as at January 19, 2024 is not supported by the fact. The balance reported by the CBL as of the same date was US$20.5 million, highly encumbered, NOT US$40 million. To this end, we reemphasize our earlier commitment to audit and ensure that regular audits will be a culture across all branches of government, not only the Executive.”
This is why he said it was important for the Lawmakers who are direct representatives “to join me to do the business of the Liberian people by not doing business as usual”.
While the amount in the government’s consolidated account is low, President Boakai said the former CDC government has put the country deeper in debt, with an increase in the country’s debt burden by 8.7% at the end of December 2023.
“The stock of public debt at End-December 2023 stood at US$2.21 billion, an increase of 8.67 percent compared to end-December 2022 stock of US$2.08 billion. This represents a sharp increase of US$1.33 billion compared to the end of December 2017 stock of US$878.17 million (representing 601.8 percent rise). Our debt burden has clearly grown astronomically. Certainly, the rescue mission was a necessity for Liberia’s transformation,” the new President said in his SONA on Monday.
President Boakai also reported that as a result of the huge debt portfolio which the Weah government has not been able to adequately service, this has affected disbursement of millions of dollars by the European Investment Bank for the Sanniquellie-Loguato road in Liberia’s northeastern Nimba County.
“As I am speaking, Liberia is under sanction for lack of payment of dues to the African Union and the African Development Bank. Also, a default in payment of about US$650,000 to the European Investment Bank is preventing a disbursement of over US$13 million for the Sanniquellie-Loguato road,” he said.
Mr. Boakai has repeated his inaugural pledge to improve the governance system, ensure transparency and accountability and seriously fight corruption.
According to him, “the state of the economy is a cause for concern, with many of our citizens facing perennial unemployment and economic instability”.
How he intends to jumpstart the economy and improve the life of ordinary Liberians who he promise to “rescue” during the 2023 campaign?
The 79-year-old Liberian leader and former Vice President during the Unity Party government of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf repeated his promised after being sworn into office that it will no longer be business as usual and says there will be a “paradigm shift”
“We intend to change this state of the economy by thinking “outside the box”; a paradigm shift away from reliance on primary commodity export to focusing on value addition with the private sector as the engine to drive the economy.”
He called for an immediate change of mindset in order to surmount the challenges ahead;
“The time for a mindset shift is now. We must be selfless in our service to bring about the change the Liberian People are yearning for. Again, I challenge you to join me to Think Liberia, Love Liberia, and Build Liberia. We have all it takes to overcome the burden we have imposed on ourselves through greed and corruption. We have all it takes to overcome the burden we have imposed on ourselves through greed and corruption,”
Declares drugs and substance abuse “Public Health Emergency” & “Nationsl Security Risk”
One declaration many Liberians expect the new President to make was announcement that he and his Vice President Jeremiah Koung have led the way by declaring their assets, but that didn’t come in his SONA, something he had said he would have done upon taking office.
The day of his first SONA makes it exactly one week since he came to power.
The National Code of Conduct Act of 2014 makes it mandatory for officials to declare their assets and liabilities upon taking office.
PART X: DECLARATION AND REGISTRATION OF PERSONAL INTERESTS, ASSETS AND PERFORMANCE/FINANCIAL BONDS 10.1 says: “Declaration of Assets and Performance Bonds Every Public Official and Employee of Government involved in making decisions affecting contracting, tendering or procurement, and issuance of licenses of various types shall sign performance or financial bonds and shall in addition declare his or her income, assets and liabilities prior to taking office and thereafter: a. at the end of every three years; b. on promotion or progression from one level to another; c. upon transfer to another public office; and d. upon retirement or resignation.”
Instead, President Boakai declared that he and VP Koung will lead the way in subjecting themselves to illicit drug test, while declaring drugs and substance abuse a “Public Health Emergency.
“The drug epidemic, especially the use of “KUSH”, in our country is an existential threat eating away at the future of our children and the country. We must stand up and face this national security risk together,” he told the nation.
The new President therefore, announced the setting up of a multi sectoral steering committee, which includes the Health, Justice Finance and Gender, Children and Social Protection Ministries, as well as the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) to fight the menace.
“In this fight, me and my Vice President, we will be the first to take a drug test and I urge all others to follow,” Liberia’s 26th President declared.
Meanwhile, President Boakai has extended “sincere gratitude to our development partners” for their support to the country’s infrastructure development endeavours.
He named the European Union, the European Investment Bank, the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UK Aid, the German Government, KFW, and GIZ. I would also like to thank our Arab partners, including the Saudi Fund, the Kuwaiti Fund, and BADEA as well as the Japanese Government and JICA, the Swedish Government, the Chinese Government and its China Aid program, the Norwegian Government, the Indian Government, the African Development Bank (AfDb), and ECOWAS.