PHOTO: The scenario of more sellers than buyers
By Edwin M. Fayia, III, edwinfayia@yahoo.com
From all accounts obtained from people across this nation, Liberians in their record numbers have described the 2020 Christmas/New Year seasons as a financial and economic nightmare.
In the period leading up to the festive seasons, anger could be seen on the faces of hundreds of disappointed customers at the various local commercial banks, who could not withdraw their money due to the ongoing cash shortage. For hours, customers converged on ATMs (Automatic Cash Machine) around the country.
Civil servants also waited tireless at local banks to withdraw their salaries, but no or little cash in the banks, because the Liberian government owes commercial banks millions of dollars for monies they had previously paid out to civil servants on behalf of government.
So, the usual pomp and pageantry associated with previous Christmas and New Year celebrations were not actually seen, as some considered it hard times in great proportion under the Coalition for Democratic Change administration led by the Liberian international football icon-turned politicians, George “Oppong” Manneh Weah in 2020 and the first days of 2021.
All of these are made worse by the hike in prices of commodities on the local market in recent times.
Accounts obtained from Liberians in urban and rural parts of Liberia have revealed that socioeconomic hardships, abject poverty and gross insensitivity were encountered by a broad spectrum of Liberians owing to multiple reasons and allegedly orchestrated by the CDC led Government.
More produce and commodities less people with cash to buy
Liberians however, attributed their hardships to poor economic and financial policies of the CDC government financial and economic managers that Liberians claim are not up to the task of meeting the growing needs of the Liberian people, since assuming the leadership of the country through a popular mandate in January 2018.
Prior to the just-ended “hardship” Christmas and New Year Seasons, Liberians and foreign business people were seen in large numbers in angry moods and making desperate attempts to secure money at the various commercial banks in Monrovia and other parts of the country.
Such moves regrettably, were only greeted with frustration, denial to access funds and other impediments that led to majority of Liberians and business people leaving the banks with empty bags and pockets, thus creating more panic, resentment and anger.
A week-long survey conducted by www.newspublictrust.com on different occasions revealed with startling statistics that a good number of family heads were not able to prepare decent meals for their families in many parts of the country.
Principally, majority of Liberians gainfully employed by the current and past Liberian governments and ironically those employed by the private sector had to go through all kinds of hurdles at the various commercial banks to access minimum cash (money).
Some Liberians that received mobile phone text messages of money being in their accounts were shocked, dismayed and out rightly disappointed when several commercial banks tellers told that there were no money in their accounts.
On a tour of some commercial banks premises, the facial expressions of people were that of anger, frustration and some Liberians even told this writer how the current Liberian Government has miserably failed Liberians and even lost credibility and confidence reposed in the leaders by a popular mandate.
Basically, at the various commercial banks, there were no pleasant words for the Liberian Government and its team of financial and economic experts if any in the front line of the woes and constraints Liberians continue to endure in their own country.
Some affected Liberians also pointed out that with schools about to be opened throughout Liberia, Liberians should brace up to perform magic and miracles on how their children will enrol in the tuition hike private and mission schools in many poverty stricken communities in the country.
In a week tour of the notable markets of Montserrado County, it was gathered and noticed that there were more sellers of goods than buyers, owing to the same no money syndrome by wives of Liberian civil servants and private sector workers in the country.
Hundreds of thousands of pretty traders sometimes referred to as auction girls, boys, women and men were seen displaying critically needed goods for children of all categories and even men and women at the various markets at reasonable prices in Montserrado County during earlier days prior to the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
But, as the Christmas and New Year celebrations drew nearer, petty traders were overwhelmed by the very low number of buyers who turned out intermittingly to buy mainly kids clothes and feet wears at some of the markets in Paynesville and Monrovia.
“We no long trust the financial and economic utterances of the Liberian Government officials due to the glaring facts that they are only allegedly enriching themselves at the detriment of vast majority of Liberians in many deprived, slum and very hard to reach areas in several parts of the country,” Mr. Davidson B. Yeakulah, 48, of Paynesville asserted.
An angry civil servant in down town Monrovia recently predicted more hardships in the New Year. One professional squarely puts it this way: “There are no practical indications from Liberian Government circles aimed at addressing the grave socioeconomic menace and nightmare of the country.”
A 94-year-old man, Samuel Kollie Barkolleh of Kpelleh Town in Paynesville told this writer that the whole country leadership should have not been in the hands of inexperienced Liberians who he described as political and economic fortune hunters in Liberia.
However, when some top commercial bank executives were contacted by www.newspublictrust.com for official comments, they declined comments and referred this writer to the Central Bank of Liberia officials who are indeed clothed with the authority to speak on monetary matters of the country.
Very top CBL sources have acknowledge the seriousness of the cash shortage, with some officials blaming it on hoarding.
The Central Bank is opting for the printing of additional Liberia dollar banknotes of the current series as a short term solution to easing the severe cash shortage.