Liberians are heading to the Polls in October this year. There are 23 registered political parties in the tiny West African country, competing for the Presidential and Parlimentary polls. President George MannehWeah is running for a 2nd term. His chances are visibly bright, though elections in current African settings are stiftly contested and won on tight margins
Abubakar Hashim /Monrovia
Walking down the streets of Monrovia and in the other 15 counties in Liberia, the political atmosphere is visibly electric. Radio talk shows and TV broadcasts are dominated by exhaustive political transition programs. Liberians are eminently expressive people, vibrant and vociferous, particularly in political discussions. Students, Civil Servants, Bankers, Entrepreneurs, Market Women and even Petty Traders, express openly their voices on the forthcoming elections in October, 2023.
President George MannehWeah is visibly bracing up for 2nd term tenure. He first came to power in 2018, succeeding Africa’s first female President, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
Since 2018, President Weah has embarked on numerous reforms, in a bid to restructure the economy and fight corruption. For instance, he amended the Central Bank Act, Financial Intelligence Act, Anti-money Laundering and Terrorism Act, Proceeds of Crimes 2021 Act and the Audit Agency Act. For the first time, the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission LACC is given prosecutorial powers and independence from interference.
No LACC Commissioner can be dismissed without recourse to diligent and due processes.
These reforms, by the Weah government, have improved fiscal balances, domestic debt management and strengthened the fight against corruption and bolstered public accountability. The reforms have also stabilized the economy and increased national revenue outlook.
For instance, revenues in 2022, including grants, were $740 million, compared to $646 million in 2021. These include increase in domestic revenues, including international trade and taxes on incomes and profits. Domestic Tax was $605 million, while external resources from Development Partners, $137 million, cash expenditures in 2022, $774 million, a difference of $34 million over revenues attributed to the use of Treasury Instruments.
Under President Weah’s watch, the year2022 recorded the highest level of domestic revenue performance, since the end of the 14- year old civil war.
In all my official visits to Liberia, there is now evidence of economic recovery and macro-economic stability, anchored on key reforms at the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA)particularly in domestic revenue mobilization.
How does President Weah’s increased Revenue Strategies touch ordinary Liberians?
As he emerged from the slum community, who felt the pulse of poverty in his early childhood, President Weah has embarked on a Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD) since he came to power.
From the increased revenue basket, his government has spent $154 million, about 19.8% of the 2023 fiscal budget, for people-oriented development projects. These among others, include, $46 million for the transmission of electricity from Ivory Coast under the Cote D’lvoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea (CLSG) program; $44 million for Road Infrastructure; $23 million for National Road Fund (NRF) and $36 Million for the upcoming National Elections in October, 2023.
For these revenues to actually touch the lives of the ordinary Liberians, the Liberian Agency for Community Empowerment, (LACE), was established, with Hon. Quiwu P. Yeke as its Director. LACE, as the name implies, though with challenges,has touched the lives of the people, through various community empowerment programs in all the 16 counties in Liberia.
Upcoming Elections in October, 2023
There are currently 23 political parties registered with the Elections Commission for the upcoming October, 2023 polls. The prominent ones are the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), an amalgamation of the President Weah’s Congress of Democratic Change (CDC), Vice President Howard Taylor’s National Patriotic Party (NPP) and former Speaker, Alex Tyler’s Liberian Peoples’ Democratic Party (LPDP).
There is the Unity Party, (UP), that was in governance during former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. The UP is now headed by Joseph Boakai, former Vice President under Madam Sirleaf’s government.
The Alternative National Congress, ANC is headed by Alexander Cummings, who was once American Coca Cola representative in Liberia.
The Liberty Party, LP, is headed by Senator Nyonblee Karnga, while the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction, MDR, is headed by former Warlord, Prince Johnson.
During the last 2017 elections, there was a healthy political marriage between the ruling CDC and the MDR. But the marriage is currently fragile. Senator Jeremiah Koung, Prince Johnson’s anointed MDR leader, once remarked that the “MDR is yet to decide on supporting Weah’s CDC as it did in 2017. Senator Prince Johnson is said to take the back seat for Senator Koung, who is the newly elected standard bearer for the MDR, the main political party in Nimba County, the second vote- rich county after Monsterado, the capital city of Monrovia.
The upcoming elections in October will be packed with thrills and anxieties, with the youth forming over 60% of the voting population. With President Weah’s “Youth Empowerment Program, locally known as “Zoggos” Program in high spirit, with the mass mobilization of community development programs under LACE, President Weah is inching closer for a re-election for another term, all variables held constant.
Anchored on solid political alliance between President Weah from Grand Kroo County in the South East (predominantly mining area) and Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor from Bong County in North (food basket), Weah’s re-election chances are relatively bright, though outcomes of elections are unpredictable in current African settings.
Relations with Nigeria, Africa and the World.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to Liberia, Ambassador Godfrey Odudigbo, has strengthened the bilateral relations between the two countries to higher height.
In an interview with this medium, he expressed delight about hosting President Muhamadu Buhari, former President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Monrovia. All these high- profile visits were achieved within one year of Ambassador Odudigbo’s tenure in office in Liberia and has produced good results in the two countries relations.
These visits to Liberia indicate the special relations between the two countries in various fields of endeavors, particularly in agriculture, Health, Military Cooperation, Information sharing and National Legal Assistance, as enshrined in the two countries joint commission.
Apart from ending the 14 year old war, Nigeria remains an eternal symbol of appreciation to the Liberian authorities and even the ordinary Liberians.
In Africa, Liberia is the first and oldest Republic. The country occupies a special role in the formation of ECOWAS in 1975 and OAU (now AU) in 1963. It championed the liberation struggle against apartheid in South Africa and continues to sustain democracy in Africa through peaceful transitionof governments.It earns respectability in the international comity of nations.