Africa-Press – Liberia. As a normal practice, Member States of the ECOWAS Parliament through their delegation present the state of their country report which takes into consideration, amongst many things, security, health, education and political situation.
Friday, June 17, 2022, Liberia along with three other countries including Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde had the opportunity to submit to their colleagues the state of their various countries taking into consideration the political, security, health and human rights.
The Liberia delegation comprising Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe of Bomi County who heads the delegation, Senator Steve Zargo of Lofa County, Representative Clarence Massaquoi of Lofa, Representative Haja-Fatta Siryon and Senator Johnathan Kaipay of Grand Bassa County.
In their Submission read by Senator Steve Zargo, they informed the regional parliamentary body of Liberia’s relatively fragile security situation by stating that crimes against persons and properties are all on the rise.
According to them, news of disappearances and mysterious deaths of peaceful citizens have created fear in the Citizenry, despite security clarification, that situation is under control and as such, has arisen the need for more budgetary support to the security sector in fighting crimes.
On the Liberian political situation, they inform the regional body about the situation involving former Defense Minister Brownie J. Samukai and the presidential clemency given him by President George Weah, Inter-Party wrangling amongst opposition political Parties giving a case study of the ALP Versus the ANC, the LP Versus LP and the CPP versus the UP. Influx of Migrants
The delegation is also alarmed about a major tension that is being caused by the continued illegal crossing and influx of migrants from the West Africa region into the Southeastern part of Liberia bordering Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea, especially when it is being reported that there is a huge presence of Burkinabe in Grand Gedeh County.
The presence of the Burkinabe is causing fear in residents of that part of the country expressing fear of terrorists mixing up with those undocumented migrants since their countries of origin have seen a surge in terrorist activities in recent times in the Sahel Region of Burkina Faso and Mali.
“Similarly, the citizens have complained over the years about how these migrants were involved in illegal farming activities, illicit mining and logging, distribution of drugs, and other controlled substances amongst others. It is estimated that over 9,000 migrants mostly Burkinabe have crossed over into Liberia over the last five years, and if nothing is done to arrest the situation Liberia risks losing some of its territories to its neighbor.”
The report also stated that the government has made significant gains in guaranteeing equal social opportunities and protection under the law, regardless of gender, race, religion, or other social statuses. On the issue of gender equity and equality, the government has begun implementing the establishment of gender units in all ministries, agencies, and commissions as well as mainstreaming gender-responsive budgeting in the national budget for the fiscal year 2022.
Free Movement of Persons, Right to Reside and Establish
The country continues to participate and comply with ongoing initiatives aimed at ensuring the effective implementation of the protocol on the free movement of persons, right to residence, and establishment. The ECOWAS National Office in collaboration with Civil Society organizations periodically carries out sensitization campaigns to highlight the importance of upholding the tenets of the free movement protocols.
Liberia continued with the implementation of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) during the review period. However, the number of registered companies under the Scheme increased to twenty (20), compared to fifteen (17) as of end-December 2020.
Out of the seventeen (20) registered enterprises, only fourteen (14) of them were active and exporting about forty (40) products under the scheme. The remaining enterprises were yet to resume export because of some challenges which include high unit costs of production compared to some ECOWAS countries, thereby making the Liberian products less competitive in the region.
The National Approval Committee continued to render technical assistance to the prospecting and registered companies on the scheme with the view of making them competitive as well.
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