Africa-Press – Liberia. Former Senate Pro-temp Armah Zulu Jallah is waking up from his dreams, he says the Liberian Government is unable to develop the country under is current budgetary structure.
Former Senate President Pro-Tempore, Armah Zulu Jallah, says with the way the National Budget of Liberia is structured, government is unready and unable to develop the country.
He made the statement during a jam-packed National Kpelle gathering at the Gbarnga Administrative Building in Gbarnga, Bong County on Saturday, May 17,
The meeting was the first national gathering of Kpelle-speaking people in Liberia, aimed at discussing well-being of the largest tribe here, focusing on unity and development.
Among those in attendance were Mr. Jallah, former senators Henry W. Yallah and Franklin Siakor, Senators Prince K Moye and Nathaniel Falo McGill, former Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor, former Representative Moses Y Kollie, chiefs, elders, local government officials of Bong, Lofa and Margibi counties and prominent members the Kpelle tribe.
The former senator urged members of the Kpelle tribe to rise up and unite to establish a National Kpelle Bank for Liberia and to focus on the National Budget.
His statement was buttressed by many speakers and other individuals present at the occasion.
Speaking specifically about the budget, he stated: “By all standards, the Liberian Government is not able to uplift the standard of all of us. It’s not possible. I’ve been a president pro-tem before. You got an eight hundred million United States Dollars budget for Liberia, about ninety percent of that amount is spent on recurrent cost.”
According to him, a national budget of US$800,000,000 will have ninety percent being used for recurrent costs like salaries, travel allowances for senior government officials, buying of cars for government officials, including members of the National Legislature and doing a lot of things for them and sometimes paying debts, while ten percent which is around US$80,000,000 will be used for development in the country.
He said by any standard, that amount cannot even properly run Cuttington University in Bong County. He wonders when government will even reach to somewhere like Sanoyea with better roads, adding that if government patches a few areas along the road, citizens should be grateful to God.
He underscored that until the government redefines and restructures the national budget, and shift to necessary priorities, Liberia is going nowhere in development.
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