Africa-Press – Liberia. Representative Clarence Massaquoi says the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) is lobbying against itself and not the opposition as its being claimed by some members of the ruling establishment.
In an interview about his Facebook post, the Opposition Unity Party Lofa County lawmaker, named several tools used by the current government against itself to lobby and not the opposition some of which he said are; Corruption in bold letters sanctioned by the regime, Injustice/selective justice, Poor governance, Media censorship, Weak, cosmetic or zero fight against corruption, Weakening of integrity institutions and Lack of accountability.
He also named Limited or no security (including economic) for the governed, Poor or zero implementation of policies, Conspicuous actions to intimidate and compromise the judiciary, Zero consideration of audit reports.
Representative Massaquoi who is a member of the Liberia’s delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament believe that the Government of President George Weah will get the international recognition and support it needs if they work on things that are undemocratic.
“If there was money somewhere this is supposed to come to Liberia for health, road construction, or education and a member of the opposition lobbies to stop it, I will disagree with them on that but there is nothing wrong with telling the world about the wrong things that are happening. Things that are undemocratic.
“There is nothing wrong with opposition pointing out the bad things in Liberia. There is nothing wrong with telling the world there is corruption in Liberia. There is nothing wrong to tell the world that the anti-corruption Co-chair is having conflict of interest and has a share in a company that was awarded government contract. There is nothing wrong with opposition telling the world that there are people in Government earning US$300 but owned over three hundred thousand project.
“There is nothing wrong with telling the world that the President in his first year built over 40 houses with unidentified sources of the fund. The opposition is not saying anything against the government the government is working against itself.”
It was recently reported that there was intense lobbying for Washington’s attention ahead of the 2023 presidential elections in Liberia with both President George Manneh Weah’s Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and the opposition Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) making plays with top US lobbying firms in a bid to shore up support and gain political edge.
The Weah led-administration continues to struggle to cement Liberia’s relationship with the US since its inception in January 2018. There exists a lukewarm rapport between the both countries as evidenced by the US government’s scaling down its support to various sectors, including security, justice, among others, but the desperation of the soccer legend-turned politician in luring the eye of Washington towards his government cannot go unnoticed.
Though Liberia remains a traditional ally of the United States, President Weah has not been extended an official invitation to visit the White House since he came to power.
In fact, no high profile US government officials had visited Liberia since Weah took over the presidency as compare to his predecessor Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s administration which witnessed the visitations of multiple high-profile US government officials, including then-sitting President George W. Bush, Secretary State Hilary Clinton, former first lady, Michelle Obama and others.
President Weah’s government continues to struggle to help address the mountainous problems confronting Liberia and its citizens with little support coming from the US and other friendly nations, a situation that is negatively contributing to a persistent shattered economy and the hike in the already growing unemployment rate in the country.
The failure of the CDC led-government to adequately combat against corruption by taking punitive and stringent actions against public officials and others found liable, increase in the number of mysterious deaths involving professionals and other ordinary Liberian citizens, the harsh economic constraints which impose severe hardship on the already impoverished Liberian people, the overnight accumulation of ill-gotten wealth by barrage of public officials including the President, and no real interest being shown to improve the living conditions of the ordinary Liberian citizens, among others remain contributing factor strangulating US government invite and free-flow of support to the Weah-administration.
Despite the lukewarm relationship that currently exists between the two nations, the Weah-administration continues to maximize efforts to attract the Washington’s support to the post-conflict nation by appointing a lobbyist and holding discussions with key policymakers in the US.
