Africa-Press – Liberia. United States Ambassador to Liberia, Michael McCarthy has called on the civil society including the Liberian media to work with the Government of Liberia to ensure President George Weah’s pledges he made during the Biden Summit for Democracy is achieved.
According to the United States Government, the presidential initiative for democratic renewal is an expansion of its efforts to defend, sustain, and grow democratic resilience with likeminded governmental and non-governmental partners. It centers on five areas of work crucial to the functioning of transparent, accountable governance, including supporting free and independent media, frightening corruption, bolstering democratic reformers, advancing technology for, and defending free and fair elections and political process.
The maiden edition of the summit was held in December 2021, where President Weah joined U.S. President Joe Biden and scores of world leaders virtually where he made several commitments aimed at strengthening Liberia’s democracy.
He pledged to amend the Anti- Corruption Act to grant direct prosecutorial powers to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), propose legislation for the establishment of a dedicated criminal court for the prosecution and convictions of public officials, individuals, or institutions engaged in corrupt practices and financial offenses, continue efforts to end gender-based violence, engage with traditional leaders to end all forms of harmful traditional practices, and propose an anti-female genital mutilation bill.
The President also committed to promoting fairness, transparency and accountability in election funding; prioritize the participation of more women in electoral process and positions in the government, make all legislative votes public and formalize customary land tenure.
Addressing his monthly media roundtable at the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia on Tuesday, Ambassador McCarthy said the United States welcome the President’s promises, and said they are excellent examples of specific and meaningful actions that will grow democratic resilience here in Liberia. However, he stressed that it will required the collective effort of the media and CSOs to inform the public about these commitments and reliably track their progress.
“During this Year of Action, Liberian civil society will need to work in partnership with the government to make sure progress is made on these important commitments. In order for that to the happen, we need to ensure that the Liberian public also know about the commitments, and we need you to follow their progress,” he said.
He continued: “It will serve no one if you wait until December 2022 to check in on whether or not they were achieved. It will be too late at that point. Instead, I urged you all to do your own part in growing democratic resiliency here in Liberia and commit to using your platforms to monitor these efforts and report back to us in the public.”
Boosting Vaccination Drive
Speaking further, the U.S. diplomat said vaccines are the best tool for getting rid of COVID-19 in Liberia, and called for a concerted effort in ensuring that more people are vaccinated. He said the U.S. Government was proud to support Liberia’s effort to protect all Liberians against COVID-19; adding that his government has donated nearly 900,000 doses of COVID-19. Speaking further, he lauded the Ministry of Health for its remarkable job in containing the spread of COVID-19.
“We appreciate all of the hard work that healthcare workers have done across the country to help in primary care facilities all over the country. Over the last year, we have trained thousands of them to deliver that jab in primary care facilities all over the country.”
In addition, he revealed that the Embassy has held its own vaccination drives in partnership with the Ministry of Health. The Peace Corps Liberia has also led drives in Kakata, Ganta, and West Point.
Since the launch of the vaccination campaign in Liberia, more than one million people have been fully vaccinated. The Ambassador said, despite the huge number, there are still many more eligible Liberians out there that have not taken the vaccine. He called on the Ministry of Health to to give out more information to help the media in spreading the message.
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