Africa-Press – Liberia.
President George Manneh Weah has called for a new approach in the United Nations activities in Liberia in order to impact the poor and under privileged people in the rural parts of the country.
In a special message delivered at the ceremony marking the observance of United Nations Day organized by the UN Country Team in Liberia, President Weah said despite the United Nations’ lengthy stay in Liberia and millions spent through aid, he did not see the impact being felt on the rural populations during his county tour at the beginning of the year.
He said: “I recently concluded the tour of all 15 counties of Liberia, which afforded me the opportunity to witness the first hand and the enormous challenges faced by rural communities, in accessing basic social services and livelihood opportunities.”
He continued: “Although, I know that the United Nations and aid agencies have been involved in Liberia for many years in trying to address these challenges, I either did not or could not see the visible evidence of your lengthy presence or the concrete results of your effort.”
The United Nations has been instrumental in restoring peace and helping Liberia rebuild following 14 years of devastating civil war. The UN Peace Keeping Mission: The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was the largest UN peace keeping mission ever in 2003.
After nearly 15 years in Liberia, the UN ended its peacekeeping mission in March 2018, having disarmed more than 100,000 combatants, secured about 21,000 weapons, enabled about one million refugees and displaced persons to return home and assisted in the holding of three peaceful presidential and legislative elections. Along the way, UNMIL and other UN aid agencies supported and undertook numerous development projects including long term and quick impact projects.
President Weah acknowledged the UN numerous support to Liberia, especially in restoring peace and its continued support towards Liberia’s development, as well as in the ongoing fight against COVID-19.
However, the President said despite these interventions, his tour of the counties has brought him to the realization that with all the populations in remote communities continue to face severe deprivations and inequality in the rural and urban community continues to be widen.
He said: “We must admit that too many of our people are still deeply entrenched in poverty, in spite of the best effort of the United Nations, aid agencies and international partners over many decades in this country to address this situation, at the cost of millions of hundreds of United States Dollars.”
‘My Government Inherited Poverty’
The President focused much of his speech on proffering suggestion to mitigate increasing hardship grappling most Liberians, especially those living in the rural areas. Constantly referencing his experience on his tour, the President acknowledged that too many Liberians continue to live in poverty. However, he was quick to point out that it was something his government inherited, and not its doing.
He said: “My Government is not the cause of the poverty that you see in Liberia. We inherited it. The whole of Liberia did not become poor under this administration. They are the forgotten and neglected masses that are being ignored, overlooked and left behind by all previous administrations for more than 170 years. That is one of the main reasons why we took off the challenge of leadership of this country so that we could have the opportunity to exert our best effort to break this cycle of endemic and systemic poverty which continues to affect the vast majority of our people since the founding of this nation.”
He said alleviating this chain of poverty is the task his government delivering on day by day in so many ways, despite its limited resources. Addressing the UN Country Team, he said his government is in the war against poverty and the UN and the country’s partners are not only the able lieutenants, but the join our side on the frontline, an effort for a meaningful and lasting reduction of poverty in Liberia.”
From Complacency To Urgency
He then, called for a new approach in strategies and tactics to holistically combat the menace.
“Today, I like to call for a new approach, a paradigm shifts in our strategy and tactics to reduced poverty in Liberia. We must move from policy formulation to action. We must move from office to field, we must move from complacency to urgency, which is the urgency of now. I want to challenge you today to make the difference. I want to challenge you today to mobilize your resources and expertise in a manner that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of the poor and underprivileged in Liberia.”
He continued: “Next year, when we appear again at the 2022 UN Day observance program, God’s willing, you should be able to point these things out to us, and to the world so that we may all see the positive impact that you will have made. By that time, even though you may not have won the war against poverty, you may have scored many significant victories in the battle against poverty. And a grateful people will thank you for it.”
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