Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>President George Weah has questioned the leadership ability of his main rival for the presidency, former Vice President Joseph Boakai.<\/p>\nWeah believes that Boakai is a failed politician who has nothing to offer the Liberian people after squandering his opportunities for the 12 years he served as vice president.<\/p>\n
The President, while addressing a crowd of supporters at his party headquarters, in Congo Town, claimed that Boakai’s mantra of coming to \u2018rescue\u2019 the country is questionable when his administration has achieved so much \u2014 some of which \u2014 he says the former vice president had criticized for nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are they coming to rescue when they told you that they squandered their opportunity they had?\u201d Weah asked as he questioned Boakai\u2019s rescue mantra on June 13. \u201cWhat are they coming to do when they said that free education and building roads is not the right thing to do? Ask them, what are you coming to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the change. They are not. Remember we all stood on the grounds and they walked away,\u201d Weah said. \u201cBecause we believe in the doctrine of saving our people so we stayed right here and here we are today and here we will be tomorrow and we will be victorious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Weah\u2019s remarks that Boakai’s squandering opportunity is in reference to a statement made by the former Vice President during the 2017 presidential debate, in which he claimed that the Unity Party government under Ellen Johnson Sirleaf \u2014 whom he served as vice president \u2014 would have done a lot but failed because opportunities \u201cwere squandered\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, the President assailing Boakai is just the beginning of more to come as both men mount serious fights for the Presidency come October 10.<\/p>\n
Boakai, who has been cross-cutting communities in Montserrado of late, has not backed away from criticizing the President who he claimed is \u201ccorrupt and unfit to be president.\u201d<\/p>\n
And as the election draws closer, both men are expected to engage in a closely contested race with accusations and counter-accusations flying as they vie for an edge in the upcoming elections.<\/p>\n
About 4.5 million voters in Liberia are expected to choose who becomes the country\u2019s next president. The elections experts say is a choice of continuity or change with the outcomes expected to shape the future trajectory of the country and its leadership.<\/p>\n
The President, who massively defeated Boakai, who was then a Vice President in 2017 during the Unity Party government going to the elections with mixed achievement records, particularly issues that have to do with the cost-of-living crisis, which has to do with skyrocketing exchange rate and increase in poverty.<\/p>\n
However, Weah has some gains to boost on the infrastructure front with some of the country\u2019s major highways being constructed as well as some significant investment in health in terms of the construction of quality hospitals and training of medical professionals.<\/p>\n
One major gain, which the President had been boasting about, is his stewardship of an economy that has churned out steady growth in the last two years, reducing inflation significantly.<\/p>\n
In 2021, the Liberia economy made a strong recovery after a three-year economic crisis, as a result of the government’s priority policies that led to macroeconomic stability, ensuring a comfortable international reserve position, and maintaining debt sustainability.<\/p>\n
Growth softened to 3.7% in 2022 and is projected to reach 5.2% in 2023 with inflation projected at 7.2% or ending in a double-digit as the election pushed the exchange rate up, with the Liberian dollar depreciating.<\/p>\n
Additionally, another crucial policy achievement that the President had been touting is the payment of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) fees for all 12th-grade students, regardless of the school, as well as the provision of free tuition to public university students.<\/p>\n
This policy has significantly lessened the financial burden on many parents who struggle to pay for their children’s tuition and school fees. Overall, while there are still challenges to face, the President and his administration have made notable strides in improving the Liberian economy and education system.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Boakai, a soft-spoken politician, has been hampering Weah on the economy by faulting the President for the sharp rise in poverty in the country, which has risen since 2021 by at least 51%.<\/p>\n
This increase wiped out nearly half of the gains made postconflict, during which the poverty rate declined from 64 percent to 42 percent between 2007 and 2014, according to the World Bank.<\/p>\n
Extreme poverty is high as well and 2.3 million Liberians are unable to meet their basic food and non-food needs with poverty being higher in rural areas home to 71.7 percent of the poor, compared to 68 percent of the total population, World Bank data shows.<\/p>\n
Boakai has also hammered the President for seeing the country\u2019s Human Capital Index (HCI), which now stands as low as 0.32, performing better than only three other countries in the world \u2014 namely, the Central African Republic, Chad, and South Sudan \u2014 out of 174 countries assessed.<\/p>\n
Since Weah took power in 2018, Liberia\u2019s HCI has dropped significantly, due to poor education and poor healthcare, according to the World Bank 2022 Liberia Economic Update report, which says the loss has been growing since 2020 by 9 percentage points.<\/p>\n
However, Weah believes that whatever his opponent says will not stop him from winning the election as the Liberian people believe that his administration \u201cis the best since 1847.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis government is the best since 1847 and if you want me to prove it, I can outline things we have done. This government built more hospitals than any other government, this government gave free Education, paved every road in the interiors and cities so you can see that your government is the best,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The President added that his government will leave a remarkable legacy during its second term as he rallies his party leadership to join him for them to finish what they have started.<\/p>\n
Source: Liberian Observer<\/b><\/p>\n
For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALVIN WORZI Africa-Press – Liberia. President George Weah has questioned the leadership ability of his main rival for the presidency, former Vice President Joseph Boakai. Weah believes that Boakai is a failed politician who has nothing to offer the Liberian people after squandering his opportunities for the 12 years he served as vice president. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":38357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,244],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-38358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","category-to-homepage","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-liberia","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"\n
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