MONROVIA: Former Finance Minister and Gbarpolu County Senator-elect, Amara Konneh yesterday endorsed the Rescue Mission of Unity Party Standard Bearer Joseph Nyumah Boakai, says the government of Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) of President George Weah, which was voted into office on ‘change and hope mantra has not delivered the change expected neither has it given the Liberian people hope.
Amidst jubilation and battle cries from members and supporters of the Unity Party Alliance, Mr Konneh expressed belief that the issues confronting us as a country are not because of party lines, noting that in this runoff election there are two sides which are competing for the presidency of the country.
One side in this campaign, he noted, have been telling us that the issues in these elections are “hope” and “change”, saying these were the very two words they used in the 2017 elections when they were voted to office as a government
“But we have not seen hope; and the change we have seen has taken our country backward. So I have an uncomfortable view that this ‘hope’ and ‘change’, if allowed to continue, may lead our country into a deeper crisis from which it would be difficult to recover.”
He reminded the mammoth crowd of partisans, supporters, and sympathizers of the Unity Party that Liberia has celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Accra Peace Accord (CPA) that brought a permanent end to our civil war, and was quick to add that the celebration would have been even more triumphant if we have had another six solid years of steady economic growth and development, adding, “But we have lost that time waiting for ‘hope’ and ‘change’”
In the meantime the Senator-elect pointed out that the CDC government has developed a drug epidemic that is destroying our children’s future. “And the future of the young adults who voted for this government in 2017 remain unprotected,” he said
Former Finance and Development Planning Minister explained in his endorsement statement that the CDC party and government that were supposed to protect these young people have sold them out to the cocaine and kush barons.
“The George Weah Administration that ran on the mantra of”hope ” and”change ” has changed government for the worst, undermining the progress we have made as a people to build the capacity and strengthen the government institutions in our country. All the systems that we built have all been destroyed,” he lamented
Mr. Konneh said their idea of change was an indiscriminate reduction in civil servants’ pay that has caused many more families, who depend on government salaries, to go backward into poverty. “They called it “harmonization” to give the impression that it was about making government work better. But that was a lie. This so-called harmonization policy was a gimmick….”
Konneh, who noted that his endorsement of the Rescue Mission was driven by policy issues, recounted a lot of wrong policies including the fiscal policy of the CDC government. He maintained that the government of President Weah is not working to pay the salaries of civil servants but sit down and want work to enrich themselves.
According to him, he was sure that he went to the building by the early morning working hours to make sure the system is propelled, and not sit home to engage in social activities, noting that it was not a magic the Unity Party government which Vice President Boakai was the second in command of was playing to achieve the successes scored.
“They said we had budget shortfall, but with the budget shortfall we were paying our civil servants’ salaries on time, we were finding the money to build the roads, to support the educational and health care systems, and resuscitated the electricity system from the civil war”, Mr. Konneh bragged, and stated that they had always claimed budget surpluses but have not performed as the country has economically dwindled.
He called on the people of Liberia, especially the South eastern region to vote #1 on the ballot, and said that under the Unity Party Government “we built a paved road linking the Southeast; if you vote the Unity Party, they will stretch the road through Grand Kru to Sinoe, Rivercess to connect Monrovia.
Amongst other things, he said the Unity Party has operated on expansionary policy and not contractionary policy, noting that the Boakai-led government will expand the economy and not contract it.
Earlier the former Finance and Development Planning Minister thanked the people of Gbarpolu for his election as Senator to represent them in the Honorable House of Senate, telling the occasion how he recently ran for the senate during the October 10th Senatorial Election in Gbarpolu and won.
“I ran as an independent candidate. I want to thank the people of Gbarpolu County for the opportunity they have given me to represent them in the Honorable Liberian Senate. Recently I have deemed fit after many consultations with them, and my supporters and my family to follow another course in this presidential election runoff. That is why I am here today,” as he announced that he has endorsed the presidential bid of former Vice President Boakai.
Another speaker of importance who made brief remarks was former Associate Justice Kabineh Jan’eh who said, “We all come here today to make one statement – which is, this country has to change. We have to work together as a competent and dedicated team that will move the country from the decadence of incompetence and corruption to a noble future once again.
Accepting the endorsement, former Vice President Boakai promised to restore a lot of the spoilt by the CDC government in three years when the Liberian people will start to experience real change. He stated most of his usual criticisms and restated his campaign promises towards improving the country at home and restoring its lost international image.
The program was attended by Unity Party Campaign Chairperson Senator Nyonblee Kangar Lawrence, Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) Executive Togar McIntosh Gaywea who also endorsed Boakai, Justice Kabineh Jan’eh, Madella Cooper, All-Liberia Coalition Party Standard Bearer Lusinee Kamara, Representative Yekeh Kolubah and a host of other high level partisans, supporters, and sympathizers of the Unity Party Alliance amongst others.
The endorsement program was characterized by pomp and pageantry, as battle cries, Unity Party campaign songs and slogans echoed across the Sinkor, Gbarngay Town community.