MONROVIA: The Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) is calling on President Joseph Nyumah Boakai to unconditionally apologize to former President George Manneh Weah, the Liberian people and the world at-large for deliberately providing misleading accounts about the financial situation of the country, especially with regards figures in the consolidated account balance at the Central Bank of Liberia.
It can be recalled that a couple of days ago, the Coalition for Democratic Change, while responding to President Boakai’s first State of the Nation Address during a press conference held at its Headquarters, expressed disdain about the President’s decision to intentionally and maliciously dispute figures provided by his immediate predecessor and leader of the CDC, H E., George M. Weah about the total balance of the consolidated accounts at the Central Bank of Liberia.
At the same press conference the CDC challenged President Boakai to publish in 48 hours the statement of the consolidated accounts corroborating his claims or the CDC would have made copies of the authentic CBL statement that confirms what former President Weah reported in his farewell address to the nation.
According to the CDC, the Governor of the CBL, Mr. Aloysius Tarlue, appeared at the Legislature Thursday, February 1, 2024, and president “his documentary testimony of the consolidated account balance as of January 19, 2024 to exactly the same as President Weah reported in his farewell address about the figure being a little over 40 Million USD.”
President Boakai erroneously reported the balance of account to be 20.5 million USD, the CDC asserts, stating that this “coincides with the party’s 48 hours ultimatum to President Boakai as was provided during its recent Press Conference.”
“With this vindication from the Central Bank of Liberia’s Governor,” the CDC says, “the Coalition for Democratic Change sees President Boakai’s action as not only a deliberate intent aimed at misleading and deceiving the very people he claimed during his campaigns to govern with honesty from the get-go of his administration, but a mudslinging attempt to impugn the stellar accountability and transparency credentials of the CDC-led government under the astute stewardship of former President George Manneh Weah.”
The party further stated: “While the CDC demands an apology from President Boakai, it is also taken aback by the growing incompetence associated with the Boakai Presidency in the formative days of his administration. The failure of the President to have completed his constitutional duty of delivering an inaugural address which was disgracefully aborted, coupled with his inability to fact-check rudimentary financial issues such as the bank balance of the country’s consolidated account is flabbergasting, worrisome and concerning as to whether President Boakai has the capacity to do the heavy liftings associated with the Liberian presidency.”
The CDC says it also has reasons to believe that President Boakai’s decision to have deliberately understated what was left in the consolidated account after he obviously verified, could be criminally motivated and as such is calling for a further criminal investigation.
The CDC contends: “This position of the party is even more cemented from the facts that there are unimpeachable reports of monies intended for the inaugural program in various districts are yet to be accounted for and are reportedly squandered and mismanaged.
“The CDC remains committed to this cause supra mentioned as it will collaborate with other political parties and Civil society institutions in the coming days or weeks to ensure investigations are launched into what appears to be emerging financial improprieties taken place under the watch eyes of president Boakai.”
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