One of the founding fathers of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Dr. Toga Gayewea McIntosh, says he has lost all hope in the ability of the governing administration under President George Manneh Weah to deliver unto Liberians the “hope” and “change” that they pinned their dreams on to vote the CDC government into power in 2017. “Things are bad and only getting worse. Our mama Liberia has entered a state of coma…It seems to me that we are not moving sufficiently in the change direction we had set forth in our manifesto. All social and economic indicators show that we are far from taking Liberia to where we had promised, leaving our people disillusioned and heartbroken,” Dr. McIntosh lamented Wednesday, August 3, 2022 when he officially endorsed the presidential bid of Alternative National Congress (ANC) Standard Bearer Alexander B. Cummings.
The former campaign chairman of the Coalition for Democratic Change who steered the party to a resounding victory in 2017, and who was recently nominated as Chairperson of the Governance Commission but turned down President Weah’s nomination, used the occasion to vent his frustrations about how the country is accordingly going down the drain because the current administration has failed to adhere to “a clear visionary path, uncompromising commitments, and a collection sense of purpose”, which are guideposts for any successful leadership team.
“It is very saddening to confess that these dependent factors are in short supply in today’s Liberia. Given where we are today as a people and nation, all conscious minded Liberians must look and act beyond party politics, family relations, and friendships in the interest of our motherland. Liberians have no choice but to regroup and work harder and honestly to rescue Mama Liberia from the current deep hole she finds herself in. Liberians must work harder to reconstruct our beloved country to effectively reclaim its rightful place in the global arena.
“As a citizen, but also as someone who helped to get the current leadership elected, I feel a bounding duty to my fellow Liberians to call a spade a spade. Things are bad and only getting worse. Our mama Liberia has entered a state of coma. The priority on the Liberian agenda must therefore be one of saving our dear Liberia. What is most important in this cause is putting Liberia first in whatever we do. We have a duty to change what we can change now to create the future we sought for our country.
“As recently as five years ago, I was at the forefront in the formation of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). I was an integral part of the team that drafted the coalition agreement document. It was my voice that announced the birth of the coalition to the nation and to the world at large. I was actively involved in the earlier decision-making sessions of the CDC Governing Council, which has become dormant in the last two and a half years. By unanimous Council consent at that critical time in our young coalition history, I was selected and asked to serve as the National Chairman of the CDC Presidential and Legislative Campaign of 2017. To the best of my knowledge, I served in that capacity and played my role with all the ingenuity and resourcefulness that were within my capabilities.
“Liberians were yearning for change and flocked behind the movement of “Change for Hope” during our campaign. They demonstrated their burning desire at the polls registering a landslide victory for the CDC. Elections are far gone, and the “promised hope” for our people has become a “lost hope”. Though faces and names might have changed in the governance landscape, the promised hope for our people has become an “illusory hope” to many.
“As I observe the happenings over the last few years, it seems to me that the leadership of the coalition, including members of the Governing Council, did not, or cannot adequately manage the misdirection in which our dear Mama Liberia is going. It seems to me that we are not moving sufficiently in the change direction we had set forth in our manifesto. All social and economic indicators show that we are far from taking Liberia to where we had promised, leaving our people disillusioned and heartbroken.
“As a citizen, but also as someone who helped to get the current leadership elected, I feel a bounding duty to my fellow Liberians to call a spade a spade. Things are bad and only getting worse. Our mama Liberia has entered a state of comma. The priority on the Liberian agenda must therefore be one of saving our dear Liberia. What is most important in this cause is putting Liberia first in whatever we do. We have a duty to change what we can change now to create the future we sought for our country.
“Liberia needs a new kind of thinking in its approach to growth and development. Liberian leaders and people must, for a start, rewrite a new narrative to ensure the survival and development of Mama Liberia. We must redefine the political structures and economic directions of the nation state. I am not talking about merely changing party names and actors only to repeat the past failures. We need a good break from the past to create a new Republic of Liberia. This is a must and a precondition, if our people are to be lifted out of abject poverty, and if our dear country is to be taken off the slope of underdevelopment.
“We need at this time a strong Liberian leadership team that is competent, resourceful, tested in administration and management, one that creates new opportunities for the most underserved among us in this new Liberia. Such a mission needs a competent and honest leadership team with a clear visionary path, uncompromising commitments, and a collective sense of purpose. The nation reconstruction mission also requires the presence of appropriate functioning governing structures and systems capable of formulating and implementing smart policies, strategies, and programs.
“My today’s decision is strongly rooted in these conditionalities. I proudly make this decision in the supreme interest of our dear Mama Liberia. What better can I seek for my country at this age, but to help create a launching pad for a truly prosperous and united Liberia that brings hope to all of our people.
“Over the last two months our people were assured that I, Toga Gayewea McIntosh, shall in due course open my mouth and inform the public of my active participation in the forthcoming elections. My consultations and analysis of the results have ended, and my mouth is now wide opened.
“First, I am grateful to God for His guidance throughout the process. Second, let me say to those family members and friends that I was advised to seek an elected position. Please accept my sincere thanks and appreciation for your confidence reposed in my person. With God’s guidance and in accordance with His divine Will, I have decided to actively and openly support a credible and purposeful presidential candidate in the 2023 elections that is committed and capable to bring real change and renew hope to the Liberian people. To implement this decision, I dutifully assessed all the currently known 2023 presidential candidates. I assessed their capabilities, potentials, honesty, and resourcefulness to bring about the new Republic of Liberia that will lift our people out of abject poverty and take our dear country off the slope of underdevelopment.
“My assessment of the presidential candidates shows that Mr. Alexander B. Cummings (ABC) has most of all that it takes to adequately serve as captain of a well-prepared team to save our dear country, Liberia, out of the doldrums of the woes and depression we are experiencing today. It is against this conviction that I, Toga Gayewea McIntosh do hereby, through this platform, publicly endorse the presidential bid of Candidate Alexander B. Cummings of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) and to pledge my support in the ABC Real Change Revolution. Now is the time for our people and country to experience real and positive change, and I do believe that ABC can be our successful captain.
“ABC has exhibited uncommon wisdom, remarkable vision, and exemplary and purposeful leadership to bring about Real Change that would liberate Liberia and her peoples from the current strangulation. ABC brings to the table his wealth of administrative and managerial experiences, and his extensive international contacts, particularly, in the global business community. He has a proven spirit of hard work, commitment to duty and a clear vision to lead the charge for Liberia to recover all the lost years that our country has experienced. The consistency and contents of his policy statements made over the past months have encouraged me to reach this critical decision.
“In 2023, we again have an opportunity to rescue our country, and this we must do. Liberia has been brought down on its knees during the last four and a half years. Liberia is technically bankrupt in the various sectors of our economy and society. What is needed to get us out of this deplorable situation, is a new and higher level of international and domestic confidence in Liberia that will lead to renewed investments, and respectability to begin the process of revitalization, growth, and sustained development. Our people are eagerly looking for a new Liberia. A Liberia with better measures instituted to manage our vast natural resources effectively and transparently for the maximum benefits of our people. I join ABC in his belief that Liberians can change their conditions only if our people are properly mobilized and empowered with knowledge, skills, and opportunities to achieve the common goal. Liberians can be convinced that they can do it when the proper and effective leadership team and motivated fellowship are together committed to instituting REAL CHANGE.
“As I conclude, let me in this public manner extend my deepest gratitude and gratefulness to the Political leader, the Advisory Committee, the Executive Committee, and all our devoted partisans in the Liberia People Democratic Party (LPDP), for the political space given to me. My decision to support candidate ABC is a personal one and does not in any way mean that I am leaving, or I have left my great party. However, as one of the party’s representatives to the CDC Governing Council, my announcement today requires that the LPDP withdraws my appointment from the Governing Council of the CDC and replace me with another worthy partisan accordingly. An appropriate letter to that effect has been directed to the party Secretariat for the file.
“On this note, I call on all Liberians to boldly join me and other well-meaning Liberians on this mission to save our country’s future. I know it gets very difficult to refuse to support someone you know personally or a family member; but we must, at this time, take that difficult road that leads us to greater success. Let us make the hard decision to do the right things and stop the excuses for making the wrong decisions for our lives.
“Join me, my fellow Liberians, and friends of Liberia! Let’s correct the wrong. Let’s build this glorious land of Liberty. Let us together do those things that make a nation great amongst nations,” Dr. McIntosh stated emphatically.
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