By Bill W. Cooper
The proliferation and influx of drugs into the country have now triggered the anger of several Liberian women who took to the street to demand government to take prompt action and address the malice.
Mary T. Nelson, led hundreds of women who gathered at the main entrance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with placards bearing the inscription, “We say no drugs in Liberia; Drugs is killing our brothers and no response, no vote.”
Others are, “Kush is killing the future of Liberia; we don’t want Kush in our country; we say no to drugs in Liberia; District 8 Soniwehn Community children are dying from drugs and Mr. President, our children are dying please take action,’ among others.
However, the women’s call is coming at the time the Liberia Drug Enforcement Authority (LDEA) through its Director General Marcus Zehyou has stressed the needs for a larger budgetary allotment in order to strengthen its capacity to counter the influx of narcotic substances in the country.
The agency deems the US$1.9 million allotted in the 2023 budget as too little to effectively fight the trafficking and abuse of narcotic substances, and is therefore calling on government and developmental partners to provide more funding.
The appeal comes following the approval of a US$1.9 million budgetary appropriation for LDEA by the House of Representatives for the 2023 fiscal year; an amount the agency out rightly sees as being too small.
But women in an interview with this paper during their protest yesterday, March 30, 2023, stated that they are in tears because of the government’s inability to prevent the influx of the substance into the country which they lamented are killing the youth of the country.
Madam Nelson also accused the LDEA of not doing anything substantive to address the malice on grounds that those dealers that have been caught in the process are still seen parading their communities.
According to her, drugs are fast becoming a serious threat to national security, and the future generations.
She maintained that the government’s failure and inability to pass the amended drug law is also contributing the increase of the substance in the country.
“We, women, have come to appeal to our government, lawmakers and the President to help save the lives of our children because the Kush, tramadol and the white lady are seriously killing our children in the country,” she decried.
“As we speak, just in a week’s time, over 42 young children have died from District 6, 7 and 8 including West Point and New kru Town and the Soniwehn which are community now with the highest death rate due to drugs. So, we are begging our son, the President to stop this drugs business,” they pleaded.
