By Bill W. Cooper
With just six weeks of the Unity Party (UP)-led governance, the political leader of the Movement for Progressive Change (MPC), Simeon Freeman, has begun pointing to what he termed as lapses, especially addressing the immediate bread-and-butter issues of the country.
A tough-talking opposition politician did not mince his words when he again made a bold prediction about the future of Liberia under the leadership of President Joseph Boakai, stressing that the government is poised for failure, on grounds that the President lacks the capacity to lead the country effectively.
Freeman was amongst the 19 candidates who contested Liberia’s 2023 Presidential election, but failed to make it to the runoff, which was held between George Weah and Joseph Boakai, with the latter emerging as winner.
His comments come at a time when the country is dealing with numerous challenges, including a struggling economy, high level of unemployment, and widespread poverty, among others.
Despite these challenges, the Boakai-led administration assured the citizenry of its commitment to address issues confronting the country, with the mini reduction of rice price by US$0.25 and gasoline by US$0.10.
Other areas of concentration for the government have been the fight against the importation and illicit use of illegal drugs and other narcotic substance abuse, as well as the declaration of illegal drugs as a health emergency, the auditing of the past government, the retrieving of government properties, and the push for the establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court, among others.
Despite these efforts, Freeman has emphatically stated that he is still of the belief that President Boakai’s lack of leadership skills and vision are major factors contributing to the government’s failures.
He criticized the President for his inability to make tough decisions and implement necessary reform policies intended to improve the bread-and-butter and other major issues confronting the country, claiming that the President lacks the necessary vision and capacity to adequately govern the country as promised during the campaign period, despite his wealth of experience in the public sector without a successful track record.
He argued that Boakai’s failure to take decisive action has only exacerbated the country’s problems, with just a month and two weeks occupying the Liberian Presidency.
Freeman maintained, “And it’s also quite unfortunate that Mr. Boakai, at this point, is yet to complete the formation of his government, and this demonstrates a huge lack of capacity that we had warned about Boakai.”
“And the early misstep by Mr. Boakai and his team also clearly speaks to the fact that he is too old and doesn’t have the energy and the capacity and technical know-how to lead the country to prosperity,” he said.
Freeman further described the 100 days deliverables promise by the President as an “empty talk”, on grounds that his entire public sector records have shown that the President has no proof of a successful track record.
He also accused the President of being the mastermind of the killing of citizens of Grand Cape Mount County, the buying of new clothes, fixing of his current residence, and displaying of a ‘fake’ drugs test, among others.
Even though it has been reported that the steering committee on the fight against drugs established by President Boakai has begun its work, the MPC leader described the fight against drugs under the UP government as a ‘talk, no action’, accusing the steering committee of during nothing to curb the pandemic.
Commenting on the government’s wage bills, Freeman revealed that the recent appointment by the President in government is a clear indication that there will be increasing financial cost on the government in the coming years, noting that the huge employment of party loyalists in government, coupled with the alleged shooting of ‘peaceful’ protesters, protesting against the Bea Mountain Company, the killing of a Liberian by employees of LEC power theft, delay in the submission of the FY 2024 budget, are some signs of the Boakai administration’s failures.
Meanwhile, Freeman has also criticized President Boakai of appointing partisans to various tenure institutions still being occupied by officials serving their respective terms, something, he said, violates the Constitution and undermines the rule of law of the country.
He then urged the President to ensure that the rule of law is respected by all times, calling on the President to ensure the right thing is done in removing officials occupying various tenure positions, adding, “we don’t need gangsterism in Liberia.”
As for the War and Economic Crimes Court establishment, Freeman said it is important that the Boakai administration redirect its attention to other issues of national concern, than running after warlords and past government officials in the name of auditing.
“What happened during the civil war has happened, and as such, there is no rush for a war and economic crimes court because our judiciary system is strong enough to handle these crimes,” he added.
