By Patrick Stephen Tokpah/Bong
Liberia’s former Ambassador to the United States, with concurrent accreditation to Mexico, and Canada, Jeremiah Sulonteh, has frowned at the Boakai-led administration for dishing out huge salaries to public officials while the ordinary Liberians thrill in abject poverty.
He underscored the revisitation of the 2024/2025 National Budget of the country so that it presents inclusiveness.
He further said there is a need to restructured if not reduction in salaries across every spectrum so that the government can use the savings therefrom to fund some priority projects that have been so dependent on foreign aid.
The former Ambassador emphasized that ‘it is a national disgrace for government officials to be earning huge salaries; while ordinary Liberians suffer in abject poverty.’
“There is a need to revisit some of the Executive Orders that give tax holidays to big businesses so that we can rather use the revenue that will be generated therefrom to support Liberian small business enterprises,” Ambassador Sulonteh said, “This will help to boost the economy and create employment.”
The former envoy continues: “Whether we are part of the Government of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai ( we all don’t have to work for the government), it is a national call for all of us Liberians to step in and put our hands on deck to ensure that the ‘Rescue Mission’ succeeds. When President Boakai succeeds, we all succeed and Liberia succeeds.”
He said it has, however, become a national imperative for him to join other Liberians in seeking solutions to the Country’s old-age problems of corruption and waste in public places and embrace the emerging global realities at our doorsteps, adding the government should, therefore, engage in seeking solutions to address the issues.
However, the diplomat agreed with Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Ngafuan, that government’s spending entities prioritize their priorities.