Let me start by thanking the U S Ambassador to Liberia, Amb. Michael McCarthy for the bold steps he has taken to hit the nail right on the head. I personally admire your love for us Liberians and your fearlessness in your utterances on issues of human rights violation. Yes I said human rights violations. Taking money that supposed to directly improve the livelihood of another person is a gross human rights violation.
Why are our leaders so evil? Can you imagine money what allocated for hospitals did not get to reach to those hospitals? Like seriously? So if you appropriated $100.000 for hospitals what stopped you from providing said funding to the hospitals? You are all fully aware that our lives depend on these hospitals. How can you be so wicked to the people that stood in lines to elect you? These are the very people you will go to soon to seek their votes but God will punish y’all.
The very people you grossly neglected are the same people you are going to buy rice for to seek their votes. The siphoning of the 100.00 dollars that was appropriated for hospitals was completely institutional involving the Legislature, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In fact every crime in this country is institutional not only that the health centers money vanished but the county service centers money also disappeared.
Can you imagine that some of the service centers have not printed one marriage certificate over five years? Indeed we are making mockery out of decentralization. Donors invested hugely in the service center so as ease the citizens’ headache of getting things done and for our leaders who took oath to protect and defend our human rights are slowly killing us.
So the LRA has surpassed projections and increased revenues for the past four years, climbing from US$435,682 million in 2019 to US$605,005 million in 2022? And our economy grew by 3.7% in 2022 and nothing we have to show for it. Rather the legislature is spending more of our money every year for the past three years buttering their own bread, allocating over US$65 million in 2022 for salaries and operations. What are they even doing in that house for which they need money for operation?
Common citizens like us pay our full 25% of our taxes why are you the much better-paid representatives and senators not paying a full 25% of their salaries? Why are you the legislators and ministers, those of you living on the top of the heap, and given annual duty-free imports that deny the LRA much-needed additional revenue not paying your 25% of taxes? How can one group of people be so selfish and greedy?
According to Amb. McCarthy, U.S. taxpayers spend around US$60 million a year on health care in Liberia, and another US$23 million on education and the same legislature that spent US$65 million on itself in 2022 appropriated around US$7.1 million for grants and subsidies to county health facilities and US$2.76 million for operations at basic and secondary education although, the money will reac their intended destinations.
Even if the legislature could just appropriate an additional US$10 million a year to primary education (for a country that is tied in last place for average days of school attendance), and an additional US$10 million a year for county hospitals, even the greatest cynics concede that it would make a big difference
Just US$500,000 each per year of actual maintenance (not make-believe budgeted funds) on four unpaved roads (Zorzor – Voinjama; Zwedru – Fishtown; Greenville – Barclayville City; and Greenville – Buchanan) would dramatically improve the lives of more than a million of Liberia’s poorest citizens, lowering food costs, revolutionizing farm to market access, and eliminating seasonal shortages of life-saving medicines and equipment. The legislature would still have US$43 million a year to somehow get by. Anyone interested in a pro-poor agenda?
Do we need a complete stranger to tell us these things when we can see it for ourselves; It is clear that all of those in our leadership are completely evil and have no sense of belonging to us. They treat us with disrespect and neglect yet they expect us to re-elect them by the way thank you again Mr. Ambassador giving us this eye opener at the much-need time.
This press statement which is more like an assessment report is a clearer picture of what is happening in our country especially at the top level and we have no reasons to defend this.
Indeed if the U.S. Congress should ask you how the elite in Monrovia treating destitute citizens in not just the leeward counties but the entire country, tell them that we are treated with a total neglect that borders on contempt and Liberia can do better.
