By Alex Yomah
Naymote, Partner for Democratic Development, with support from the Embassy of Sweden in Liberia has ended a one-day policy dialogue on political accountability held in Monrovia intended to discuss the President’s meter project recently launched in Liberia.
The political dialogue was graced by representatives of political parties, Civil Society Organizations and officials of the Government of Liberia aim at dissecting the 292 promises that the President made in Liberia
The dialogue was held under theme, ‘National Policy Dialogue on Politics accountability 2023- promoting political accountability; Influencing public policy, stimulating discussions among citizens to cement the social contact between Liberians and the elected officials.”
Commenting on the 292 promises made, the Assistant Minister for Policy, Benedict Kolubah, challenged Naymote’s report and question how the organization derived at the promises and that Naymote needs to define what is termed as “promises” in its context.
Minister Kolubah stated that he sees a difference between Weah’s manifestos and speeches made during political gatherings and wondered what Naymote termed as promises made to the people that prompted the use of the word ‘failed promises’ made to Liberians.
He also stated that as part of the report that was glanced at, he is still pondering on how Naymote got the 292 promises that are being reported, but according to Kulobah, ranging one to 10, it is not wrong to be called promises.
He further said Naymote’s decision to also attribute the Party National Chairperson, Mulbah Morlu’s, statement to the President, is troubling.
It can be recalled that Naymote, Partners for Democratic Development, released George Weah’s five-year performance report covering 2018 January to 2023 January respectively.
The Deputy Economic of mission, Head of Development, Embassy of Swede, Johan Romare, commended Liberia for its democratic credentials in allowing Civil Society Organizations the platform to speak their minds especially regardless of the content in Liberia
“I heard praises of our partners of Sweden, stating that Liberia has done well for the level of democratic maturity in promoting CSOs voices in Liberia;” Benedict Kolubah stated.
In the report named and styled “President Meter Project Reports” on January 18, 2023, Naymote’s Executive Director, Eddie D. Jarwolo, said the Liberian leader made a total of 292 promises nationwide that is inclusive of the county tour.
Mr. Jarwolo stated that of that number, 24 promises constituting 8% had been fully implemented by President Weah, and 91 promises comprising 31% of all promises were ongoing during the reporting period.
“Therefore, out of all promises, attempts had been made on 39% which sums up those completed and those within ongoing activities,” Jarwolo indicated.
He added that nearly two-thirds of all the promises, 177 promises 61% were identified as not started or not rated because the government had not commenced work on their implementation, and there was no available information on the status of those promises.
He added that the assessment found out that there were limited efforts by the government on promises entered on ‘Physically Challenged and Senior Citizens’ and that out of 10 promises under this sector, action was only taken once while, the government made progress by taking action on all eight promises made under ‘Gender Equality’ sector.
Jarwolo indicated further that the majority of the promises implemented are promises under pillar-2 of the Manifesto Economy and Job. “These constituted 13 of all completed promises, 35 promises ongoing and 91 promises have not started or rated due to the lack of information,” Jarwolo stated.
Assessment however, observed that implementation of some of the promises under this thematic area was ongoing and these could take several years due to the complex nature of the institutional and legislative reforms that may be required to fully implement them.
Mr. Jarwolo also added that the findings of this assessment showed that President Weah and his government have yet to implement nearly two-thirds of the promises they have made to the people of Liberia.
He added that numerous promises have been made over the years on poverty reduction, infrastructural development, and social service delivery, rule of law, government accountability, and decentralization, among others.
According to the Civil Society Organization, delivering promises made in campaign manifestos and policy statements is important for sustaining trust between the government and the citizens, conversely failing to deliver and undermine trust and confidence in the authority of the government.
“Undoubtedly, these reforms would build the foundation and systems required to manage public infrastructures, sustain growth and retain jobs. For instance, making the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission and the Public Procurement Concession Commission more effective and efficient would potentially reduce wastes, fraud and abuse, and save resources for investment in social services and infrastructure,” he said.
