By Alex Yomah
Naymote Partners for Democratic Development has released George Weah’s five-year performance report covering 2018 to January to January 2023 respectively.
The report named and styled “President Meter Project Reports” on January 18, 2023, Naymote 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 which constitute 8% have been fully implemented by President Weah, and 91 promises comprising 31% of all promises are ongoing during the reporting period.
“Therefore, out of all promises; attempts have been made on 39% the sum of those completed and those within ongoing activities,” Jarwolo indicated.
He added that nearly two-thirds of all 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’ , out of 10 promises under this sector, action was only taken once while, the government made progress by taking action on all 8 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.
Pillar1 of the Manifesto power to the people which has a total of 106 promises, has the lowest completion rate under pillar 4 Governance and Transparency which remains the lowest.
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 show that President George 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 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.
“The government’s focus on infrastructure which needs to spur jobs and growth, is understandable, but the slow pace at which they are implementing promises on crucial reforms needed to strengthen anti-corruption institutions, improve delivery capacity, and implement decentralization,” Jarwolo lamented.
“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.
“We therefore, cannot overemphasize the need to accelerate these reforms through both the policy and legislative processes,” he concluded.
