By Bill Weh Pyne
After months of consultation, a group of Liberians representing the 15 counties of the nation gathered on Crown Hill, Monrovia, over the weekend for the formation of a new political party that is expected to be called, All Liberian Destiny Party (ALDP). The first convention of the proposed ALDP is aimed at collecting signatures from all 15 counties as required by the electoral laws of the Liberia for the establishment of a political party.
“The future and destiny of the country is in our hands,” said Mr. Jacob Seyon Kwateh, the prospective political leader of the new party, should everything go well as he encouraged his followers to work wholeheartedly at what he called a historic process.
Speaking through a video call from the United States of America, Mr. Kwateh lamented the sufferings Liberians have been going through for more than 173 years due to successive and perpetual bad governance, saying now is the time to change the status quo.
He said it is painful, tantalizing and intolerable for Liberians as little as five million people to be living amongst wealth and at the same time live in extreme poverty; that’s why he is asking all Liberians to join him in changing the destiny of the country for the better.
The man who grew up in PHP before seeking greener pasture abroad listed five priorities if he is given the chance to lead, that will change the lives of Liberians for good, with education given first preference on the list.
“No nation survives without education,” Mr. Kwateh stated before adding that during his leadership the citizens will enjoy not just education but quality and affordable education throughout the country.
Second on his list is quality health care delivery system for all, noting that it is not just shameful but also heartbreaking that the oldest republic in Africa cannot boast of an advanced health facility in the country. He then vows to make the John F. Kennedy Medical Center one of the best referral facilities in the region.
Agriculture is ranked third on the proposed ALDP leader’s list. With disappointment and frustration written all over his face, he mentioned how shameful it is that Liberians cannot produce what they eat but rather import their staple food, rice.
According him, instead of living up to the nation’s former name the “Green Coast” which means pepper, the country is now shamelessly relying on imported pepper from Guinea, which he said has to stop by producing these things themselves.
He promised that should he win and become the next President after 2023; there will be farms in each of the 15 counties to grow enough food so that the nation will stop importing things that matter the most to them.
The young politician who said love and accountability will be the fulcrum of his reign, named security as the fourth priority because no society flourishes in the face of uncertainty and fear.
He promised to introduce the Liberians Defense Act that will document all Liberians living abroad so that they will be given protection during crisis or brought back home like the United States does for its citizens in war tone countries.
Kwateh concluded his list with infrastructure and technology, again vowing to build two modern cities and digitalize the nation with fast and affordable internet connectivity throughout the country.
The proposed ALDP leader, Jacob Seyon Kwateh, is a US based Liberian who holds a Master Degree (MA) in Human Services from Capella University and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science and Global Studies (International Relations) from the University of Minnesota.
He is the Secretary General of the Movement of Liberians Against Corruption (MOLAC) and also the CEO and founder of Seyon’s Consulting Services, LLC providing political and marketing consultancy. He is the leader in the local Liberian community in Minnesota and also the CEO of the Destiny Helper Foundation, a Liberian-based humanitarian non-Governmental Organization.