Monrovia, Liberia. January 31, 2022: Alternative National Congress (ANC ) Political leader, Alexander Cummings, today, January 31, 2021, responded to President George Weah State of the nation address. Honorable Cummings described President Weah address to the nation as not truthful.

Here is Hon. Cummings full Speech below:

My fellow Liberians:
The State of the Republic Address is an important accountability and governance
mechanism which should be undertaken truthfully. On Monday, January 24, 2022, President George Weah was not truthful when he said, “I can state categorically, and with confidence, that the State of our Economy is Stable and Growing, and that the State of our Nation is Peaceful and Strong.”

Since President Weah came to power, Liberia’s net economic growth is ZERO. The economy is still sluggish, corruption is rampant. After promising to create one million jobs, unemployment remains above 80%, youth unemployment is higher than in 2017, and the exchange rate is high with prices for every single commodity – from food to gas to dokafleh – higher today than when President Weah came to power.

Stealing, lying, promising, taking no responsibility, lying again, promising again, and continuing the stealing are the mantras of this government as doctors, nurses, teachers, civil servants, police officers and other service men and women who keep our society together are being grossly underpaid, with some, especially teachers, having to constantly protest for their “harmonized” pay. Every year, high schools, colleges and universities, though restrained by limited resources, produce thousands of young graduates, all of them hopeful of a better life, only to see their dreams and futures crushed by the lack of jobs and opportunities.

President Weah’s description of the state of the Liberian economy and the Republic is not only patently false, it is insensitive, offensive and disconnected representing an alternative reality to the worsening hardships and deteriorating plight many Liberians are living through daily. The President has failed, and is now hoping to deceive Liberians with even more promises. It has been reported that out of the 169 promises the President has made, he has only kept 11, which is a score of 7%. Obviously, President Weah is good at making promises, and very bad at fulfilling promises.

My fellow citizens: Our state is basically leaderless. To put it in COVID-19 terms, President Weah is in self-imposed quarantine. This likely explains why he would ridiculously declare our crime-infested streets, beaches and urban communities to be “peaceful and strong”, and say to Liberians who are suffering through this every day that everything is all right. In rural communities, life is just as it has always been, if not worse, especially for women and children, with many dying in childbirths and from preventable and treatable illnesses, while still too many Liberian babies are dying before they reach their 5th birthdays. We are not in a military battle, and the President may be thinking that the absence of war automatically means that Liberia is at peace.

Again, the President is wrong because peace is not just the absence of war but the presence of security and opportunity. Streets and communities are insecure and too many Liberians are still being denied opportunities because of their tribe, gender, religion and party affiliation. If it were possible, many young Liberians, would gladly leave Liberia, the land that they dearly love, in search of greener pastures.

We welcome calls of the IMF, World Bank and ECOWAS to curtail Liberia’s massive tax waiver policy. We urge the government to follow-up on its acceptance with diligent actions because Liberia’s tax waivers are being abused with President Weah’s government granting waivers to lawmakers and cronies.

Liberia has one of the most fertile lands in Africa for agriculture production. Notwithstanding, this government has failed to make any sustainable gains and substantial investment in agriculture. For example, this year, President Weah has budgeted ZERO DOLLAR for the Agriculture Fund. In fact, for the next three years,
streets are safe and secure, and peaceful worshippers seeking the revival of their souls and a better tomorrow, for themselves and their children, are not rushed to death out of fear of the commission of crimes against them or the actions and or inactions of an untrained police force which should be protecting them.

We clean our nation’s soul so that we manage the great wealth of our nation more equitably and accountably to ensure that we are no longer considered amongst the poorest and most corrupt in the world, and that all Liberians benefit from all that Liberia is blessed to have – so that hospitals are accessible, affordable and modernized not just with medicines and beds but also with the necessary equipment and technology to ensure that all Liberians have the same chance at the best possible healthcare delivery right here in Liberia.

Cleansing the nation’s soul is a chance for our young people to study and graduate assured that they are equally guaranteed a chance to get a job and the support and assistance they need to build their careers, raise and care for their families, and return support and assistance to their parents who sacrificed to educate them – so that some of our citizens including the elderly are no longer made to beg for livelihood in the same country many spent their lives serving, or that Liberians continue to be bystanders in the business of the growth of their economy with unconscionable restrictions imposed on Liberian businesses and entrepreneurship.

We must cleanse the soul of our nation so that our country is no longer a den of crimes and drugs, or rape and sexual abuse with impunity, or money laundering and human trafficking – and so that public service is actually for the good of the public and not for the illicit acquisition of overnight wealth by government officials.

Finally, my fellow Liberians: The Presidential and General Elections scheduled for October of 2023 will mean a lot to Liberia’s future. Liberians will have the chance to choose a new direction for our country. We must not become complacent nor let ourselves get disengaged or uninvolved. As we continue to see, not only will we continue to live with the consequences of the incompetent and corrupt leadership of our country if we fail to change it, but we can all be assured that things will only get increasingly worse!

After four years of failures, President Weah is hoping we can all forget how he and his officials prioritized getting themselves rich overnight while they connived and deceived to keep Liberians poorer and divided. As with all failed leaderships, they are looking to make more promises, take no responsibility, and siphon public monies in pursuit of their selfish political interests.

Despite our best efforts, it has to be admitted that as currently constituted, the CPP may not make it to 2023. But you, the Liberian people, collectively will make it to 2023. The CPP may have been your preferred vehicle for change but the need to change ought not to end because the preferred vehicle broke down along the way. Only the failed leadership of President Weah will benefit if we give up on the need to change the direction of our country. We must never give up – we must never lose hope!

Liberia, the land we love and have been blessed to own together – mismanaged and crying out for change – needs all of us to stand together – educated and uneducated, Christians and Muslims, old and young, Congau and Country, Man and Woman – all of us who know our country must change and must continue to fight to deliver real change. Real change will not happen because of party. History shows that real change has always happened because of the people.

Our children deserve real change.
Liberian families, of all tribes and religions deserve real change.
Liberia deserves better.
God bless you.
God bless our country, Liberia.
I thank you.