By Naneka Hoffman
In a bid to ensure that laws of Liberia are improved, reformed, strengthened, and implemented for the good of the Liberian society, four Civil Society Organizations, (CSOs) are calling for Policy Reforms and Implementation of key laws.
Addressing a news conference on Thursday, September 21, 2023, the spokesman of the group, and Executive Director of the African Youth Peer Review Committee, Jeddle Stephen Kinni, said the four CSOs include Institute for Democratic Action & Development (IDAD), Liberia Women Empowerment Network, Women for Grass-root Empowerment Liberia and the African Youth Peer Review Committee.
Mr. Kinni explained that the laws that have been identified for reforms and implementation by these groups include the 2011 Education Reform Law, the Freedom of Information Law, the Revenue Sharing Law of 2022, the 2018 Local Government Act, and the 2018 Land Right Act.
He noted that since the enactment of these legislations, there have been inadequate implementation and service delivery as provided to yield the desired and required purposes for which they were created.
He stressed that it is imperative for CSOs to remind the government about its obligations and hold its feet to the fire for total transformation of the governance space and forward march of the country.
He indicated that the Education Reform Law of 2011 provides that Public School Teachers and Administrators should be given loans and that there should be a National Student Loan exclusively for students in Liberia.
However, he noted that findings gathered from investigations established that since the passage of the Education Reform Act of 2011, the desired and expected mandates have not been achieved.
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Mr. Kinni revealed that public school teachers and administrators are yet to be given loans as enshrined in Section 8.13 of the 2011 Education Reform Act, and there are no guidelines and regulations for the establishment of a National Student Loan Program as provided in Section 9.1(d) of the Education Reform Act.
The Civil Society Actor further said that in accordance with Section 9.1(G), the guidelines on tuition and fees charged by private and faith-based institutions are yet to be drafted and published to relieve parents and guardians of the burden of skyrocketing tuition and unbearable fees.
He pointed out that it was also established that public school teachers in the country have not been licensed, and there is no Teachers’ Registry and Annual Appraisal for teachers to assess their performances pursuant to Section 6.3.6, 6.3.7, and 6.3.9 of the Education Reform Act of 2011.
He said that these unlicensed teachers have flooded various schools in the country and are providing knowledge to emerging leaders.
Meanwhile, he called on the Government of Liberia and relevant stakeholders to urgently institute the requisite measures aimed at mitigating these challenges and gaps in the educational sector to create a conducive functioning learning environment.
Kinni noted that under the Local Government Act, there is a challenge when it comes to signature decentralization and services provided in these counties do not receive signatures but rather are signed in Montserrado County, adding that assessment by these CSOs established that there are gaps and challenges relative to smooth implementation of these laws.
For their part, the Institute for Democratic Action & Development (IDAD), Liberia Women Empowerment Network, Women for Grass-root Empowerment Liberia and the African Youth Peer Review Committee groups are calling on the government and its partners to decentralize signatures.
According to them, the Freedom of Information Law provides that at least one personnel should be designated for freedom of information requests at a public institution in accordance with Section 3.6 of the Freedom of Information Act, but up to date, there are no identified personnel at any public institution, and there are huge barriers associated with obtaining information on government services and activities.
The CSOs urged the Government of Liberia to institute requisite measures aimed at addressing these challenges and that 40% of revenues generated from the operations of the County Service Centers within each Local Government area shall remain with the Local Government pursuant to Chapter 7, Article 7.2 of the Revenue Sharing Act. Editing by Jonathan Browne
