By Lincoln G Peters
Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah, Jr., is issuing an early warning here, he says there could be some elevation in the price of rice and fuel if COVID-19 doesn’t stabilize by next year between May and June. He said Liberians have to be told sooner.
Minister Tweah noted that the rice price in Sierra Leone is USD$18 while in Ivory Coast, it is USD$19 for 25Kg and in Liberia it is USD $13 dollars, urging Liberians to thank the Government of Liberia for this.
“This government is fighting global forces to keep prices to where they are. The whole world can do something but we in Liberia are doing it differently to make sure our people have great means to make ends meet,” he said.
Speaking Tuesday, 19 October 2021 in Monrovia during the signing of a USD$40 financing agreement between the Government of Liberia and the World Bank, Tweah acknowledged that Liberians are hungry for change but asked for their patient.
“Our people are hungry for change. The way we’ve been able to deliver change in the past has been too slow and these are also part of the criticisms that this government is going through,” Tweah said.
“We want everyone to be patient and trust the process because we are working on things to help us, but just all can’t happen within three years,” Mr. Tweah continued.
According to him, people want jobs because young people are entering the job market and the government should be able to provide opportunities to absorb all of them that are competent and qualified, whether in the private or public sector.
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Tweah indicated that the government needs to tackle and take seriously the central message of the people in agriculture, fisheries, and every other sector in the country and see how it can find jobs and opportunities in those sectors to improve citizens’ livelihood.
“We have to tell our people to believe in the direction and vision of the president. The strong support of our development partner, alignment of our program logic to transform agriculture, fisheries, roads, and every other sector that will provide and create jobs for our people,” he said.
He suggested that when the government completes all its ongoing road projects, there will be an increase in jobs and other facilities across the country.
Tweah, however, apologized to Liberians for the slow economic deliverables under the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) – led government, contrary to the expectations and aspirations of the citizenry.
He admitted that the CDC government cannot develop and transform Liberia in three years.
“The expectation that maybe we could have transformed and changed the country in three years, we apologize for that, it’s not possible mathematically. Liberia’s problems are too many and no government and not even us can solve this problem within three years,” Minister Tweah said.
Minister Tweah explained that Liberia can never be changed and transformed in three years, looking at the economy the CDC government inherited, coupled with the COVID-19 experience they are still undergoing which is a global issue.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/tweah-we-had-to-deal-with-the-lies/
