President George Manneh Weah has opened a national economic dialogue in Monrovia, pleading with the brightest minds of the country and international partners to support efforts to address structural defects and imbalances in the economy.
“I therefore urge all Liberians to work with our administration to devise and support new measures which would successfully address structural defects and imbalances in our economy,” Mr. Weah said Wednesday, 4 September at the Ministerial Complex in Congo Town during the dialogue.
Liberia has yet to recover from prolonged economic collapse since President Weah’s ascendancy which coincided with UN peacekeepers’ final draw down in 2018 that had economic consequences on the country.The country has also been facing some of its worst economic conditions in recent years after Ebola struck nearing the end of former President Ellen Johnson – Sirleaf’s second term and drove out some investors.
Former Liberia’s Foreign Minister and economist Dr. Toga McCintosh who served the regime of former President Sirleaf, is chairing the economic dialogue.President Weah who took over in January 2018, has seen series of protests here over alleged public corruption and economic hardship, but the challenges continue to rise on a daily basis.
Opening the dialogue graced by Liberian officials, international partners and former Vice President and 2017 presidential contender Joseph NyumahBoakai, President Weah says in the 18th month since his incumbency, his government has exercised its best efforts to address issues he highlighted during his inaugural address in January 2018.
“Yet, many of them persist and continue to present challenges,” he says.President Weah recalls telling Liberians in his past speeches that his government does not have monopoly over ideas, saying it would take the collective efforts of all Liberians to achieve the desired objectives of reviving the economy and placing the country on the path of sustainable development and transformation.
He also calls for discussion and dialogue on the way forward for economic revival in Liberia, saying it is the genesis of the economic dialogue.President Weah indicates that an Independent Secretariat for Economic Dialogue has been established here with a mandate to create the ongoing consultative forum where the best and the brightest minds, both Liberians and international, can be made to focus on analysis and diagnosis of the economic problems here.
He expresses his delight to be at the opening of the economic dialogue, saying it is organized as an important initiative for his administration to stimulate a broad – based conversation among all stakeholders within the Liberian economy.By Winston W. Parley
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