President George Manneh Weah delivers his 5th Annual Message to the National Legislature today, Monday, January 24, 2022, reporting the state of the nation for the year ended, and outlining his legislative agenda for the coming 12 months.
The Constitution of Liberia requires the President to perform this duty at the beginning of each year.
Article 58 of the Constitution of Liberia mandates: “The President shall, on the fourth working Monday in January of each year, present the administration’s legislative program for the ensuing session, and shall once a year report to the Legislature on the state of the Republic. In presenting the economic condition of the Republic the report shall cover expenditure as well as income.”
The New Dawn provides a panoramic view of what Liberians should expect in the President’s address before the Legislature, ranging from the economy, security, health, infrastructure development, peace and reconciliation, bilateral relations, among others.
Liberians are anxious to hear President Weah’s prescriptions for the economy, which is key as they go to elections next year. The economy has not been so very healthy since the administration came to office four years ago.
Two years in office, the country was plagued by the global COVID-19 pandemic that has rattled economies around the world, taken away lives and paralyzed businesses.
President George Weah is expected to report the expenditure and income of his government in the last 12 months and layout his Legislative Agenda for 2022.
The government is printing new Liberian banknotes in the total amount of over LRD48 Billion that it believes will restore economic health and boost business activities.
The economy is still in the wood despite the printing of new money as global donor fatigue has set in due to the health pandemic.
President Weah is expected to highlight challenges inherited and those brought by the COVID-19 and steps being taken to mitigate some of those hurdles, including attempts to lower inflation and increase the national budget in the last year.
Going into election year, he is also expected to at democratic tenets, including the right to assemble and protest peacefully, free speech and freedom of the press.
Security is another issue expected to be high in today’s speech, as the past 12 months were not very encouraging with several suspicious deaths reported, involving senior members of the society, including sons of two former presidents.
At the same time, President will boast of deliverables in infrastructure projects such as roads, sports stadiums namely, the Invincible Recreation Center and the PHP Sports ground, among others.
President Weah has very little, if any, to say about Agriculture, a key sector of the economy that is engulfed by massive corruption. Story by Jonathan Browne
