By Bridgett Milton
NAYMOTE partners for Democratic Development discloses here that based on its assessment, President George Weah is yet to implement nearly two-thirds of campaign promises made to the people of Liberia.
Releasing a report covering President Weah’s five years performance on Wednesday, January 18, in Monrovia, NAYMOTE Executive Director, Eddie Jarwolo, explained that out of 292 promises made by the President over the last five years of his administration, only 24 promises or (8%) have been fully implemented, while 91 promises or 31 percent of all promises are ongoing during the reporting period.
“Nearly two-thirds of all promises, 177 promises (61%) were identified as ‘Not started/ not rated’ because the government had not commenced work on their implementation, and there was no available information on the status of those promises”, Mr. Jarwolo observes.
He further notes that President Weah has made numerous promises over the years, on poverty reduction, infrastructural development, social service delivery, rule of law, government accountability, and decentralization, among others.
Jarwolo emphasizes that delivering on promises made in campaign manifestos and policy statements is important in sustaining trust between the government and the citizens, and conversely, failing to deliver undermines trust and confidence in the authority of the government.
He says government’s focus on infrastructure, needed to spur jobs and growth, is understandable but the slow pace at which they are implementing promises on crucial reforms needed to strengthen anti-corruption institutions, improve delivery capacity, and implement decentralization is of serious concern, as undoubtedly, these reforms would build the foundation and systems required to managing public infrastructures, sustain growth and retain jobs.
“For instance, making the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission and the Public Procurement and Concession Commission more effective and efficient would potentially reduce waste, fraud and abuse and save resources for investment in social services and infrastructure”, he says.
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He adds that NAYMOTE cannot overemphasize the need to accelerate these reforms through both policy and legislative processes to make integrity institutions fully functional and efficient. Editing by Jonathan Browne
