‘Year ending in hardship’
–Cummings laments Liberians’ plights in Christmas message
By Lincoln G. Peters
Opposition leader Alexander B. Cummings says 2022 is ending in hardship just as it started, alleging that Liberians’ living conditions have gotten worse every year under President George Manneh Weah.
“This is a season of joy and I want to wish all Liberians a Merry Christmas. But, we know that for many of our people here at home, the year is ending just as it began in hardship,” Cummings said in his Christmas Message Thursday, 22 December 2022.
Cummings and his Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) supporters led a rally last Saturday dubbed ‘We Taya [tired] Suffering, denouncing alleged hardship that they said has been imposed against the citizenry by President Weah’s government.
“For the last five years under President Weah, living conditions have gotten worse every year. Things have become harder and harder that there is hardly anything with which to celebrate,’’ Mr. Cummings alleged.
The presidential hopeful is seeking the nation’s top office on the ticket of the opposition bloc CPP which is made up of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) and a faction of Liberty Party (LP).
Speaking at the CPP headquarters in Sinkor, Cummings urged Liberians to replace President Weah and his Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government due to a lack of vision and direction to lead Liberians to prosperity.
On behalf of the CPP and in his name, Cummings extended sincere greetings to Liberians at home, and in the diaspora as they celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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However, the opposition leader lamented that on this fifth Christmas day under President Weah’s government, he knows that too many children will go to bed hungry.
He claimed that this is because families are still grieving the mysterious deaths of loved ones because their deaths can’t be reasonably explained, or properly investigated.
According to Cummings, President Weah has ordered investigations into these cases, but he has not bothered to follow up with them.
He alleged that President Weah hopes that the public will forget about these cases, but reminds him that the grieving families can’t forget, and they will not forget.
The CPP leader emphasized that on this fifth Christmas day celebration under President Weah, the elderly citizens will be forced to beg because, in their retirement, the government has abandoned them.
He explained that the streets will still be unsafe, and communities will continue to be taken over by ghettos and drugs.
Mr. Cummings stressed that joblessness, disappointment, and frustration will continue to be the story of many young people while prices of everything including food, rent, and transportation, will still be going up while salaries are going down.
“On President Weah’s fifth Christmas day, President Weah, Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor, the Speaker and the Senate Pro-Tempore, and the Deputy Speaker – only five persons- have increased their share in the budget,” Cummings alleged.
He claimed that together, they are getting more than universities, schools, and hospitals.
Cummings alleged further that Liberia has become a laughingstock and joke to the international community because President Weah’s CDC government thinks the governance of the country ‘Da play-play thing’ [is for a play].
Mr. Cummings described the government as a kleptocracy, a government of thieves that are looting and damaging the wealth of the Liberian people with dry-face corruption.
“My people, the world is laughing at us. And will continue to laugh at us and take us for [a] joke because … we have a president who thinks the job of the President da play-play thing.
“While he is playing, our people continue to suffer because no serious investor will come to invest in a country with [a] play-play leader who is doing nothing to stop stealing from the people because he … [is] stealing or benefiting from the stealing of the Liberian people’s money,” Mr. Cummings claimed.
He claimed that President Weah has spent five years playing around like a small boy while Liberians are suffering.
“The Bible rightly prophesied that the people will perish when their leaders have no vision; when [a] leader, like President Weah, does not know what he is doing or supposed to be doing,” he added.
He lamented that recently and irresponsibly, President Weah left the country for 48 days, and wasted the country’s money jumping from place to place.
He said President Weah used his 48 days outside the country watching his son play football, enjoying himself, and came back to his “Miami’’ with more lies, and pictures for his Facebook album.
“By the way, banks have no cash to pay people because the Central Bank is not giving them their money. Da selfies will cash the people’s checks?” Mr. Cummings wondered.
If you do not have money to buy foreign rice, eat potatoes, eddoes, or come buy my cassava. Might cost more than cheap rice.
Those that have congregated themselves around Mr. Alexander Benedict Cummings claimed that he Alex Cummings is very rich and he has got US$80M to US$100M. If this is true that Mr. Cummings is so wealthy and has at least US$80M to US$100M dollars, what has stopped Mr. Cummings from investing in Liberia and the lives of the people of Liberia? What real and concrete investment has Mr. Cummings made in Liberia to make the lives of Liberians better? What I think is this:
Alex Cummings, Dr. Joseph Nyumah Boakai, Cllr. Tawian Saye Gongole, and ALL those running to get elected as Liberia’s President come on Oct 10,2023, are ALL “THAT OUR TIME” politicians just wishing to get their hands on the Revenues and Resources of Liberia to get rich quick as have already been done by past Presidents of Liberia.
Absolutely, neither Mr. Cummings, Dr. Boakai, or Cllr. Gongole has any real and concrete policy on how they will build roads to connect the 15 counties of Liberia. They have no policy or plan to ensure that Superintendents and City Mayors are elected by their people; and no policy on how Liberia’s revenues and finances will be equally shared by the central government and the local governments run by the City Mayors and County Superintendents. They have no policy to ensure that Liberia’s healthcare system is decentralized. They have no plan or policy to build and enhance the development of Liberia’s 15 Counties and how these counties will share in the healthcare budget between the central government and the governments run by the City Mayors and the County Superintendents; and Mr. Cummings, Dr. Boakai, and Cllr. Gongole have no plan or policy into place to improve Liberia’s Education System, and no policy to bring light, water and other basic social services to Liberia after 2023.
They, collectively and individually, have no plan or policy to reduce the salaries and benefits of Senators and Representatives, and they have no plan or policy to develop Liberia and better the lives of ALL poor and needy Liberians.
Voting for Mr. Cummings, Dr. Boakai, or Cllr. Gongole will simply mean voting the Same-more-Same-more into office.
The people of Liberia need not be FOOLED or DECEIVED!
Liberia and our people deserve better!
Cllr. Frederick A. B. Jayweh
fjayweh. criss@outlook.Com
Mobile: 720-731-7994
Liberians do not care at this point to know who caused hard times. The non- voters or voters will select the campaign that has the best plan based on what you have acquired in their interest, not for a few or minority but based on the majority.