By E. Geedahgar Garsuah
MONROVIA: As Tuesday, October 10, 2023, Presidential and Legislative elections draw closer, the flag-bearer of the opposition Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), Alexander Benedict Cummings, has cautioned Liberians of what he calls “difficult times ahead” which require making tough-decisions at the polls.
According to him, to salvage Liberia from the mismanagement of the country by the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC)-government, headed by ex-soccer icon, and now President, George Manneh Weah, voters must think critically at the ballot box.
Cummings: “We have to do better, my people. And to do better, we have to make tough choices and hard decisions in the October Elections.”
The CPP currently comprises the Alternative National Congress (ANC) of Cummings who is widely known as “ABC” by his supporters and a faction of the Liberty Party, headed by business tycoon, Musa Hassan Bility.
Addressing the nation on wide-range of critical national issues on Monday, May 1, 2023, at the CPP Headquarters on 19th Street in Sinkor, Mr. Cummings cautioned Liberians not to only focus on rejecting President Weah comes October, but to be mindful to not elect people with the same failed ideologies of the ruling party.
ABC: “A wise Old-man once told me that when hunger is taking over a village, to give the only cutlass to one’s grandfather and the oldest man in the village, to go make the farm, because he has ‘experience’ in making farms, is to agree to let the village people die from starvation.”
“For things to really change in our country, we must not just change ruling parties, we must change ruling principles,” he added.
According to Cummings, for Liberia to also leap forward in the sphere of a prosperous nation, the October elections must be a conduit through which people with not only sufficient knowledge of what governance entails but also integrity ascend to state power.
Cummings: “For our people live to get better, it is not going to be enough to just change individuals in October. We must elect people with a different mindset about what government is supposed to do and what leaders are supposed to be.”
“Government is not a stealing business, and leaders do not have to be hustlers. Government is to help make people’s lives better. Leaders are supposed to set and live by higher standards. Without this new mindset, no matter who we change, things will remain the same,” he emphasized.
The CPP Standard Bearer said he embraces the overwhelming criticisms that he lacks “government experience” if the definition of one having government experience is “neglecting the suffering Liberians and engaging in acts of corruption at the detriment of the growth and development of the country.”
ABC: “I am often criticized for not having “government experience.” Well, if government experience is to steal from the people and neglect them to suffer, then, thank God I don’t have “government experience.”
Cummings: “My experience is one of leadership in fixing things. My experience is in fixing systems so things work better for all to enjoy. I have no “government experience” in trying to benefit from corrupt and broken-down systems. My experience is one of leadership in standing for principles and the values of hard work, integrity and honesty, and in keeping promises I make. My experience is one of leadership in doing the right things the right way, and not sacrificing my values and principles just to win”.
While decrying the excruciating hardships ordinary Liberians at all strata of the society are faced with on a daily basis, Cummings accused the incumbent government of neglecting its citizens for lavish lifestyles fuelled by endemic and systemic corruption.
He said: “I have spoken out over and over against this sad situation of our country. I have also spoken time and time again about the deep-rooted corruption, stealing and mismanagement of the government, lawlessness, mysterious deaths and murders, and abuse of human rights in the country.
“Today, things continue to get worse. Liberians have grown disappointed with the hardship and friends of Liberia who are trying to help are giving up on President Weah and his government. The stealing and corruption by the Weah administration have become so bad, that our international partners are no longer just laughing at our country, but they are now seriously worried and scared about giving money to the government for the benefit of the Liberian people”.
Meanwhile, Alexander Cummings has assured Liberians that a Cummings Presidency will position Liberia on the path of a prosperous nation where public corruption will have no space in the governance of the state.
ABC: “A Cummings administration will not just fight corruption, we will fix the economy. We will not just cook up numbers to say the economy is growing while people pay are being cut; while there are no jobs, and children are going to bed hungry. We will actually grow the budget and pay people well, and on time. We will create jobs – decent paying jobs too – to restore people’s respect and dignity in their homes and communities. We will provide opportunities for all Liberians to live better and to care for their families. This is my area. I have done it all of my professional life.”
“In a Cummings Administration, Liberian businesses will succeed. We will protect Liberian businesses, especially Liberian women businesses, and provide them the means they will need to grow. From waiter markets, Liberians most grow to own and operate shops; and from shops, Liberians must grow to own stores. I want to see store boys becoming store owners. I want to see yana boys become business tycoons. I want to see girls making it – daring to dream and working to live their dreams – and not being broken by the restrictions wrongly imposed on them by the unfair system. This, too, is the Liberia we must become – a Liberia that will not be ashamed to help Liberians fairly and honestly succeed. By the way, growing business and making people succeed is my area,” he asserted.
