By: Varney Dukuly
MONROVIA: As Liberian voters prepare for October 10 Presidential and Legislative elections, Deputy Finance Minister for Fiscal Affairs, Samora Wolokollie, says the George Weah led government has provided the necessary platform for the ordinary citizens to achieve their potentials than any former Liberian administration.
Smartly attired in khaki recently on Carey Street, Central Monrovia, Wolokollie lectured scores of young intellectuals that in the next six years, the Weah led government will positively transform the lives of the people, including the improvement of the country’s infrastructure.
“Our problem here in Liberia is not that the economy is increasingly falling down the drain or corruption is at its peak, and nepotism is always high in our country’s history,” said Wolokollie.
“This is not true and it will never be true. The opposition mission is to prove that the masses were wrong,” he pointed out.
According to the incumbent government official, there have been criticisms by the political opposition community that President Weah is incompetent to lead the Liberian Nation.
However, according to Wolokoillie, the realities prove otherwise.
While some opposition political parties and leaders are accusing the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) led government of dumping more ordinary Liberians in abject poverty and misery in the last six years of its administration, Wolokollie insists that such accusations are wrapped in hypocrisy, only intended to unduly undermine the popular will of the Liberian people.
He maintains that there are numerous false impressions being peddled by opposition elements and other naysayers in streets corners aimed at creating a fake belief that Liberia is going to explode and that things are worst beyond repair.
“This behavior,” he stressed, “is a glaring display of hypocrisy at its highest level by the same people who, in the past, created the mess that the Weah-led Administration is trying to flush out.
“We will continue to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), and we will not be distracted by falsehoods” said Wolokollie before scores of young people at the Center for the Exchange of Intellectual Opinions in Monrovia.
“We will continue to increase domestic revenue generation for the growth and vibrancy of our educational, health, and other sectors,” he emphasized.
Asked to comment on a World Bank report, sometimes ago, that Liberia faces growing economic challenges and human resource deficit including infrastructure gap across the country, Wolokollie narrated that “there will always be challenges.”
The Deputy Finance Minister indicated that what is more important is the determination and resolve of President Weah to confront those challenges and provide the necessary remedies in the best interest of the country.
“The challenges we face, as a country, are not insurmountable,” he further told the gathering.
“We have the vision, we have the mindset, we have the capabilities and we have the abilities to confront them and subsequently improve the living standard of our people,” he declared.
Touching on the state of the Liberian economy, the Deputy Finance Minister for Fiscal Affairs asserted that the country’s reserve has grown from US$135M to a whopping US$600M under the Weah led government.
“Today, economic growth has moved from the negative 2% to 3% positive, and projected to grow by 4% by the end of 2023,” he disclosed.
“Inflation left from double digit to a 7% single digit,” revealed Wolokollie, who is an Executive of ruling CDC.
