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Monrovia -President George Weah has predicted that 2019 will be a very critical year for his administration in achieving its national objective of consolidating peace and beating back poverty from the lives of Liberians.
In a remark on Capitol Hill, Monrovia on Monday, when the 54th National Legislature opened for its 2nd-Sitting, President Weah, therefore, rallied all Liberians especially officials of his government, with the reminder that during the launch of the National Development Plan, the Prop-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD), he asked for the collective effort and cooperation of all Liberians, aimed at working collaboratively to transform the country into a modern nation.
Throughout 2018, under Weah’s rule which has spanned less than a year now, Liberia continues to experience unrestrained challenges, noticeably with the country’s economy taking a painful downward thrust which is taking a toll on many Liberians, who have poverty gazing at them in their faces amid multiple corruption allegations including the reported disappearance of billions of Liberian dollars and some US$25 million from state coffers being unaccounted for, while President Weah and some of his officials embark upon the acquisition and construction of properties worth millions of dollars.
Howbeit, President Weah told a predominant audience of officials of his administration including lawmakers, his deputy, Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor, herself a former lawmaker; that they were elected by Liberians to serve.
“We must therefore work together to ensure that we deliver to their expectations in all areas, such as education, health, infrastructure, peace and security and agriculture,” President Weah further rallied his officials.
He noted that the National Legislature, as the First Branch of the Liberian government, plays a very pivotal role in the country’s constitutional democratic system, reminding the legislators that through their oversight and law-making functions, the Legislature keeps the country on what he calls an even keel and coordinates with the other two branches of Government to deliver peace, security, development and prosperity for the people of Liberia.
He commended the lawmakers for the Legislature 1st-Sitting last year, describing their performance as being excellent, but he hastened that although the legislators passed a significant number of important legislative instruments into law during the period under review, there are still a few pending before them which passage he is urging the 54th National Legislature to complete.
Meanwhile, President Weah says in keeping with constitutional requirements he will present his legislative agenda and report to the lawmakers on The State of the Nation in his Annual Message which he will deliver at the close of January 2019.
“I will use that opportunity to urge all branches of the government to coordinate and collaborate in the interest of our beloved country,” said Weah, adding, “during this sitting, I admonish you to continue to carry out your Legislative activities in the supreme interest of our people.”
