Filed in by Olando Testimony Zeongar – 0776819983/0880-361116/life2short4some@yahoo.com
Monrovia – A former assistant minister of Youth and Sports during the regime of ex-president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Boakai Jaleiba, Jr. has sharply reacted to assertions attributed to businessman turned politician Musa Hassan Bility, indicating that the immediate past former ruling Unity Party (UP) led government blew its chances.
In reaction to a social media post released by Bility on his official Facebook page on Sunday, in an apparent rant directed at the former ruling party (UP) by the Liberian business tycoon, Mr. Jaleiba noted that during the 12-year rule of the Sirleaf administration, Liberia experienced unprecedented level of development.
Bility is a former member and ex-campaign manager of Unity Party. During the 2017 elections, he cross-carpeted to Liberty Party (LP) and later gave his support to the now ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), then the main opposition party, when the presidential election went into runoff.
According to Bility, the George Weah-led government is an experiment, which he’s praying for to not fail, but in the event that the retired footballer turned politician’s regime should fail, the former ruling Unity Party must not consider itself for reelection, indicating that the party had its chances but it blew them.
But Mr. Jaleiba told Mr. Bility, what took place in the country under the Sirleaf regime for 12 years was unprecedented on many fronts, citing as example the thriving of local businesses like never before because of what he called the space created and the incentives provided by the Sirleaf administration.
In an attempt to give more evidence of his defense of the UP-led government as opposed to Mr. Bility’s characterization of the regime as a one that blew it chances, Jaleiba wrote: “Well, let me snail pace this and look at some of the contours that we may all agree with.”
Cataloging the UP-led government’s achievements right from the start of its first term in power, Jaleiba wrote: “By 2006, one binding constraint to growth, energy, was at ZERO. The nation’s energy supply was 0mw. Prewar capacity at the hydro was at 64Mw. Over war years, every part of the hydro was chainsawed and parts sold to neighboring countries as scraps. Tree crops were grown in there. Over the last decade, that hydro was restored. The new capacity is 88MW of power-24MW more than prewar capacity.”
Jaleiba continued: “Besides, we augmented the energy program by the installation of addition 38MW through 3 HFO plants of 18MW (acquired through local revenue), 10MW (donated by the Japanese Government) and 10MW (donated by the World Bank). We completed the Monrovia Consolidation of transmission and distribution (T&D) lines, started T&D from Monrovia to Kakata, got electricity in cities from Ganta to Harper for the first time since “1847” through the Rural Electrification Program. We launched the CLSG Electricity Project that brings electricity from Côte d’Ivoire into Liberia then to Sierra Leone and Guinea to enhance regional integration. Homes and businesses connected to the national grid are safer, spend less on energy and have better comfort. Before than, 63% of all operating costs of businesses went to energy. That story is no more for MSMEs connected to the grid. Whilst T&D is still a concern, more homes are now connected to the grid. We’re now approaching prewar levels only dwarfed by the sprawling issues of power theft and minor technical glitches.”
According to the former minister, prior to the Sirleaf taking over in 2006, the “ gateway to the nation’s economy” (Free Port of Monrovia) “was like a loading rack for private firm. We successfully dredged two seaports (Monrovia and Buchanan) in more than 20 years that increased berthing capacity of ships (ships used to line up like a vehicle traffic to berth one-by-one clogging the gateway to the economy). You were Board Chairman of the Freeport-so it is easy to confirm that.”
He reminded Bility that the country’s economy began its decline in 1972 to what he referred to as an outright collapse (-90 percent) by 1992 to 2003, but he was quick to point out that
“the economy recovered somewhat after deliberate efforts were applied by us and the subsequent launch of the last government’s economic plans.”
“This recovery happened over nearly 30 years of decline and collapse; growing 8.9 percent in 2012, 8.7 percent in 2013 until Ebola struck and exposed our fragility.” Said Jaleiba, who added, “We completed and launched many projects including the most important highway in Liberia’s growth corridor (Monrovia to Ganta/Guinea Border and Monrovia to Buchanan – where 70% of Liberians live ), reconstructed the Paynesville-RIA/Buchanan Road, broke grounds for the Gbarnga to Sonoyea Hwy, Lot 1 of the Gbarnga to Voinjama Hwy (Liberia’s agriculture belt), rehabilitated major and community streets in Monrovia and its environs including Sinkor Streets, Parker Paint, Neezo , Caldwell, Police Academy Road, the Harper to Pleebo stretch, finalizing contractual plans for the Pleebo to Karloken corridor, opening up the Caldwell-Barnesville Road front and then parts of Somalia Drive.”
“To the community roads. I will mention them because they seem to be the new source of anxiety of success,” Jalebi said, adding, “whilst it is unpatriotic to condemn the pavement of community roads, it is also plain wrong to act like nothing was done to the community roads over the last 12 years.”
Said Jaleiba: “The Logan Town-Duala Byepass, Duport Road, Duport Road-Zayzay Community Road, the Neezoe-Parker Paint Road, AB Tolbert Road, SD Cooper Road, GSA Road, Rehab Road, Police Academy Road, the Monbo Town Road are among dozens of community roads with asphalt completed with tax dollars.”
Further replying Bility, Jaleiba wrote: “Sir, all the Monrovia roads were impassable-ALL! I quite remember the Sinkor belt as far as NEC HQ. We had holes almost like burial holes. It took planning and commitment to get them done. Not to compare anything, it is germane to state for the records that the Caldwell Junction to Louisiana and the Caldwell to Barnesville stretches combined should be as long as the dedicated Doe Community Road, Bishop Francis and Chugbor Roads and the pending Johnsonville Road.”
“We did not opt to use vuvuzelas to talk about them because it is just confined within the thrust of a social contract theory between the governed and the government. Celebrating them would have made us to look like people celebrating mediocrity,” he maintained.
He told Bility that the UP-led government paved more than 700 kilometres of roads excluding full completion of the Gbarnga-Salayea, Pleebo-Karweken and second phase of the Somalia Drive Roads, saying, “I will elect not to talk about secondary roads across the country.”
Touching on the country’s economy during the Sirleaf regime, Jaleiba averred that the UP-led government maintained macroeconomic stability (inflation in single digit at 7.2%, stable exchange rate from $1 USD to $80/85 LD throughout the Ebola crisis when the economy went down in a free fall from a projected 8.6% in 2014 to 1%) and ensured foreign exchange was available to importers for availability of essential commodities on the market; timely payment of increased cost of freight and insurance due to Ebola.
“We did so to ensure consumers didn’t have to pay for the increase; actually paid about 70,000 public sector workers and their wages by the 25th of every month through direct deposits including when 80% of them were temporary sent home for 8 months to minimize the impact of Ebola in the workplace; among many others,” he added.
“Former Partisan Musa Bility, we did not blow up our chances. We worked! We left an almost finished airport terminal that gives the country a facelift and that will provide courier services for thousands. This was preceded by construction of over 200 new schools and the refurbishment of over 150 old ones ; all coinciding with the provision of educational opportunities to thousands of Liberian students through direct capacity building programs and bilateral assistance fronts,” he stressed.
Jaleiba explained that when Sirleaf assumed power in 2006, the government inherited a budget of 62.5M. After recast, stating, “we took it to 80M. Civil servants made 15USD a month in 2006 and even so, we met unpaid wages of up to 36 months. We paid it and increase salaries by over 800% for the least civil servant. Improve salaries for teachers from 15USD to over 300USD for undergrad degrees. We made the Teachers’ College free. Learned the same is true for the agriculture college. A. M. Dogliotti College of Medicine and the School of Pharmacy were run on a free-of-charge basis and stipend paid to students. TNIMA was also made free.”
He further told Bility that the granting of subsidies were introduced to private health care institutions as a means of outsourcing some of the responsibilities to private healthcare providers, reminding, the former UP partisan and staunch supporter of the CDC-led government that “this is not a trademark of a government that blew it chances.”
Jaleiba went to say that a government that paved the road to Bility’s home county of Nimba County and to Grand Bassa County can’t be accused of blowing it chances.
“Chief, we introduced County centers as a means of easing burden and improving efficiency in the public sector,” said Jaleiba, who added that as a result, business owners as Bility is and other individuals don’t have to travel to Monrovia anymore to interact with line ministries.
“Chief, we lost an election but we did not blow our chances. Happy New Year and hope you started the year with the warmest of aspirations,” Jaleiba concluded.
