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Brussels, Belgium – A lawmaker of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Montserado County District #8 Representative, Moses Acarous Gray, has told his colleagues drawn from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states at the ACP Parliamentary Assembly, in Brussels, Belgium that the political situation in Liberia is stable.
The ACP Group is an organization established by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975 with 79 member states (48 from sub-Saharan Africa, 16 in the Caribbean and 15 in the Pacific).
Save Cuba, all 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific states are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement, also known as the “ACP-EC Partnership Agreement” which binds them to the European Union.
Reporting to the Committee on Political Affairs during the 47th session of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly on Tuesday, 9 October, Representative Gray intimated that as expected, the political situation in Liberia is stable, basing his assessment of the country’s political state of being on what he calls democratic and collective reconciliatory factors.
Rep Gray recalled that in recent times, the Liberian government, according to him, for the first time in the nation’s political history, has allowed protesters under the banner of what he referred to as newly emerged civil society groups and key political parties to openly demonstrate and present their grievances on national issues.
“Interestingly, the Government in a positive pre-emptive reply to public concerns relating to allegations of the printing of Bank Notes by the previous administration was able to set up an Independent Investigative Committee now headed by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Committee and has also requested the United States Government for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) involvement into the investigation,” the CDC lawmaker said..
He told his colleagues that in a bid to unravel the mysteries surrounding ‘missing billions’ of Liberian dollar banknotes, the government also sought the involvement of the International Monetary Funds (IMF) and other international actors so as to find a swift and transparent conclusion to mounting public concerns.
“His Excellency President George M. Weah, Sr. has vowed to act on the outcome of the investigation and at the same time reassuring the people of Liberia and international partner of his quest to protect the country’s economy and wellbeing of the state,” he said..
Rep Gray continued: “Madam President and distinguished colleagues, Liberia under the current administration has been able to make unprecedented gains by a quest for the decriminalization of free speech by protecting the media and at the same time passing into law the Local Government and Land Rights Acts.”
He explained that these instruments, testifies to the strides being made under the leadership of President Weah, adding that the signing of same into law by the president, will see the decentralization of power and the wealth of the state, and at the same time settling land disputes and protecting traditional and customary land ownership.
Touching on Liberia’s security situation in his report to the ACP Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Political Affairs, Rep Gray reported that Liberia recently emerged from a brutal civil war, but the country continues to maintain peaceful coexistence on national security issues.
“In conclusion, Liberia is stable domestically and continues to maintain its regional responsibility to peace and security in the ECOWAS region,” said Rep Gray, adding, “Liberia remains open to sustainable development and investment opportunities.”
The 47th session of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly, which spanned from 8-10 October 2018, had as its major focus a new agreement between the ACP and the EU.
Recently, the EU and all 79 countries in the ACP group begun negotiations on the future of their cooperation after 2020. The ambition is to transform the ACP-EU partnership into a modern political alliance.
The countries in the EU and the ACP represent more than half of all UN member countries and unite over 1.5 billion people. The current partnership, governed by the Cotonou Agreement, is one of the longest-standing and most comprehensive framework for cooperation between the EU and developing countries.
The Cotonou Agreement governing EU-ACP relations is due to expire in February 2020.
Article 95 of the Cotonou Agreement requires partners to enter into negotiations at least 18 months before the expiry of the current deal. To meet this deadline, the negotiation process was launched in July 2018, through an exchange of letters and respective negotiating mandates.
