Monrovia — The Political Leader of the new Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) has attributed the high level of suffering among vast majority of Liberians, to the growing wave of stealing among public officials working in the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) led government of President George Manneh Weah.
The new CPP comprises of the Alternative National Congress and the Musa Bility faction of the Liberty Party (LP).
Mr. Cummings observed that though corruption has persisted in Liberia for several decades now, the menace is rampant under the present government.
He made these assertions at separate programs marking the endorsement of his presidential bid by thousands of citizens in Harrisburg, Todee and Bensonville, in district # 1, Montserrado County over the weekend.
He said acts of corruption involving both junior and senior government officials remain rampant under the CDC led-government and as such, citizens should take keen and avoid committing a "political suicide" by retaining them.
He said despite being the oldest independent African country with numerous resources, Liberians continues to suffer from hardship, while the country's coffers are being depleted by corrupt officials.
Mr. Cummings emphasized that the failure of the Liberian Chief Executive to take punitive and stringent actions against his corrupt government officials, implies that he (Weah), along with his closed associates or other family members are allegedly involved.
He maintained that the failure of the Weah led-government to invest in the agriculture sector, continues to negatively contribute to the huge challenges citizen are encountering to get rice on the local market.
Rice is the nation's staple food.
Mr. Cummings observed that the efforts of farmers are not being complemented by the government to guarantee food security in Liberia.
He added that Liberia and its citizens deserve better, but persistent suffering and hardship in the post-conflict have deprived them the opportunity to excel.
"We as a country and Liberians deserve a better Liberia. The suffering we are going through-it doesn't have to be that way. Liberia is too rich for us to be so poor. We are the oldest country in Africa, but among the least developed countries in the world. It shouldn't be that way. One of the main reasons why our country is so poor is because of corruption."
"The stealing is just over the top. It starts with the head. If the leader is dishonest, chances are there for everybody to be dishonest. The President and his people do not care about you or this country. They just spend monies enjoying themselves. They only care about themselves."
He further termed as an act of sheer wickedness the move made by government to reduce the salaries of thousands of civil servants working at various government ministries, agencies and commissions, while higher-ups continue to receive fabulous and attractive remunerations.
Job big for Weah
"Stealing is happening in Liberia; government officials are stealing your money and the suffering is too much. The stealing is too much and we the Liberian people have to change our country. We have to replace our President (George Manneh Weah) 2023 because he cannot do the job. The job is too big for him; it's like asking someone to drive a car when the person does not know how to drive."
"Today we have begun the process of replacing President George Weah and bringing better education to our people."
He said citizens should believe in themselves by taking actions to reject President Weah at the polls.
He stated that voting for the governing party 2023 will appear like citizens are "committing political suicide", noting that, "Liberians are too smart to be fooled again."
Mr. Cummings maintained that citizens should collectively work together harder as part of efforts to alleviate or minimize multiple constraints they are faced with, noting that, "if we work together, we can change our country."
Register to vote
He used the occasions to urge citizens to turn out en masse to obtain their voter registration cards to be able to make a genuine in the interest of their country come 2023.
The voter registration exercise is expected to commence from December 15, 2022 to March 24, 2023, according to the National Elections Commission (NEC).
for the biometric voter registration exercise.
"In order for you to stop the suffering and change our country, you have to register to vote. If you register to vote and vote for the right people, we will change Liberia."
Mr. Cummings is expected to officially announce is presidential ambition and plans for Liberia and its citizens on November 26, 2022.
He encouraged citizens to grace the event to clearly understand his vision.
Mr. Cummings vowed to change Liberia for the benefit of all its citizens, regardless of political affiliation, status or religion.
"I want to change this country for all of us to benefit. I want the people of Harrisburg to benefit from the hydro that is right here; I want the people of district # 1 to benefit from the water treatment plant to White Plains; I want people to have good schools, healthcare and I want to empower market women."
Vowing to stop stealing
Mr. Cummings renewed hi pledge to thoroughly combat against "stealing" when elected as Liberia's next President.
"We need a President who knows the job and will care for the Liberian people to make sure the roads, hospitals and schools are good, provide jobs for young people and ensure that our healthcare workers are well paid and trained."
"We will stop stealing, suffering and wickedness. You know, this government reduced the salaries of civil servants and can't pay them regularly. I promise you that when God bless us and we will these elections, we will change Liberia for the benefit of everybody.'
Mr. Cummings maintained that there would be serious consequences, including prosecution for individuals accused or indicted for corruption, noting that, "we will set example that everybody will follow."
He said vocational and technical skills will be provided youths in a bid to boost job creation under his government, while teachers will be trained and paid fabulous salaries to keep them in the classrooms.
Mr. Cummings said the requisite quality standards of schools and other higher institutions of learning will also be set to ensure that students across Liberia compete with their counterparts from other countries.
On CPP
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The CPP, which previously comprised of the former ruling Unity Party (UP), All Liberian Party (ALP), ANC and the Liberty Party (LP) did not live up to its true essence to hold together and democratically defeat President Weah in 2023.
The alliance cracked following the alleged alteration of the framework document which brought the four parties together, lawsuits, and internal fights between executives over the process for the selection of a Standard Bearer.
Following the department of the UP, ALP and the Senator Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence faction of the LP from the CPP, the ANC and the Musa Bility faction of the LP held on and established a new framework document, keeping the hope of the collaboration alive.
Mr. Cummings pointed out that despite the current situation, the CPP is going through a rebuilding process to democratically capture state power in 2023.
"The way I like to explain the CPP is that, if you are going from Careysburg to Monrovia and the car breaks down. You will be angry but you will still continue your trip tomorrow by getting down and fixing your car. The CPP broke down; but the CPP is still rebuilding itself and will deliver victory to the Liberian people."
He said though other political parties left the collaboration, the CPP remains open to other political institutions and individuals
"Our door is open; we are prepared to receive or talk to anybody from anywhere so we can work together to change our country and we want to work with the other political parties for example, on protecting the elections so the government cannot do something with the elections. We can win President Weah. The suffering the Liberian people going through, it may be anybody, but Weah will not win."
