Monrovia — The Standard Bearer of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) Mr. Alexander Benedict Cummings has blasted President George Manneh Weah for failing to adequately utilize his recent visit to the United States by holding bilateral discussions for the benefit of Liberia and its citizens, instead of taking a selfie with US President Joe Biden.
On November 1, President Weah departed Liberia for about 48 days to form part of a series of events in Morocco, Egypt, Qatar, and the United States.
Minutes after the commencement of the opening session, photos of President Weah, in a selfie with President Biden, went viral on the social media, with many of his ministers and others sharing and using as their profile pictures on Facebook.
These government officials continue to showcase their happiness for the closed proximity the Liberian leader had with his US counterpart in the wake of persistent bashing from the opposition of the President being denied an official White House invitation as customarily done due to the historic traditional ties subsisting between the two nations.
In his Christmas and New Year message delivered to Liberians on Thursday, December 22, Mr. Cummings claimed that president Weah "irresponsibly" left the country for 48 days and wasted tax payers' monies jumping from place to place, watching his son play football and enjoying himself, and came back to his "Miami" with more lies and pictures for his Facebook album.
He stressed that the high level of pleasantries and photo taking which characterized the President's prolong trip did not yield fruitful results for Liberia and its citizens.
"Our President requested and got selfie photos with the American President while one or two heads of state had opportunity for bilateral meetings and others signed huge investment and aid packages, including awards of MCC Compacts for their countries. This is nationally embarrassing. But Mr. Weah and his acolytes know no shame as long as they think they can continue to plunder, deceive and abuse the intelligence of our nation."
"Da pictures our people will eat? Da pictures will pay people's rent and hospital bills? Da pictures will pay children's school fees? Da pictures will create jobs? Da pictures will give business people and market women loans and micro-financing? By the way, banks have no cash to pay people because the Central Bank is not giving them their money. Da selfies will cash people checks?"
Mr. Cummings maintained that the world is presently laughing at the nation "and will continue to laugh at us and take us for a joke because we have a President who thinks the job of President da play-play thing."
"While he is playing, our people continue to suffer because no serious investor will come to invest in a country with a play-play leader who is doing nothing to stop stealing from the people because he himself is stealing or benefitting from the stealing of the Liberian people's money."
No US official invitation
Mr. Cummings stressed that the United States is Liberia's historical and traditional friend and ally, but President Weah has not been invited to hold bilateral discussions with the US leader since he was inaugurated into office.
He added that on coming to office, a new Liberian President traditionally gets an invitation to pay a visit to the U.S. and comes back with a commitment for aid and development assistance.
"If that President stays in office more than two years without receiving an invitation then something is wrong. It took five years for Mr. Weah to get a general invitation to 50 other African Heads of State to Washington to attend a conference. And even at that, he could not get space for one-on-one bilateral discussion. Instead, he was in a group of six other heads of state whose countries are facing elections. They were called in to be told that America expects them to conduct free and fair elections.
Lies and deceits
Speaking further, Mr. Cummings claimed that President Weah cannot bring serious investors to Liberia to create jobs as he promised 5 years ago.
He stated that no serious investor will bring their money to a country that is not safe and being internationally called a kleptocracy.
"We have to stop fooling ourselves, and stop letting President Weah get away with fooling us time and time again. The Presidency is for serious people who know what they are doing. The Presidency is too important to all of our lives to have it placed in the hands of someone so irresponsible, indiscipline, incompetent and unfit to lead a home or a business. Liberia is not a trophy. The Presidency is not a ludo game. When the President fails, or cannot do his job, everyone pays for it."
"From Bali Island to investors coming; for 5 years, we have heard the same lies, propaganda and deception. Our reality will not be changed by lies, propaganda and deception. The Liberian Presidency does not need a dribbler. We need an honest and hardworking leader. This is who I am, and for our country and people, this is what we will do to change the poor living conditions of our people."
Good footballer, 'fecee' President
Mr. Cummings observed that President Weah was a good footballer who is now a "fecee President."
He claimed that the President has spent 5 years playing around like a "small boy while Liberians are suffering."
"He (Weah) is a mistake we must correct to end the suffering of the Liberian people because the Bible rightly prophesied that the people will perish when their leaders have no vision - when the leader, like President Weah does not know what he is doing or supposed to be doing."
According to him, the Liberian Chief Executive has not led, cannot lead, and will not lead.
Swimming in wealth
Mr. Cummings added that some ministers and their spouses get flown out of the country on private jets for expensive medical care while drivers and security who have also risked their own lives serving them are left behind to fight for themselves.
He maintained that some ministries are denied their entire budget allocation while few are swimming in stolen wealth and luxuries.
He indicated that President Weah is not one to take or accept responsibility as evidenced that after several years in office, he continues to shift blame for his failures.
"He claims he is fixing what past governments spoiled. Certainly, past governments paved the Monrovia-Ganta Road. Past government repaved the Robertsfield Road that Mr. Weah and his cronies have turned into a death trap by giving bogus contract to a company without proper vetting. Past government secured funding for the Gbarnga-Voinjama Road that Mr. Weah has failed to complete in five years. Instead, Mr. Weah has given contracts to friends for pavement of roads that lead to nowhere in his "Miami."
Mr. Cummings added that since the inception of the CDC led-government, Liberia's unemployment rate has skyrocketed, thereby causing serious hardship on the ordinary masses.
"More Liberians are suffering today than when Mr. Weah became President. This country is going backward and the President is not serious. This is why I say we need serious people to lead our country and we don't need a joker."
He, however, commended Liberians for their "courage and bravery to turnout" on December 17 for the "We Tiyah Suffering" rally held at the Samuel Kanyan Doe Sports Complex.
He noted that the SKD was the place President Weah made his "false promise to "Change for Hope"."
"He (Weah) did not want the Liberian people to remind him by going there. But we did. We went there because in 5 years, the only change President Weah has delivered is from hope to hopelessness, from stealing to more stealing, and from suffering to more suffering. Liberians are "Tiyah Suffering". The old and the young, the educated and uneducated, Christians and Muslims, men and women, and rural and urban dwellers came together beyond party and tribe to demand change. We cannot continue to be the joke of the world."
Mr. Cummings said Liberians cannot continue to be strangers and beggars in their own country, or poor in their motherland that is so rich.
He indicated that leaders of the nation cannot continue to be so corrupt and uncaring, while Liberians are living in fear to express their dissatisfaction and disappointments.
Wake up
"We must all wake up to the conditions of our fellow citizens so that we work to fix the failings of our governments. We must answer the patriotic call to end impunity and inequality. All Liberians - rich or poor, ordinary citizens or government officials - must be seen to be equal before the law. This is what the "We Tiyah Suffering" rallying call is also about."
According to him, "We Tiyah Suffering" is a call to reclaim Liberians' destiny so that they are more responsible and more accountable to each other for the sustainable development of the country.
"Our country cannot continue to fly on autopilot - leaderless and rudderless. Ordinary Liberians cannot continue to be told to sacrifice while their leaders are wasteful, corrupt, indiscipline and irresponsible. We Tiyah Suffering" is a call to honorable public service and not self-service at the expense of the public."
Mr. Cummings emphasized that those who think this is a call for a cup of rice today; "you are wrong."
"We Tiyah Suffering" is about long-term food security. We must eat today knowing we can feed ourselves and our families tomorrow. We Tiyah Suffering" is not about cutting people salaries. It is about increasing salaries and creating jobs that will pay living wages, educating and empowering our people, and providing them with the best healthcare system possible.
He noted that "We Tiyah Suffering" is also providing loans and micro-financing for Liberians to own and improve their businesses so that they are no longer spectators in their economy.
He claimed that the rally was an expression of hope - one that will ensure that citizens do not continue to do the same thing that is causing them to suffer expecting somehow that they will not suffer.
Observing festive season in hardship
While using the occasion to extend festive season greetings to Liberians, Mr. Cummings observed that the masses are observing Christmas and the ending of the year with hardship.
"For the last five years under President Weah, living conditions have gotten worse every year. Things have become harder and harder that there is hardly anything with which to celebrate."
He noted that on this fifth Christmas Day under the Weah government, many children will go to bed hungry, while families will still be grieving the mysterious deaths of loved ones because their deaths cannot be reasonably explained or properly investigated.
He added that the Liberian leader who has ordered investigations into these cases has not bothered to follow up because he hopes the public will forget, even though "the grieving families cannot forget, and we will not forget."
"On this fifth Christmas Day under President Weah, our elderly citizens will be forced to beg because in their retirement, this government has abandoned them. The streets will still be unsafe, and communities will continue to be taken over by ghettos and drugs. Joblessness, disappointments and frustration will continue to be the story of many young people. Prices of everything, including food, rent and transportation, will still be going up while salaries are going down."
"On Weah's fifth Christmas Day, President Weah, the VP, the Speaker, the ProTemp and the Deputy Speaker - only 5 persons - have all increased their share in the budget so that together they are getting more than universities, schools and hospitals. And while they are expensively taking care of themselves and their families, including using the Liberian people money to travel in private jet planes and to go to hospitals outside the country, they are also wickedly cutting the pay of civil servants while many public hospitals are without beds, equipment and medicines."
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Mr. Cummings said as Liberians celebrate Christmas and end another year to begin a new and fateful election year, they must continue to believe that the CPP can change their tears of suffering into tears of happiness.
He noted that hopelessness can become hopefulness again, while privileges of partisanship will no longer undermine rights of citizenship.
He called on Liberians to believe that they cannot be so blessed by God only to be cursed by their own leaders.
"We must believe that we can change our country. We can improve the living conditions of all of our people. We can make living in Liberia safe, better and wonderful so that our citizens do not have to think about leaving in search of greener pastures because we, too, can make Liberia greener pastures for Liberians."
"Our children do not have to go to foreign schools for quality education or foreign hospitals for better treatment. We, too, can make our schools better and our hospitals better. Now is the time to try to do something about being tiyah. Now, we must stand together and work together - harder than we have done. Now is not the time to go backward. We cannot govern by nostalgia. The future is never to be found in the past. We must move to build a new future now so that our children and their children do not have to be tiyah suffering too."
Meanwhile, Mr. Cummings has vowed to put in place systems and best practices that will apply to all citizens regardless of status in the Liberian society when elected in the pending 2023 eelctions.
He said Liberians should continue to follow the rules in their own country as compare to the way they do while residing or visiting other countries.
"I'm running to be President for all Liberians. We are running to change the systems that are holding Liberians backward. Everyone who is supporting me knows and understands that and knows that the rules will apply to everybody."
Mr. Cummings threatened consequences for Liberians who violate the rules and laws of the country regardless of their proximity to him.
He said those willing to abide by the rules and laws of the country can join the CPP and its quest to democratically captured state power come 2023.
Unsafe country
Reacting to the arrest of one of his security guards for allegedly being in possession of a firearm during the CPP rally, Mr. Cummings justified that Liberians and other foreign residents are living in a country that is unsafe.
He made specific reference to a statement made by President Weah calling on citizens to be their own security by mounting Closed Circuit Television (CCTVs) at their respective homes.
He stressed the need for the conduct of an investigation into the matter to substantiate the facts and urged the public to patiently await the outcome of the probe.
