Despite his call to Liberians to keep realistic expectations in his inaugural speech recently, it appears that President Joseph Nyumah Boakai's government is going to face high expectations from citizens.
On various radio talk shows, at intellectual centers and in street corners, many Liberians are heard proffering things they think the emerging administration should do to improve standard of life.
This is on the basis of high hope for a far better Liberia promised by Boakai and the UP during the campaign.
The issues include government of inclusion, fight against corruption, learning from mistakes of their predecessor, salary increment for civil servants, listening to the public concerns instead of running a unilateral decision, fulfilling campaign promises, among others.
The NEW DAWN spoke with lots of them especially from Margibi County who proffered their recommendations as the government takes shape.
Caesar C. Lamadine, a businessman in Lango Town Community, Kakata thinks the first and greatest responsibility for President Boakai is to do everything possible to maintain the already existing peace in Liberia.
Caesar is of the strongest conviction that the UP-led administration has those he called 'experts' who are not coming to learn on the job, noting that this government is expected to start a fully running leadership because they have already understood the problems of the Liberian people.
He says from the day of the inauguration up to the first hundred days if Liberians can see price reduction in the nation's staple rice, paved roads, improved health services and education system, maintain tuition-freed public University program, legislate payment of WASSCE fees for 12th graders then President Boakai would have put the country on the right trajectory again.
"In the first month, the President should be speaking on civil servants' salaries. The civil servant salaries should be even elevated before the first sixty days."
Mr. Lamadine: "My advice to the President is the arrogance I see in the people behind the President, it's too much. He needs to speak to it."
A supporter of UP in Margibi District#4, Rudolph Palmer, says he expects the quality of decisions that will be taken by the Unity Party-led government should be far better than those of his predecessor, former President George Weah, and must be in the best interest of the Liberian people.
He underscores that decisions should have trigger-down effects on the general population and impact development of the country.
However, he cautions that President Boakai should not compromise the most talked about audit of the previous administration.
Rudolph Palmer: "What happens is that we set a bad precedent if we compromise audit of the government that we succeed. You will not know where you are starting from economically. Secondly, you need to unearth some of the things that wrongly happened so that you can set precedent so that other people who are taking over too will know that after my term, similar things will happen, so I need to be careful how I proceed."
He also says the new government should be strong in the fight against corruption because the past regime did not do well regarding accountability.
According to him, Liberians are where they are because corruption has impacted the country negatively, pointing that the country is endowed with enormous natural resources that could better citizens' lives if they are utilized properly.
He calls for the formation of a government inclusion that would bring on board bright minds regardless of political alignment.
Another Kakata resident, V. Kromah, notes that the votes margin between President Boakai and former President Weah shows clearly that the country is heavily divided, stressing that President Boakai has a heavy task in uniting the country for forward march.
Kromah believes that the former Weah administration did extremely well and wants Boakai to avoid dealing with people based on party lines because elections are over, and he is now President for all Liberians.
V. Kromah: "The elected government, the first recommendation I can give them is they should learn from the past government's mistakes. Let them forget about the party link. They should focus on Liberia. Let them forget about the fight, they should focus on Liberia."
He points at two key messages the UP had for Liberians during the campaign including taking the drug "kush" from the country and increasing civil servants' salaries, so people are looking up to the new government for that.
Miss Kwande S. Farr, popularly known as 'Queen' from Margibi District#3, says the first and foremost thing President Boakai should do is to listen to the people, instead of making unilateral decision because the people will have their own agenda that they will expect him to do.
"What we want for Amb. Boakai to do, the first and foremost thing to make anybody successful is to listen to your people. Don't ever make unilateral decisions. Listen to your people, they will have their own thing. They will have one or two things they will want you to do and out of the hundred, out of the 10, you can say, I will do the first two, three four, so I will wish and hope that he will listen to us. He's our leader. Let him come down to our level and listen to us and we make sure our little plight we have, ehn you understand ehn? We all can work around him and make it happen", she suggests.
The Margibi County Chairman of the National Patriotic Party Mr. Sam Zor, said the country is divided, evidenced by the small margin between Mr. Boakai and Mr. Weah.
"If you look at the margin, it's not a margin you can boast of to say yes, we did well and that clearly shows that the country is divided and the work the government needs to do is to unite the Liberia people, so that we all can work together. Uniting the people, it just got to be inclusive. If he listens to his people that this is our time and then division going to increase more. Those statements are not statements that can bring unity."
According to him, a government of inclusion will not just mean bringing anybody on board but bringing qualified and competent people who can deliver to the Liberian people.
Mohammed Dunor, a young businessman says he fears that the Boakai regime will not provide the kind of opportunity that former President Weah gave to commoners or ordinary citizens, especially youth to serve in high positions.
He says Boakai will bring people from abroad to meet his taste of competence, noting that John Morlue, who is one of Liberia's best auditors was condemned by Boakai when he (President Boakai) spoke to the VOA and said he was going to bring international auditors to the country.
Mr. Dunor continues that one thing this administration can do is to consider government of inclusion, but notes it is going to be very difficult for President Boakai because of his followers.
He says for instance, Senator Prince Johnson will not allow Weah's appointees to work in the Boakai-led government.
Another concern he has is that Boakai may not continue with most of the programs that former President Weah started, because of petite jealousy and fear that glory will go to his immediate predecessor.
He further cautions that this new government should not witch hunt past officials.
Mohammed adds that if Boakai fails to increase salaries and take kush from the country, Liberians will go against him.
The Youth and Sports Coordinator of Margibi County, Kinsoreso W. W. W. Wuo, observes that the new government said they were going to rescue the Liberian people and indeed, Oldman Joe Boakai said it.
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"He said one term. President Weah will be a one-term government and he meant it and he did it and President Weah is a one-term government. I can see development, but I foresee some leaders that are behind this President; this President needs to be very wise. President Weah was also a good president but because of those who were appointed the people spoiled the government. I foresee the same thing happening to Oldman Joe Boakai. The president, I can see the loyalty and love for the Liberian people in his eyes but people behind him will be the one that will want to spoil the government. I am urging him that he should open his eyes very wide in making sure that indeed everything that he said that was not good in President Weah's government that he should put in place so that he will see the Liberian people going forward."
He says the expectations of the Liberian people rest in the hands of President Boakai, so everything he criticized former President Weah for should be done rightly to see the people forging ahead.
But a local official of the CDC Musa Siryon, thinks that President Joseph Nyumah Boakai will perform well because he served as vice president for 12 years.
"Those commitments that he made, those promises that he made, he should live up to them. In hundred days', from the 22nd to April 19, no car should get stuck on any major highway. Our hospitals must be reawakened, rebranded and there must be that medical facility for everybody, irrespective of who you are, where you're from, your age, you should have those facilities."
He adds that his major recommendation is that Amb. Boakai should bring the War and Economic Crimes Court in the first hundred days of his leadership to stamp out impunity while pointing at reconciliation as very cardinal.
"I don't want Boakai to make the mistake that we did that it's our time. It's not about our time, it's about Liberia's time. It was one of our faults. We felt to be in the ruling establishment was an inheritance", Siryon observes.
