Many promises about investments have been made but have not been delivered. Take the announcements in Liberia, for example. Let us remember the announcement by the National Investment Commission less than a decade ago about the USD18 million. Then, the President of Acelor Mittal, the world's largest steel producer, visited Liberia and promised to double Acelor Mittal's USD800,000 investment in Liberia. Now, the Western Cluster Company has promised to invest USD 2 billion in Liberia. Acelor Mittal has had a ontract, Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) since 2005.
The USD 18 million promise was made under the State regime during the 2010s, but it never happened. In fact, when Mr. Patray went to the Liberian Senate for his confirmation hearing as Executive Governor of CBL, he admitted that the LD 16 million that entered Liberia between 2016 and 2018 could not be accounted for as only the amount of LD 1.7 billion was in the commercial banks. Interestingly enough, as of February 2017, the commercial banks were alarmed that they had run short of Liberian dollars. However, the Liberian government announced that a USD25 million amount would be given to commercial banks to ease their cash plight.
Let us remember that until now, the amounts of money promised to be invested in Liberia have never appeared. In the counties of Nimba, Bong, and Grand Bassa, there are concerns about the non-payment of county development funds promised by Acelor Mittal. For over a decade, these citizens have not benefited from the Acelor Mittal MDA. This means their prevailing poverty is still in poverty generation instead of poverty alleviation. The citizens of Bomi County hold similar concerns about promises made by the Western Cluster Company, which has been interested in mining in Liberia for over a decade.
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These undelivered promises affect economic growth, development, national security, and stability. Yet, they remain delivered. This undelivered promise is being attended to correctly by the people who love Liberia. These people are using their knowledge to raise awareness and motivate people to take action through the Rule of Law to transform the prevailing unfair electoral system into an enduring, fair one. This transformation works well, as seen in the October 10, 2023 Election results, where participation was world record high, NEC corruption was low, and violence was non-existent.
The main evidence is seen in the non-re-election of the Legislators who wanted to be re-elected. This trend will continue in the ensuing elections. It is only through this transformation that persons with good records can get elected to bring in the system of Justice, the ingredient for Peace and Progress in Liberia and in any other country.
