Commits to Free, Fair, and Transparent Election in October
IPNEWS – Delivering his much-anticipated State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, January 30, in the Joint Chambers of the Legislature, President George Weah unveiled massive successes in this term of his Presidency.
President Weah first mentioned the numerous pieces of legislations that were passed by the 54th Legislature. He recounted the passage of the Land Rights Act and the Local Government Act in the first session of the 54th Legislature in 2018. According to the Liberian leader, the Land rights has been considered by many as the most progressive pro-community land reform law on the Africa continent as it recognizes and protects customary land tenure, as well as women’s rights to land.
As for the Local Government Act, he said it has established a system of governance consisting of locally appointed and elected officials, and grants them authority and resources to enable them to cater directly to the care and needs of the citizens in their respective counties, in the areas of health, education, roads, agriculture and other development needs. “No longer must our people always have to come all the way to Monrovia to get better services, because most of the things done in Monrovia can now be done in the counties.”
In a related development, President Weah disclosed the 54th Legislature passed the Revenue Sharing Law in 2022, to enable revenue-sharing between central and local governments in Liberia. It was designed with the main objective of promoting domestic resource mobilization through fiscal decentralization for local empowerment.
Continuing the chronology of the laws passed by the 54th Legislature, President disclosed in 2019, during the second session of the lawmakers, approximately fifty-four (54) pieces of legislation were passed, amounting to the second highest number of bills passed during a single session under this Administration. This is highly commendable, and we applaud you for that achievement.
“Additionally, I want to commend you for passing the Power Theft Law, the Domestic Violence Act, and the Kamara A. Kamara Press Freedom Act of 2019.
The Power Theft Law seeks to address the increasing theft of electricity through illegal connections, tampering with meters and with transmission and distribution lines, as well as theft of LEC’s assets, including light poles, wires, and transformers. It establishes a system of prohibitions and penalties to deal with electricity theft, for which Government intervention and protection is appropriate,” the Liberian stated.
President Weah also thanked the 54th Legislature also for the passage of the Domestic Violence Act, which is expected to promote gender equality and protect women and children from domestic violence. This law is intended to reduce the entrenched gender inequality practices which were on the increase in our country. Let me assure you that these laws will continue to be fully and appropriately enforced under my Administration.
“Let me also congratulate you for the enactment into law of the Kamara Abdullah Kamara Act of Press Freedom, which is a very historic piece of legislation that codifies and decriminalizes free speech, as enshrined in our 1986 Constitution. With the passage of this new law, we have cast into the dustbin of history all outdated criminal statutes that once restricted freedom of speech. Today, we are proud to see that dozens of newspapers exist, unhampered and unrestricted, along with numerous radio and TV stations that are now flooding our airwaves,” the Liberian Chief Executive averred.
While there were other significant bills enacted in 2020 and 2021, President Weah however, drew the attention of the Legislature to some of the bills passed last year, which is the year under review. “The year 2022 saw the passage of fifty-six (56) bills, the highest number of bills passed thus far in a single session under my Administration. In the interest of time, a detailed listing of these Acts is attached to this Annual Message as APPENDIX “A”, he disclosed.
“Among these were several judicial reform Bills, including a Bill to provide conditions and authority to arrest; a Bill to provide for a new standard on preliminary examination in cases above the trial jurisdiction of magistrates and justices of the peace; a Bill to provide for plea bargaining; and a Bill to provide for the appointment of additional relieving judges.
Together, these Bills have instituted major reforms to our judicial system, and will help to establish trust and give credibility to the judiciary. I thank you once again for passing these laws,” President Weah lauded the lawmakers.
Touching on corruption, the Liberia Chief Executive had this to say: “As our fight against corruption and financial crimes remains paramount, we applaud you also for passage of bills seeking to strengthen our integrity institutions, such as the Amended Central Bank of Liberia Act, the Financial Intelligence Agency Act, the Anti-money Laundering Terrorist Financing, Preventive Measures, And Proceeds of Crime Act, 2021, the new Internal Audit Agency Act, and the Amended and Restated Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission Act.
Together, these laws will strengthen our anti-graft institutions and minimize the vices associated with corruption and financial crimes in our country. They will also further strengthen our financial sector and make it consistent with international best practices, and will also ensure secure financial transactions in support of our monetary and fiscal policies.
Thank you also for the ratification of several agreements with our international partners to provide development financing in support of our budget and infrastructure needs.”
Continuing, President disclosed one of the most significant achievements in support of his call for national unity was the passage of the Dual Citizenship Bill last year, which was the year of the Bicentennial. “The moral significance of restoring citizenship rights to our brothers and sisters in diaspora cannot be overemphasized. We now call on our families from the diaspora to come home and join us in the noble and patriotic task of nation-building, so that we can all continue to enjoy our Sweet and Glorious Land of Liberty, which was given to Liberians by God’s command.
Thank you again, Members of this Honorable Legislature, for codifying the 23rd of December 2019 Opinion of the Honorable Supreme Court, making more true the saying that … “Once a Liberian – Always a Liberian.”
While applauding the lawmakers for the record-breaking passage of these various bills, “we would like to remind you, however, of some important bills that are still pending before you, including the following: Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area; An Act to Establish the West African Police Information System; The Statute of the International Renewable Energy Agency; The Legal Aid Act of 2022; The Liberia Corrections Service Act; An Act to Establish the Civil Service Commission; A Revised Public Health Law of Liberia; The Revised and Restated Charter of the University of Liberia; and the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework Agreement; just to name a few.
These Bills are very significant to the success of our Pro-Poor Agenda, and we therefore urge you to consider their urgent passage in this Sixth Session.”
Commenting on bill to support women cause, President Weah said it was his understanding that an affirmative action bill, aimed at increasing women representation in the National Legislature, is being introduced under the sponsorship of the Women Legislative Caucus and our Vice President. “We wholeheartedly support this endeavor in our quest to achieve gender parity in our political space, in keeping with international best practices. We therefore urge speedy passage to enable it be signed into law.
I will also be submitting additional bills for your consideration that seek to improve our overall governance systems and structures, enhance our economy, protect our business environment, and create jobs for our people.”
President revealed that Under this Administration, a total of 22 Executive Orders were issued by him (from Executive Order 93 to Executive Order 114) in order to meet exigencies that could not await the lengthy legislative processes.
More specifically, however, during the year 2022, he issued eight executive orders, as follows: Executive Order #107 Suspending Tariffs on Off-Grid Solar Renewable Energy Products; Executive Order #108 Supporting Integration and Access to Social Services and Safety Nets for Refugees and other Vulnerable Populations in Liberia; Executive Order #109 Extending Executive Order #100 Exempting the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC) from Customs Duties on Selected Items.
Other Executive Orders issued by him were Executive Order #110 Extending Executive Order #101 Repositioning the National Food Assistance Agency; Executive Order #111 Exempting the Liberia Electricity Corporation from Customs Duty and GST on Generation, Transmission and Distribution Equipment, Materials & Fuel; Executive Order #112 Establishment of the National Railway Authority; Executive Order #113 Suspending Tariff on Rice; and Executive Order #114 Establishing the West African Police Information System.
The caution the 54th Legislature saying, “As you go through the Sixth Session of this august body and the final year of the first term of our Administration, let us be reminded that, although we have worked hard, there is still a lot more to do together. We must now recharge our energies and re-double our efforts to complete what we started five years ago, in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration, so as to fully realize the goals and objectives of the Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development.”
Touching on the economy, President told the lawmakers that when he took the oath of office in January of 2018, the Liberian economy was in a state of major distress. The macroeconomic foundations were weak. The country’s net international reserve, which had been used by the previous Government to stabilize the exchange rate, was very low. The exchange rate had plunged into free fall, and the then Government did not seem to have the tools to deal effectively with stabilizing the currency at that time. As a consequence, inflation was increase at an alarming rate, while domestic revenue and development assistance were in decline.
“Five years after the launch of painstaking reforms, the results are out there for the world to see. Today, Liberia is a macroeconomic exception in the West African region. We have brought inflation down from a high of thirty (30%) percent to a single-digit rate that is now under seven (7%) percent. We accomplished this in just under two years, making it one of the fastest rates of inflation collapse in recorded economic history.
We also stabilized the exchange rate for one of the longest periods, and we grew net international reserves to their highest level in decades. We increased domestic revenue to the highest level in Liberian history, and took our national budget to its highest level as well.
We established credibility to Government’s finances; and reformed the banking sector, which had been exposed to excessive risk-taking and a high level of non-performing loans. With the increased domestic revenue generated, we undertook a series of development programs in roads, electricity, education and health.
These results were obtained despite the outbreak of COVID-19. What this means is that if the pandemic had not happened, Liberia would have been on a faster growth trajectory than it is today. But we give Almighty God the glory and we thank our international partners for standing with us and for the confidence they continue to repose in our judgement and in our leadership.”
According to President Weah, these are the broad lines of the story that will define his Administration as it faces national elections in 2023. “These are the macroeconomic and development narratives that the world is now beginning to learn about Liberia, but which our critics and opposition have tried to repress over the last several years. But as it is often said that: “truth crushed to the ground, shall rise again.”
The truths of the difficult decisions and courageous corrections we have made during our tenure, concerning the pro-poor investments in education, health, roads and electricity, are out there for all Liberians to see and experience. It is on these truths that we stand, as we continue to face existing challenges to deliver a more prosperous future for all Liberians.”
On the nation finances, President Weah stated: “Revenue collection for 2022, including grants, was $740 million U.S. dollars, compared to $646 million U.S. dollars in 2021. A large part of this difference is attributable to an increase in domestic revenue mobilization for the calendar year 2022. This revenue performance was driven by higher receipts of tax and non-tax revenues, especially taxes on international trade and taxes on income and profits. Of this amount, domestic taxes was $605 million U.S. dollars and external resources received from our Development Partners was $135 million U.S. dollars.
On the other hand, total cash expenditure for the same period under review was $774 million U.S. dollars. The excess of expenditure over revenue collection, amounting to $34 million U.S. dollars, is attributed to the use of treasury instruments.
Of the total cash expenditure, $286.38 million, or 37% percent, was spent on compensation of Government employees; $258.93 million, or 33.45% percent, was spent on goods and services, including grants and subsidies; $89.37 million, or 11.46% percent, was spent on domestic and international debt; and $139.32 million, or18% percent, was spent on public sector investment programs.
The president disclosed that the past fiscal year recorded the highest level of domestic revenue performance since the end of the civil conflict. “This is clear evidence of economic recovery and macroeconomic stability. We continue to show strong improvements in mobilizing domestic revenue, which are due to key reforms under the domestic revenue mobilization strategy of the Liberian Revenue Authority.
These mainly include expanding the tax base, minimizing revenue loss through raising the tax effort, building public confidence in the tax system, and implementing greater effectiveness and efficiency in tax administration through innovation and technology.
Sustaining domestic revenue performance is the only way we can guarantee the funding of our public sector investment programs, which will then enable us to address critical infrastructure and social sector challenges, such as roads, electricity, healthcare, and education. It is also the only means to diversify the Liberian economy.
I now hereby call on all national stakeholders to support these reform efforts, and I would like to also encourage all Liberians and businesses operating within Liberia to pay your taxes fairly and timeously as is required by law.
Last year we spent $139.32 million U.S. dollars on public sector investments. To support public sector investment for the 2023 fiscal year, in support of our Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD), we have proposed to spend about $154 million US dollars, which is 19.8% percent of the proposed national budget for the 2023 fiscal year.”
Major public expenditure items include: $46 million US dollars, mainly for the transmission of electricity from La Côte d’Ivoire through the CSLG transmission lines, and to expand our electricity distribution; about $44 million US dollars for road infrastructure; $23 million US dollars through the National Road Fund, $21 million US dollars through direct national budget; and about $36 million US dollars for the holding of the 2023 presidential and legislative elections.
Thus, Mr. Speaker, electricity, roads and elections will consume about $126 million US dollars in 2023, demonstrating my Government’s commitment to put the Liberian peoples’ money where it matters the most.”
During the year under review, President Weah said the Government made significant interventions in a number of sectors including Health, Education, Social Development Services, Energy and Environment. In the health sector, it spent about $17.3 million US dollars on vaccines and vaccine-related supplies; COVID-19 vaccination administration; and drugs and medical consumables.
In the education sector, it spent nearly $38.9 million US dollars on tuition-free policy; renovation of public universities; WASSCE and Junior High School examinations; the “Support to Closing Teachers Salary Gaps” project; and support to the Engineering College.
In the social development sector, it spent around $12.8 million US dollars on the County Tour Implementation & Spot Checks; the National County Meet tournament; the completion of the Omega & Duala Market projects; the continuation of the Albino Society Headquarters construction; and our contribution to the National County Projects through the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE).
