-As Civil Society Organization Leads the Charge for Candidates to Sign Social Contract with Voters

IPNEWS: It seems the 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections, which are set for October 10, are ones that are going to see a major paradigm shift from the usual rhetoric to actionable and measurable commitments on the part of candidates vying for the Presidency, Vice Presidency, and Legislative seats.

This is expected to the be case because the Partnership for Sustainable Development of Liberia (PSDL), in partnership with other civil society institutions, is leading the first-ever hashtag movement: “#THEYMUSTSIGNTHESOCIALCONTRACT#,” #WEMUSTHOLDOURLEADERSTOHIGHSTANDARDS, where those vying for public offices shall be required by the voters to commit to good governance reforms that put the citizens of Liberia at the center of every policy decision-making. This civic-voter education campaign is intended to help educate the voting population to vote this time around and going forward from a position of evidence-based appraisal of past and current governments by asking the tough and hard questions such as those on rampant corruption, national budget formulation and execution that do not favor the citizens,  inadequate funding of critical economic growth sectors including agriculture, health, and education, keeping non-performing ministers in positions where there are dismal outcomes, among others.

The PSDL insists in line with employer-employee relationship that the employees (i.e., elected officials) are always answerable to the employer (i.e., citizens/voters) and not the other way around where there is this “abnormal political culture or new normal” where you see the citizens perennially begging politicians or feeding of the crumbs of the national cake (i.e., the national budget), while few political elites continue to live kleptomaniac lives in the face of an existential threat to the very stability of the nation and economic well-being of Liberians, who are blessed with a nation so rich in resource endowment, yet one of the poorest nations of the world.

The data shows that about 68% of Liberia’s rural population faced 71.6% poverty incidence and more than half of the population live below the poverty line as well as ranked near the bottom of the UN Human Development Index (HDI) with a score of 0.481 placing Liberia at a rank of 178 out of 191 countries— one of the poorest least developed countries in the world. As such, the PSDL has drawn up nine critical action points that those vying for the offices of President and Vice President, and legislative seats are each going to affix their signatures to as a demonstration of their commitment to policy reforms that will at all times put the citizens of Liberia at the forefront or at the center of policy decision-making and implementations.

Below are two samples of the SOCIAL CONTRACT that citizens of Liberia, through PSDL, shall be demanding candidates to affix their signatures to as a binding contract that carries the full weight of the constitution and laws of Liberia:

(FOR THOSE VYING FOR THE OFFICES OF PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT)

LIBERIA: SOCIAL CONTRACT

I, _______________________________, VYING FOR THE OFFICE ____________________, REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA, ENTERED INTO THIS SOCIAL CONTRACT WITH THE CITIZENS AND DO, HEREBY, SOLEMNLY COMMIT TO THE FOLLOWING:

1. ZERO TOLERANCE ON CORRUPTION;
2. ZERO TOLERANCE ON RAPE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE;
3. ZERO TOLERANCE ON EXTRA JUDICIAL KILLING;
4. ZERO TOLERANCE TO DRUGS TRAFFICKING AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE OF YOUTHS;
5. ZERO TOLERANCE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING;
6. TOTAL OVERHAUL OF THE NATIONAL BUDGET THAT FAVORS THE CITIZENS OF LIBERIA BY ACTIONABLE AND MEASURABLE OUTCOMES THAT INCLUDE, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING: A) CAPPING THE SALARY OF THE PRESIDENT AT US$6,000 B) CAPPING THE SALARY OF THE VICE PRESIDENT AT US$4,000 C) CAPPING THE SALARIES OF MINISTERS, DEPUTY MINISTERS, ASSITANT MINISTERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS AT US$3,000, US$2,500, US$2,000, AND FOR RANKS BELOW, SUBJECT TO ADJUST ACCORDINGLY AND D) WORKING, IN CONSULTATION, WITH THE LEGISLATURE AND JUDICIARY TO ENSURE THAT THE SALARIES MEMBERS OF THE JUDICIARY AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCHES BE CAPPED AT US$5,000. SAVINGS FROM THIS PROCESS WOULD BE APPLIED TO PRIORITY CRITICAL GROWTH-ENHANCING PROJECTS SUCH AS ROADS, ELECTRICITY, HEALTH, AGRICULTURE, AND EDUCATION;
7. INCREMENTAL RISE IN BUDGETARY ALLOCATION TO PUBLIC SECTOR INVESTMENT PROJECTS (PSIP) BY 15 PERCENT OF THE NATIONAL BUDGET IN YEAR 1, 20 PERCENT IN YEAR 2, 30 PERCENT IN YEAR 3, 40 PERCENT IN YEAR 4, 50 PERCENT IN YEAR 5, AND 60 PERCENT IN YEAR 6;
8. UPHOLD THE TENETS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE INCLUDING THE RIGHTS TO FREE SPEECH, ASSOCIATION, AMONG OTHERS AND UNFETTERED COMMITMENT TO PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY; AND
9. WORK IN CLOSE CONSULTATION WITH THE EXECUTIVE IN CREATING AT LEAST 20,000 JOBS IN YEAR 1 AND IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS, NOTHING LESS THAN 20,000 JOBS.

(FOR THOSE VYING FOR LEGISLATIVE  POSITIONS)

LIBERIA: SOCIAL CONTRACT

I, _______________________________, VYING FOR ____________________, WITHIN THE LEGISLATURE, ENTERED INTO THIS SOCIAL CONTRACT WITH THE CITIZENS OF MY CONSTITUENCY AND/OR COUNTY, AND DO HEREBY SOLEMNLY COMMIT TO THE FOLLOWING:

1. ZERO TOLERANCE ON CORRUPTION;
2. ZERO TOLERANCE ON RAPE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE;
3. ZERO TOLERANCE ON EXTRA JUDICIAL KILLING;
4. ZERO TOLERANCE TO DRUGS TRAFFICKING AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE OF YOUTHS;
5. ZERO TOLERANCE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING;
6. TOTAL OVERHAUL OF THE NATIONAL BUDGET THAT FAVORS THE CITIZENS OF LIBERIA BY ACTIONABLE AND MEASURABLE OUTCOMES THAT INCLUDE, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING: A) CAPPING THE SALARY OF THE PRESIDENT AT US$6,000 B) CAPPING THE SALARY OF THE VICE PRESIDENT AT US$4,000 C) CAPPING THE SALARIES OF MINISTERS, DEPUTY MINISTERS, ASSITANT MINISTERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS AT US$3,000, US$2,500, US$2,000, AND FOR RANKS BELOW, SUBJECT TO ADJUST ACCORDINGLY AND D) WORKING IN CLOSE CONSULTATION WITH THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH TO ENSURE THAT THE SALARIES OF ALL SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES BE CAPPED AT US$5,000. SAVINGS FROM THIS PROCESS WOULD BE APPLIED TO PRIORITY CRITICAL GROWTH-ENHANCING PROJECTS SUCH AS ROADS, ELECTRICITY, HEALTH, AGRICULTURE, AND EDUCATION;
7. INCREMENTAL RISE IN BUDGETARY ALLOCATION TO PUBLIC SECTOR INVESTMENT PROJECTS (PSIP) BY 15 PERCENT OF THE NATIONAL BUDGET IN YEAR 1, 20 PERCENT IN YEAR 2, 30 PERCENT IN YEAR 3, 40 PERCENT IN YEAR 4, 50 PERCENT IN YEAR 5, AND 60 PERCENT IN YEAR 6; AND
8. UPHOLD THE TENETS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE INCLUDING THE RIGHTS TO FREE SPEECH, ASSOCIATION, AMONG OTHERS AND UNFETTERED COMMITMENT TO PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
9. CREATE AT LEAST 20,000 JOBS IN YEAR 1 AND IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS, NOTHING LESS THAN 20,000 JOBS.