The Movement to Elect Boakai – USA
Vertical Divider
|
When Vice President Joseph N. Boakai expressed his desire to become the Standard Bearer of the ruling Unity Party (UP), out-going Standard Bearer and President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf described Boakai as the most qualified person in the country to succeed her both as a Standard Bearer of the ruling party and next president of the Republic of Liberia. On Saturday, July 9, 2016, Vice President Boakai was unanimously elected Standard Bearer of the Unity Party. And most Liberians have since come to the same conclusion that Boakai is the only candidate in the 2017 presidential race who would, if elected, ensure that Liberians never again resort to violence as a means of resolving their political differences, while ensuring prosperity for all Liberians. We agree with this assessment. And because we share with Vice President Boakai many common views regarding the future of our country, we wrote him on September 28, 2016 seeking his permission to allow us to participate in his Presidential Campaign as the Movement to Elect Boakai – USA. Vice President Boakai gladly replied us. In his letter dated December 9, 2017, the Vice President not only gave us the needed permission, but also urged us to work even harder for the realization of our common objective of having him elected as the next president of the Republic of Liberia in October, 2017. The Vice President has also emphasized our shared views as the basis for his presidential campaign – views which have set him apart from the rest of the field. Vice President Boakai believes, as we of the Movement do, that to put a stop to the perennial problem of rural-urban migration, opportunities for education, healthcare, and employment must be spread out across Liberia, instead of concentrating everything in Monrovia; that to lift the masses out of poverty, more roads, airfields, and ports must be constructed throughout the country and electricity provided to every village, town, and city. We also share with the Vice President the view that only under a wise and enlightened national leadership will the people of Liberia finally and seriously begin finding lasting solutions to the many pressing problems wrecking the country after the war; that the mainstay of Liberia’s economy must be a carefully planned agricultural program not only capable of providing large employment opportunities for the Liberia labor force and adequately feeding the Liberia people, but also producing a large surplus for export. Such an integrated program must combine the resources of both the public and private sectors and additionally focus on the production of cocoa and coffee for which Liberia was once famous. Foreign encroachment on our marine resources and the bringing of illegal drugs into the country by sea must be stopped with the presence of a strong coast guard unit patrolling our territorial water. We share with the Vice President the view that Liberian businesses must be protected against unfair foreign competitions while at the same time encouraging Liberian businesses to improve services and products in order to become equally competitive. The environment is another area of concern we share with the Vice President. It is about time that Coastal Erosion be considered a national security threat to Liberia. Global Warming is causing a general rise in the sea level to threaten our coastal cities and communities, including Monrovia and Buchanan; therefore, government should begin to take the threat seriously and begin doing something about it. Moreover, the widespread destruction of our forest should be stopped as it has the potential to create a crisis of desertification in the country that would render the masses even poorer. Significantly, the establishment of a War Crime Court in Liberia as proffered by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is another tangent point between the Vice President and us. A War Crime Court, we believe, will certainly help to bring a closure to the nation’s fourteen (14) year conflict by ensuring that those suspected of bearing the most responsibilities for the war, as well as those who took advantage of the war to perpetrate heinous crimes against other Liberians, and to commit economic sabotage against the country, are brought to justice. We also share with the Vice President the conviction that public sector corruption is taking away from the Liberian people what is rightfully theirs and impunity only encourages more corruption. Therefore, during a Joseph Boakai administration, all officials suspected of corruption should not be allowed to continue in their positions while being investigated; and if found guilty, they should be penalized according to the laws of the Republic of Liberia. There must be Economic Justice for the masses as well. The expanding post-war Liberian economy must have as its objective the infrastructural upliftment of the nation and the educational and medical improvement of the people. We share with the Vice President the view that there should not be “Growth Without Development Part II.” And our hope of having Vice President Joseph N. Boakai elected as the next president of Liberia in October is very high. Of the more than two dozen presidential aspirants in the 2017 race, Vice President Boakai is now being broadly recognized across the country and in the Liberian Diaspora as the obvious front-runner. As Vice President, Boakai has the name recognition, international exposure, the requisite political experience and managerial expertise, as well as the political will to raise Liberia from the debilitating ashes of poverty and conflict to a refreshing sunshine of prosperity and unity. |