President George Weah at UNGA 2018: Human Development for Liberians a Priority

President George Weah’s speech is the paradigm to be used by other African Leaders: instead of using the UNGA podium to say nonsense or to play the victim, or even to suck up to that international body; why not outline a proper plan for the Development of the People in Africa?

“The challenges of leadership are enormous, but in each and every one of these challenges, I see opportunities to make things better, and to bring permanent improvements to the lives of all Liberians, as we devise policies and programs that will have a lasting and positive impact on the lives of our citizens.”

This is what any African country should do: devise policies to improve the lives of their citizens. Another country that does this very well is Rwanda; which makes me wonder how long it will take till the world accuses George Weah of being a despot or a power grabber like it does to Paul Kagame – another leader who has been tirelessly focusing on improving the lives of Rwandans. And this sort of thing happens especially when African leaders do not allow Europeans, for instance, to play the game of extortion in their countries.

President Weah should expect such sort of manoeuvres in the future.

“For those youths left behind due to the disastrous civil crisis and who have outgrown their school years, my government is investing in Technical Vocational Education and Training programs to build their entrepreneurial and marketable skill-sets.”

Education and training are vital in any society. So, congratulations to President Weah for this magnificent plan: we will be following Liberia closely to see if he brings his plans into fruition.

There is a stigma in Africa: you are nothing if you haven’t been to college; you won’t go far in life unless you go to college. But this isn’t true; and in this regards, I agree with President Obama when he once said that if you are not built for college (because in fact not everybody is) you can always join Technical Vocational and Training programmes to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow. Besides, we have recently learned that technical workers (plumbers, electricians, carpenters, locksmiths etc) will be the high earners by 2020– so think about it. Having said this, President Weah is spot on when he goes beyond the scope of college education.

Our plan is to reverse their unfortunate situation and make them productive citizens through the provision of adequate educational facilities at the high school and college levels, for those who still have interest in pursuing academic programs.

Building education and training facilities is another challenge in Africa. Yes, the Chinese, the Dutch and others help building makeshift schools (in exchange for natural resources); but in my opinion, more must be done to invest in the education of African children and young adults: therefore, it is up to African nations to stop waiting for foreigners to do their job and actually apply the funds they earn from the exploration of natural resources into building state of the art Schools and Colleges for their People. It is possible and Africans deserve better.

“Being conscious of the importance and impact of infrastructure on social and economic development, my government has identified investment in roads, energy and ports as our key priority, and is therefore soliciting funding and other technical expertise to undertake these projects in pursuit of our goal to connect our cities and towns, and power our economy.”

Mr Weah should approach Israel for assistance. The Jewish State has the technical expertise in several fields to help developing Liberia – so why not give it a go?

Infrastructure is vital in any country, but more so in Africa: the proper roads and ports to transport goods to supply towns and export them too; proper railways (and roads) to facilitate the commute of workers; proper hospitals and clinics to guarantee that Liberia will have a healthy Manpower to develop the country’s economy and, as stated above, modern schools to generate and retain the Brains of tomorrow.

And why not invest on Solar Energy so that each home is welcomed into the 21st century? It’s quicker and less invasive for the environment (i.e. building hydroelectric power dams is brutal not only for the landscape but also for the ecosystem and people’s connection to the land).

“Our people across the country still bear the scars of conflict. We therefore intend to initiate a series of National Peace Dialogues throughout Liberia. We must restart those difficult conversations at the local level, and include our youth, so that they - and we - do not repeat the costly mistakes of the past.”

It is important to heal the wounds of the past. It is important to show the people that resentment will not bring anything positive to the future of Liberia. What everybody needs to focus upon now is on rebuilding the nation, from within, to ensure that Liberian children won’t have to emigrate in the future only to be humiliated in Europe or elsewhere. Nay, together, they can all develop their country, be proud of their achievements as a nation, and be truly Independent.

“We have emphasized the fight against organized crime, especially cross-border trade in illicit substances, and small and light weapons, drugs, human trafficking, piracy and the activities of non-state actors which threaten to undermine peace and security within the ECOWAS region.”

Rather than focusing on UN peacekeeping missions, African countries should focus on the above mentioned crimes that not only pose a threat to their regions but mainly to their sovereignty. Besides, many of these illicit businesses are nurtured by peacekeeping missions (ex: UN workers have been involved in passing weapons to rebels in South Sudan, not to mention that they also keep weapons in UN facilities – like they did/do in the so-called ‘Palestinian’ territories). Moreover, African states must also do something about the NGOs who operate on African soil as an excuse to procure cheap sexual services. It’s a problem that is making a lot of immoral people rich.

Conclusion

We commend President George Weah for having presented a plan for rebuilding and strengthening his country. He didn’t express the will to interfere in other people’s sovereign states, he didn’t show availability to play along with the socialist illusions; he didn’t play the victim either: he simply announced what he intends to do to take care of his own. In this respect, President George Weah is in alignment with President Trump’s doctrine of Patriotism and of making his country great again.

(Image: President Weah at UNGA 2018 - UNGA)

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