…UP Responds To President Weah’s Sixth SONA
By: Jerromie S. Walters
Broad Street, Monrovia, Liberia: The opposition Unity Party (UP), in a response to President George Weah’s sixth state of the nation address, has disagreed with the president’s assertion of significant efforts toward the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, noting that women are not protected under the George Weah administration.
In the Party’s official response, issued midday Tuesday, January 31, 2023, the Vice Chair for Administration of the Unity Party (UP), Madam Dabah M. Varpilah, noted that each of the 15 counties had a response mechanism in place, including vehicles for the gender officers to respond quickly when issues of sexual and gender-based violence are reported, but today there is none.
The police do not have the capacity to respond to various forms of crimes when they are contacted.
“When somebody is violated and they run to the police, they often ask the victim to buy fuel, in an economy that they have carried down to nothing.”
She alleged that vehicles that were assigned to counties’ gender response officers between 2017 and 2018 were taken from them when the CDC government assumed power in 2018.
However, President George W. Bush, in his sixth annual message, released late Monday, January 30, 2023, asserted that his government has made and will continue to make significant efforts to address the scourge of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in a strategic and more coordinated manner.
He said his government would continue to work with international partners to address the issue of SGBV against our women and children, deploying available resources to provide appropriate support and enable ready access to justice systems, in order to achieve a meaningful reduction of SGBV during this year and the years to come.
Ironically, it is vividly known that the government, in its efforts towards sexual and gender-based violence, unveiled a $USD 6 million roadmap to curb sexual and gender-based violence, including declaring rape a national emergency, appointing a special prosecutor for rape, setting up a national sex offender registry, establishing a national security taskforce on SGBV, and allocating $USD 2 million to beef up the fight against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
It also established a gender and social inclusion unit in all government ministries and agencies to propose an anti-female genital mutilation bill.
Also, there were also major gains in 2022 by the government toward women’s empowerment and ensuring a safe space for women, girls, and children that cannot be ignored.
With efforts in ending FGM in Liberia, in February 2022, the National Council of Chiefs and Elders of Liberia in collaboration with the Government of Liberia proclaimed a three-year ban on the practice of FGM from 2022 to 2025 but over a few months, there have also been stories of forceful initiation into the Sande society where FGM is practiced.
In November 2022, the Government of Liberia and her international partner’s dedicated heritage and vocational centers for traditional women in Sonkay Town, Todee District, Montserrado County, and Ganquoi Town, Nimba County, aimed at ending FGM and providing a better space for the positive aspects of the Liberian tradition to be practiced.
Both the Sonkay Town and the Ganquoi Town, Nimba County Heritage Centers, are two of four vocational and heritage centers established by UN Women under the framework of the European Union and United Nations Spotlight Initiative and are expected to provide alternative economic livelihood programs to former traditional practitioners of FGM in Liberia.
Recently, the fifth edition of Naymote Partners for Democratic Development’s project titled “The President Meter/WeahMeter” graded President Weah at 95% implementation on all promises made in line with addressing the gender inequality gap during and after the 2017 general elections.
The President’s Meter is an annual democratic monitoring tool used by Naymote Partners for Democratic Development to provide an independent assessment of the implementation of the campaign and post-election promises made by President George Manneh Weah and the Coalition for Democratic Change.
According to the report, Pres. Weah made eight(8) promises under the gender component of his administration; of which, he has successfully laid a huge benchmark during the last 5-years of office.
However, the Unity Party believes that the former ruling party believes that the failures of the government are known.
arguing that they have done nothing to earn a second term.
The LP has alluded to the fact that the president’s assertion of having the highest budget remains unrealistic, noting that it does not reflect on the lives of ordinary Liberians.
The party further mentioned that the Weah-led government has deliberately refused to give counties development funds, noting that its action is a result of its desire to use said funds for political reasons and blatant abuse of power.
As the President asserted his commitment to fighting corruption, the UP believes that the President’s assertion isn’t effective, noting that the government has done nothing to fight corruption.
The UP characterized the president’s disclosure to increase the salaries of civil servants who are earning below the minimum wage as an “empty political promise.”
“Our focus should be to ensure that he doesn’t get another six years, that we won’t remember him for his good because he did none, and that we can rescue Liberia,” the Unity Party (UP) Vice Chair for Administration noted.
