Liberians Feel Abandoned

Friday, 11 May 2012 11:30

Written by A. Abbas Dulleh

The National Vision 2030 Commission established to carve out a roadmap for the country says it has discovered that Liberians are isolated from government with no or very little state impact on them.

At a press conference organized at the Governance Commission Thursday, the commission’s coordinator, Mr. Nathaniel Kwabo, said during various tours in rural areas, citizens complained about very little government presence in their midst and companies operating in their areas have failed to bring the promised economic benefits.

“They told us government is non-existence, explained Mr. Kwabo, National Coordinator Visioning Secretariat.

He added that during some of the 156 county conferences in rural areas, citizens told the Vision 2030 Consultative Committees, “they have been disempowered and left out of development”.

To answer some of these concerns, Mr. Kwabo said the National Visioning exercise will develop a national consensus on the future of the country and a national Development Strategy Framework imbedded in the final vision document that will address the pressing concerns of the Liberian people.

“In effect, it is a systematic approach to the country’s future development. A 20-year time horizon long enough to serve a generation rather than a single administration has been agreed upon for the National Vision 2030.”

“To operationalize this important project,” Mr. Kwabo said, “an institutional framework was established to include a National Steering Committee based on the social, cultural, political and demographic diversity of the country.”

Responding to concerns whether this dream would not die a natural dream, he said the best way to ensure its survival is to legislate Vision 2030.