Development, Not Conflict -Boakai Urges Citizens

The Informer (Monrovia)

13 June 2011

Vice President Joseph N. Boakai has stressed the need for Liberians to shy away from conflict and focus on development, reminding them that only they can bring development to their country.

He observed that foreigners can help in promoting Liberia’s development agenda but pointed out that ideas they advance may not sometimes work in the Liberian environment and context.

He is accordingly challenging Liberians to prioritize peace, without which he noted, development will always elude them.

Vice President Boakai made the remarks Friday, June 10, when the Committee for Peace in Lofa County (CPL) presented their final report to him. The Committee for Peace in Lofa was constituted in September 2010 to help nurture and consolidate peace in Lofa following the February 7-8 violence in the county which resulted to loss of lives and properties.

The ceremony held at the Vice President’s Capitol Building office, was witnessed by Internal Affairs Minister Harrison Kahnweah who hand delivered the report to the Vice President, as well as members of the traditional council of Liberia and a cross section of Lofa citizens.

“We need peace in our country. Liberia is being positioned for development, and we need peace to realize this goal,” he emphasized.

He noted that the entire country will know no peace, if one part of the country is in flames, and urged Lofians who have been at daggers drawn since the violence that rocked their county in February last year, to join other Liberians in sustaining the peace attained 2005 at such huge cost.

In remarks before presenting the report to Minister Kahnweah, the Chairman of the Committee for Peace in Lofa County, Hon. Philip Tali recalled the untold suffering Liberians underwent during the 14 years of conflict, including the displacement of whole populations who sometimes sought shelter in the bushes.

Mr. Tali, a former lawmaker, attributed conflict to bad governance and stressed the need for transparency in the administration of all political sub-divisions in the country.

He stressed that the outcome of the Lofa Committee report was not based on the views of the committee members alone but all stakeholders in the seven districts of the county, including district and county officials, paramount, clan and town chiefs, women, youth and traditional leaders and zoes.

He thanked the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Cater Center and the United Nations and the Liberian government for their financial and moral support, which, he noted, was responsible for the success attained by the Committee.

Honorable Tali recommended that all the six tribes in Lofa County appoint three representatives for each of the seven districts to monitor activities in the districts to ensure that peace is sustained in Lofa County.

Mr. Tali also commended members of the committee for their commitment, and community radio stations in Lofa County for helping to disseminate information about the Committee’s activities.

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