Monrovia – Former presidential candidate, Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe, has issued a stirring name to motion to Liberians at residence and overseas, urging them to rise above a long time of failed management and demand transformational change to carry Liberia from poverty and underdevelopment.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]
In an passionate Independence Day tackle delivered through video hyperlink to the Liberian group in Queensland, Australia, Gongloe themed his speech: “From Uncooked Supplies to Actual Growth: Time for a Transformational Management.”
Liberia, Africa’s oldest republic, marked its 178th Independence Anniversary with a collection of commemorative occasions. In Liberia, the federal government organized a number of actions to honor the event, with the centerpiece being a grand celebration on the Centennial Memorial Pavilion in Monrovia.
The occasion drew authorities officers, heads of state, and members of the diplomatic corps. Celebrations additionally passed off throughout the diaspora, together with in the USA, Europe, and Australia—the place the Liberia Affiliation of Queensland hosted a significant program.
Addressing his fellow compatriots, Gongloe decried Liberia’s long-standing reliance on exporting uncooked supplies with out including worth—regardless of its huge pure wealth.
“We export logs however import chairs. We mine iron ore however import every part constituted of it,” he stated. “Till Liberia modifications the standard of its exports, we are going to stay underdeveloped and poor.”
He pointed to neighboring international locations like Ghana, Rwanda, and Botswana as examples of African nations making strategic use of restricted sources, whereas Liberia—blessed with rainforests, gold, iron ore, and fertile land—stays stagnant as a consequence of what he known as “an issue of poor management.”
“Ghana is making chocolate, textiles, and refining its gold. Ivory Coast is exporting processed rubber, cocoa butter, choclate, canned pineapple, and electrical energy! Botswana is 70% desert, however is secure, clear, and affluent by exporting meat and polished diamonds. Rwanda is landlocked, however it’s packaging espresso, constructing tech hubs, and working clear cities in addition to attracting vacationers from everywhere in the world; turning the historical past its civil warfare right into a vacationer attraction, whereas we’re battling the difficulty of accountability for warfare crimes dedicated throughout our civil battle. Cape Verde has no forest — but it surely has electrical energy, transparency, and dealing techniques. Mauritius and Seychelles don’t have any minerals, however they’ve constructed thriving tourism and banking techniques.”
So, what’s mistaken with Liberia?, he requested rhetorically. “Now we have seashores from Cape Mount to Cape Palmas. Now we have rivers and forests and fertile soil. In actual fact we’ve 40% of the remaining tropical forest within the Gulf of Guinea. Now we have iron ore, gold, diamonds, rubber, oil palm, and wooden, amongst others ! Now we have nice sunshine and excessive rainfall, one thing missing in some international locations which can be extra developed than Liberia. God has given us every part — however we’re poor. Why? As a result of our leaders through the years have turned authorities right into a enterprise to counterpoint themselves — to not serve us!”
“A betrayed state, not a failed state”
Gongloe sharply criticized successive Liberian governments for prioritizing private enrichment over nationwide improvement, describing Liberia as “a betrayed state, not a failed state.”
“The issue shouldn’t be the soil, not the solar, not the rain. The issue is man-made. It’s management failure,” he stated.
Recalling the imaginative and prescient of former President William R. Tolbert, Cllr. Gongloe famous that Liberia as soon as had a transparent roadmap for nationwide transformation—grounded in self-reliance, rural improvement, and industrialization. Nevertheless, he stated that imaginative and prescient was deserted by leaders “hungry for energy, not progress.”
President Tolbert was assassinated in 1980 throughout a bloody coup led by Grasp Sergeant Samuel Ok. Doe. 13 senior officers of his administration had been later executed by firing squad following a swift, broadly condemned trial.
As soon as a peaceable nation, Liberia quickly descended into chaos, enduring two brutal civil wars that killed an estimated 250,000 folks, displaced a whole lot of hundreds, and compelled tens of hundreds into exile. At this time, Liberia maintains a big diaspora group unfold throughout Africa, the USA, Europe, and Australia.
“We Want You”
Addressing the hundreds of Liberians residing overseas, Gongloe appealed to the diaspora to transcend sending remittances and play a extra direct position in rebuilding the nation.
“You aren’t simply remitters, you might be reformers. Not simply donors, however builders,” he stated. “We’d like your voices, your votes, your values—and your presence.”
He praised diaspora communities from Rwanda and Ghana for returning residence to construct companies, hospitals, and tech industries. “Why not Liberia? Why not now?” he challenged.
“You will have seen what good roads seem like in Australia and different elements of the world.
what useful hospitals really feel like. You’ve lived underneath governments that concern their folks — not the opposite manner round! Come assist us change Liberia, however not from a distance.
Be a part of us to construct the Liberia all of us dream about. A Liberia that retains its expertise, not exports it.
A Liberia the place you’ll be able to come again, construct a life, and say: “That is my residence. I helped to construct it.”
We don’t want simply your cash. We’d like your voices, your votes, your values and your presence. Come be a part of us. Let’s rise collectively. As a result of a greater Liberia is not a fantasy — it’s a duty and risk. And the time is now.”
“Cease Celebrating Mediocrity”
In his usually daring type, Gongloe urged Liberians to desert what he described as a tradition of low expectations for presidency efficiency.
“Attempting shouldn’t be sufficient when youngsters are dying from preventable ailments… when civil servants go months with out pay,” he declared. “Attempting shouldn’t be main. Delivering is main!”
He reiterated his perception that nationwide transformation should start with integrity and accountability, not mere slogans or imaginative and prescient statements.
From Broom Symbolism to Motion
Brandishing his trademark broom, Gongloe stated it symbolized a nationwide cleanup marketing campaign to comb out corruption, selfishness, and mediocrity, and sweep in rule of regulation, productiveness, and dignity.
“This broom shouldn’t be ornament—it’s a instrument for transformation,” he declared.
He closed with a hopeful however pressing message: “Liberia shouldn’t be cursed. It’s blessed, however badly led. Now could be the time to rise!”
Gongloe, a former solicitor common and revered human rights lawyer, positioned third within the 2023 presidential elections as the usual bearer of the Liberia Folks’s Get together (LPP). Because the elections, he has continued to talk out on governance, improvement, and the rule of regulation.
