Monrovia – Liberia’s Finance Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has come under sharp criticism from Liberians regarding his assertion that the current state of the Liberian economy is far better than what the ruling Unity Party (UP) inherited from the then ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government.
By J.H. Webster Clayeh (0886729972)[email protected]
Addressing journalists at the Ministry of Information Culture and Tourism (MICAT) for the first time as Minister of Finance under the Joseph Boakai-led administration, Mr. Ngafuan Said despite of the many challenges that are in some areas, the current economy situation is by far better than the last regime.
“The current state of the economy, the number seems to be good and it’s getting better. It doesn’t mean that we cannot find a situation where things are not that good. On balance, the current situation is better than the last situation,” Minister Ngafuan said.
Liberia’s Finance Minister added: “I’m not telling you that if you go somewhere you would not see challenges, those are legacy issues.”
In response to the Finance Minister’s assertion, many Liberians who spoke to
FrontPage Africa (FPA) said the statement from the Finance Minister does not suit current day-to-day reality.
According to them, the astronomical decrease of the exchange rate while prices of commodities are still skyrocketing is something unbearable.
Leroy Archie Ponpon is an activist. At his home, in the Township of West Point, he told FPA that the statement from the Finance Minister is a highly political statement in nature without the empirical evidence.
According to Ponpon, when President Boakai took office the economy grew by four percent on the basis of what he termed as aggregate and cash pull from revenue collection.
“From the basics of financial management, it means that the economy has been improving under former President George Weah time but mismanagement and corruption has been the issue,” Ponpon said.
According to Ponpon, structural reform and the issues of basic social services have not been addressed under the Boakai-Koung administration.
“With respect to the basic social services, the issue of road, water, that could ease down basic social services in terms of burden on families’ budgets have not been addressed. These structural issues have remained and it continues,” he said.
Ponpon added: “There is a banning constraint on the economy to which 80 percent of those who work in the agriculture sector find themselves in the rural areas and are cut off from road connectivity. You cannot tell us that the economy is performing. It is not true. It is a political statement without empirical evidence.”
The Fall of the US Rate
In recent weeks, the fall of the US rate has been astronomical with prices of commodities still remaining the same. According to Ponpon, the falling of the US dollar is artificial and not a market principle.
“Market principles depend on supply and demand which is not happening,” Ponpon asserted.
He stressed that at the start of the festive season, many people who have kept their money outside the banks are getting their money back. He stressed that the US rate cannot be falling while commodities prices are not falling.
Ponpon added: “Liberia is a driven import economy and so, you cannot say the factor to determine whether the economy is performing is that the rate is dropping when a 25kg bag of rice is sold for 3,500 Liberian Dollars, when a bag of coal is sold for US$ 5, no begging.”
He continues: “So the ceiling price still remains and it is becoming astronomical in terms of what it is. So, you cannot hold that because nobody is feeling the impact of one year of Boakai’s administration in respect to economic deliverability, no, it is not true, the Finance Minister got no empirical evidence his statement must be more political.”
Sidia Sawary is a vendor on Randall Street. She said:
“The US rate is coming down but things prices are not coming down. When you carry US dollars to the store, the people can say you should add Liberian dollars on the US dollar.”
Madam Sawary added: “The cost of living under the new government is hard. We are selling to Lebanese people. No Liberian dollar in the country and US rate is dripping but the prices are not dropping. There is limited Liberian dollars in the country.”
Patrick Mamligar is also a vendor, selling biscuits, chocolate and other edible products in central Monrovia.
Mamligar told FPA that the Finance Minister’s assertions about the current state of Liberia’s economy are not true.
“The man (Minister Ngafuan) knows to himself that he was lying but he just got to say something. I know when he was going home, he said to himself that “oh, I really liked today too,” Mamligar burst up in laughter.
According to him, despite the US rate coming down, the prices of the commodities have not come down.
“The business is stuff we just got to continue because that is what we have to do for a living. The more the US rate comes down, the more the people add their price of commodities up,” Mamligar said.
He added: “So my profit has dropped down into two because I have to pay for my goods more than the price I normally pay.”
Ola Akangbe is a ‘shine shoe’ outside the fence of the University of Liberia. Akangbe added: “We know Ngafuan very well, he just wanted to make President Boakai feel fine. George Weah’s government is better off than what we are experiencing.”
He added: “The government is holding the Liberian Dollars. So we who are doing business are not benefiting. The dropping of the US rate is benefiting the big business people while we the petty traders are suffering.”
