Skip to main content

Liberia's Weah takes measures to tackle inflation, economic misery



President George Weah said on Monday he would take measures to tackle rampant inflation and economic hardship, including injecting $25 million into the forex market and taking steps to bring more local cash into the formal banking system.
"I am fully aware of the negative impact of the declining exchange rate on the economic well-being of the Liberian people, and the serious hardship that this is beginning to cause," Weah said in an address to the nation.
"We believe a stronger and more aggressive enforcement of monetary policy ... should go a long way to ... address the problem," he added.
“The government will announce a series of monetary and fiscal measures that we believe should help reverse the decline in the value of the Liberian dollar,” President Weah declared. He added that the government also intends to engage the minds of the best and the brightest Liberian economists, both at home and abroad and even seek advice and active support from our international partners.
  
“We also have an economy based on traditional exports such as iron ore, rubber, coffee, etc., which are shipped to foreign buyers in their raw state, without any value-added propositions which could have also contributed significantly to industrialization and employment.”
 
“Additionally, the prices and demand for our exports are determined and affected by factors beyond our borders, and are therefore beyond our control. Slumps in demand for the products which utilize our raw materials will always result in externally-generated shocks to our economy.” 
  
President Weah said: “The key to success in this endeavor is for Liberians to produce more goods and services locally, so that we reduce our importation of goods and services from abroad, whilst at the same time increasing our exports and adding value to the raw materials that we ship to the world.”
 
“In this regard, our Government intends to embark upon a major push to ensure that Liberia becomes more competitive in terms of domestic production. And in so doing, we intend to encourage and empower Liberian businessmen and Liberian-owned businesses to lead the transformation of the Liberian economy.”
 
“We will enable them to become more competitive, by providing affirmative policies and support, including ready access to finance and expertise. The aim and intention of this approach is to encourage import substitution and manufacturing for export, as well as sustainable wealth and job creation.”
 



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

President George Weah's One Day National Forum Successfully Attended by 26 Political Parties

On Thursday, August 8, 2018, President George Weah had a sit down with 26 political parties of Liberia.  The meeting aimed at advancing ideals that promote the spirit of national unity and political tolerance between opposition political parties and the government.  ANC, LP and UP attended the meeting as a team. According to Deputy Minister Eugene L. Fahngon, Deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs at Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism, all 26 political parties attended and participated from start to finish.  Even though, social media was buzzing about AB Dillion walking out of the meeting, he walked out as an individual and not a political party, "the invitation was extended to political parties and not to individuals," Minister Fahngon stated in his live video.  Each political party gave ideals and recommendations, which made the meeting a great success.  According to  Deputy Minister Fahngon, "there will be future engagements as such.&quo

What President Trump and Kim Jong Un Ate

The historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continued midday Tuesday, as the leaders satisfied their appetites while holding negotiations with a contingent of advisers over a working lunch. The lunch, which followed a 45-minute one-on-one meeting between the leaders earlier in the morning and bilateral discussion with senior aides, was held at the Capella Hotel on Singapore’s Sentosa Island. It was far from an intimate affair, with each leader accompanied by a bevy of senior staff, according to the White House. Joining Trump were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Chief of Staff John Kelly, National Security Advisor John Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Deputy Assistant to the President for Asian Affairs Matthew Pottinger. Kim was accompanied by Kim Yong Chol , the former spy chief and one of North Korea’s chief negotiators, as well as Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, former

Snapchat Slammed for Domestic Violence Meme Featuring Rihanna and Chris Brown

If Kylie Jenner ‘s stock-plummeting Snapchat rant didn’t make you delete the app, maybe this will. Over the weekend, Snapchat found itself in hot water after a now-deleted domestic violence meme featuring Rihanna and Chris Brown went viral. The meme, which was an advertisement for the app “Would You Rather,” asked users whether they would prefer to “slap Rihanna” or “punch Chris Brown.” Almost immediately, screenshots of the ad appeared on Twitter, with many criticizing Snapchat for making light of domestic violence. Is it just me, or is this ad that popped up on my Snapchat extremely tone deaf? Like what were they thinking with this? pic.twitter.com/7kP9RHcgNG — Royce Mann (@TheRoyceMann) March 12, 2018 Many considered the ad a mockery of Rihanna’s experience with domestic violence. In 2009, Brown was arrested and charged for physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna hours before she was to perform at the Grammy awards. Since the incident, Rihanna has spo