The New Deal Movement, which purports to be the only social democratic political institution in the confluence of Liberia’s multi-party system, has criticized contents of the draft 2008/09 national budget by questioning a litany of its earmarked programs.

The New Deal critiques the Liberian Government for what it terms as the administration’s active engagement with programs that do not reflect the burning desires or existing realities of the country.

Making its claims in a lengthy communication through the office of the Speaker to the House of Representatives, the party believes that the budget lacks a sustained national program for the revival of services in critical areas like health, agriculture, trade and security amongst others.

The Analyst picks up from the release and presents the views of the New Deal, which some observers question, the credibility of the claims.
 
Beginning with two counts of commendation for the government on the inclusion of allocations for increment of civil servants salaries, the New Deal wrote the Speaker of the House of Representatives, said “the party notes with appreciation the government’s plan to relocate government ministries and agencies from private rental facilities to public facilities.”

The Movement said that the positive move was being hailed against the backdrop of the drag that rental fees were having on the national coffers. New Deal also said that the rental of private facilities has fundamentally been a scam to enrich a privileged few at the expense of the state.

However, the party through its Secretary General, Dunah Saywah Dunah, who is also member of the National Legislature, said that even though the action on the part of the government is long overdue, but it deserves commendation and should be taken to its logical conclusion.

It can be observed that most ministries including defense, education, labor, agriculture amongst others are occupying private facilities on rental basis with huge financial burdens upon the treasury of Liberia.

The New Deal also acknowledged what it called an “upward adjustment” in the salaries of civil servants as reflected in the national budget 2008/2009.

Besides these positive moves on the part of the government, the party retorted saying that the National Budget lacks a sustained national program for revival of services in critical areas. These areas include health, agriculture, trade and security, amongst others.

The party did not however make any comparative analysis of the percentages of the budget allocated to these critical areas nor define the standard by which the criticism was made.

Maintaining that the world is experiencing a shortage in food which is “negatively impacting Liberia”, the party said Liberia is enormously blessed with natural tropical vegetation and climate to produce and feed itself and to export the surplus production.

“In the midst of this appalling global food crisis, the UP-led government has failed to unveil a package that will commence a drive to self-sufficiency in food in the 2008/2009 National Budget. Even though an elaborate program was recently held  at the Samuel K. Doe Sports Stadium,  the  ‘back-to- the soil’ campaign  is not  reflected in its proposed 2008/2009 Budget  Statement.

The New Deal Movement sees the inadequacy of the responses as indicative of the lack of a clear vision on the way forward to begin the drive for self-sufficiency in post-war Liberia.

According to the party there is a need for revival of the rural agriculture programs in Bong, Lofa and Nimba Counties, which have been the traditional bread baskets of Liberia.

The party then named the key institutions that fostered viable agriculture activities as the Bong County Agricultural Development Project (BCADP), the Lofa County Agricultural Development Project (LCADP) and the Nimba County Agricultural Development Project (NCADP).

Believing that the national food production stimulus package needs initial allocation of US$3.0million under the current budget, New Deal advocates for half of the amount being directed to the three projects while the remainder will be to regional programs in the remaining counties of Liberia.

These interventions by the government would then increase domestic rice (food) production. According to the party, previous lowlands cultivated by these projects are still available while farmers’ cooperatives are now working hard to increase food in the country.

Based on these observations, the party has recommended for the government to revive training of technicians who will be employed in various stages of the projects. Additionally, the government is urged to re-introduce a full-scale 100% scholarship scheme for all students attending the College of Agriculture at the University of Liberia.

The government is also being admonished to make it a condition of the scholarship that beneficiaries participate at calibrated stages in the national program;    

“Increase support for the Agriculture Department at the Booker T. Washington Institute by providing total scholarships for all students in the the department,” the party proposes.

For the W.V.S. Tubman College of Technology in Harper, Maryland County, the party urges government to establish an Agriculture Department there and start immediate training of agriculture students who are to similarly be offered scholarships.

On the aspect of the health sector New Deal believes that the  sector  is in  dire  need  of a national approach to address the acute problems of lack of  trained personnel, medical doctors,  and the  closure of various non-governmental health training facilities in the country that are  now  retiring.

The party in retrospect related that during Health Minister Gwenigale’s briefing of lawmakers last year, he disclosed the scarcity of doctors and health care workers in the country. Gwenigale, according to the party, indicated that the manpower need of his ministry stood at 9,000 but that only 800 of the categories of professionals were at hand.

New Deal claimed that with these disturbing statistics, they thought that the government would have prioritized these issues in the budget, given the current level of mortality of citizens from lack of trained manpower in the health sector.

“ The Draft Budget has  failed to apportion funds to  accelerate training to halt the sorrow state of the  health services in Liberia. Indeed, considering  the  government’s inability to have a sustained plan in order to assume responsibility in the  health sector, it is  fair to state that  the closure of the  Foyah Hospital last  year is a clear warning that the  country is on the verge of a health disaster if international  aid begins to fade away,” the party said.

The party further believes that allocations to various county health teams do not take into account the population of the areas concerned and are therefore unequal. New Deal then said that the mandate of the Ministry of Health is to provide equitable health services to all citizens on an equitable basis through the various hospitals and health centers that must be on the basis of population.

To rectify these inequalities, the party has urged the National Legislature with reference to its responsibility in Article 34 of the Constitution to ensure that the  draft budget allocate a significant portion to the Medical College at the University of Liberia to foster accelerated undisrupted training of doctors and other medical workers.

Additional measures are also sought for reduction of the time currently devoted to the education timeframe of doctors from twelve to six years based on a specialized study conducted in that light.

New Deal also wants the Tubman National Institute of Medical Arts at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center allocated an amount that will accelerate the continuous trainings of at least 500 applicants and to graduate 400 graduates annually to meet the huge health needs across the country.

Call is also made for a corrected subsidy program with increases for Ganta Methodist Hospital, the ELWA Hospital, Martha Tubman Memorial Hospital, and SDA Cooper Hospital to the level of the religious or church sponsored institutions.

The New Deal is finally requiring that the  Ministry of Health be  directed by the  Legislature to  produce a national health sector revival plan that will  put  in place an  action-oriented strategy to include the  above recommendations in order to meet  the  huge gaps in the  sector.

“We are  convinced that the  operation of these recommendations will provide the foundation for the  revival of the health  sector for  filling in the  gaps as the  lack of doctors and  trained  personnel results daily in  untimely death and  immense sufferings for citizens especially those in rural Liberia.

The New Deal Movement further observes that local government operations are seriously handicapped by the inequality. The draft Budget allocates larger expenditure for smaller counties while counties that are big size and population receive lower spending monies.

Also,  the party notes that  contrary to the  UP-led  government’s stated goal of a small,  lean government for which thousands of Liberian workers in the  public  sector were downsized,  there is rather an  expansion at all levels of government and this  phenomenon is  claiming huge amount of  budgetary allocation at the  expense of the  reconstruction and development needs of the  country.

“The  creation of  parallel institutions at  the Executive Mansion to perform tasks already given by legislative statute to various ministries and agencies further  saps the  already meager revenue envelop and  deprives the people of health, education, and  other basic services”, the party maintains.

New Deal then said “we have  observed that  instead of  reducing  the bureaucracy as  a stated policy for  lean and effective government, there is  creation of  parallel structures which  have  no  statutory provisions for budgetary support thereby becoming a norm.

For example,  the  Liberia Reconstruction and  development Committee based at the  Executive Mansion is  providing leadership for the  Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy.

Stating that other departments at the  Mansion have  been  assigned duties that   statutorily are  mandated to other ministries and  agencies, the party named as  examples that  the  Draft Budget provides that the  “Minister of  State without Portfolio is  to travel in the  hinterland to settle disputes on behalf of the  President” a task clearly being carried out by  the Minister of Internal Affairs.

Also, the responsibilities for the Minister of State for Finance, Economic and Legal Affairs are quoted to include “Provide professional and expert advice to the office of the President on Finance and Budgetary Matters”.

The party feels that this peculiar office that is interestingly in the Office of the President is being allotted US$345,000.00, notwithstanding, these functions are responsibilities already statutorily assigned to the Ministries of Finance, Justice and the Budget Bureau.