The Liberia Crusaders for Peace (LCP) has embarked on an exercise aimed at providing consumers with education and information on how buyers and sellers could go about doing business in the country.

The exercise, which is expected to be formally launched on Friday, July 11, 2008 at Red-light in the Paynesville Community, has gathered over 100 spirited young men and women to provide help in the process.

Speaking at a one-day workshop yesterday at the Liberia Crusader for Peace Children’s Village on the Capital Bye-pass, Executive Director, Amb. Juli Endee said the over 100 participants will be deployed in various communities to engage business houses on what she called consumers and dealers education.

According to Amb. Endee, the entire exercise is being held in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce, an agency of government, and that it will characterize by dramas and other awareness exercises.

She disclosed that the peer educators (participants) would provide education and information to both the dealers and consumers on the hiking of prices as well as what she called “Bad Goods on the Market”.

Amb. Endee revealed that the peer educators will report to the Ministry of Commerce in terms of what they may discover during the exercise -bad goods and mal-practices. She said the exercise is expected to last for few weeks with focus in Monrovia.

“For now, we are training peer educators in Monrovia and we expect the Ministry of Commerce to take same out of Monrovia because this is the first of its kind and it is just the starting point,” she said.

Ambassador Endee told The Analyst that  the entire program is geared towards establishing an indicator as to know how many people within the borders of Liberia, especially Monrovia to know their rights on the inflation of the prices of commodities.

Speaking at the workshop, the Deputy Commerce Minister for Administration said the Liberia Crusaders for Peace was brought on board because “of its campaigning spirit exhibited over the years”.

Minister Andrew Allakamenin said the Commerce Ministry believes that educated consumers are the ministry’s best consumers, adding “the ministry is also aware that there are many challenges as it relates to consumers’ education in the country.”

He said in order to tackle the challenges, MOC has embarked on consumers education program. He encouraged the participants to be alert so as to give the needed services. He expressed his ministry’s commitment to the entire program aimed at educating the consuming public.