By: Emmanuel wise Jipoh
President George Weah, on Monday, October 24, 2022, at the 77th United Nations Anniversary, held at the Pan African Plaza, in Sinkor, Monrovia, launched the Accelerated Community Development Program (ACDP), which aimed at closing the gap between urban and rural communities.
According to President Weah, the Accelerated Community Development Program (ACDP) is a flagship program designed by the office of the Presidency to simply address the social economic challenges faced by the poor rural and urban communities in Liberia, something he said will bring about unprecedented development.
The initiative, which is still in its early stage is sponsored by the Government of Liberia (GOL), under the direction of a national steering committee, which will be supervised by the Office of the President and executed in collaboration with the United Nations Developments Program (UNDP) and other partners.
President Weah, said in line with his Government’s Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and development (PAPD) , the ACDP aims to improve access of rural populations to essential social services through the establishment of socio-economic infrastructure.
Weah’s also said the ACDP will directly address the needs of the Liberian People at a grassroot levels, which will also compliment other ongoing initiatives, being implemented by the Government of Liberia.
The Liberian Chief Executive, who said the project is very close to his heart, will provide potable water, solar lighting, improved road connectivity, energy, sanitation facilities, food security to large rural communities.
President Weah, said the ACDP was created out of genuine concern from the Liberian people, doing his recent special Presidential Counties tour in 2021-2022, who he said have been suffering for far too long, from basic social services.
President Weah further stressed the ultimate objective of the ACDP is to address poverty and inequality with particular emphasis on reducing the urban, rural divide concerning rural infrastructure and for government to respond to social demands, of the People.
According to President Weah, the Government of Liberia (GOL) will provide, an initial $100 Millions United States dollars for the first phase of the program from 2022-2025, the GOL has already invested USD3 million to help initiate the project, with negotiations with other development partners to secure the full financing needed to lift all Liberians out of poverty before the year 2030, while the United Nations Development Programmed (UNDP), will implement it, basic basic on its strong experience and technical knowhow in rapidly implementing similar programs in other African countries, President Weah said.
In furtherance of his Special Statement to the 77th United Nations Day Celebration, Weah’s admonished UNDP, for maintaining the peace in Liberia, and reaffirmed his government commitment to always upholding peace and democracy, which is key to developments.
The theme of this year’s Forum, “The Future we want, the UN we need: Reaffirming our collective commitment to national peace and development,” emphasizes the critical role peace plays in galvanizing the people of Liberia to contribute their collective quota towards the realization of national development.
He reinstated in his prefer words, “As I have said on many occasions: without peace, there can be no sustainable development. This is more than a mere observation; it is – in fact – my firm conviction. And because of this, I have dedicated every effort since my incumbency to ensure that peace prevails in Liberia, our native land.
