28/10/2024
NGO EXECUTIVE SAYS
CORRUPTION IS THE NIGHTMARE FOR LIBERIA.AS TECURD INSTITUTE ED CALLS FOR GOL SUPPORT TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS
The National Chairman of the Liberia NGO Network, LINNK, Evangelist Stephen Norman says, perpetual and institutionalized corruption in the Liberian society has become a nightmare and a destabilizing force against social, economic, political and institutional transformation in Liberia.
Serving as the keynote speaker at the 11th graduation ceremony of the Tecurd Academic, Technical and Vocational Institute in Browerville outside Monrovia on Sunday, October 27, the LINNK National Chairman lamented that pipe born water, good health facility, better educational system and good road network are lagging behind in Liberia due to rampant corruption, nepotism, misuse of public office and dishonesty in high places.
Speaking on the Theme, Be a Champion for Change, Mr. Norman said the Liberian Civil Crisis ended over 20 years ago but people are still attributing the backwardness of the nation to the civil crisis. He said the main attributes for the lack of development in Liberia is greed for power and wealth that have resulted to massive corruption and the misuse of public office, and not the Liberian Civil crisis that ended over two decades ago.
Speaking further, Evangelist Norman called on the 36 12th grade graduates to be resilient and a positive force for change and join to fight corruption, noting that the ongoing saga at the House of Representative and the misappropriation of millions of dollars at the various ministries and agencies of government are all recipes for power greed. He also called on the graduating students to respect their parents and desist from protest because where their rights end is the start of another person’s rights. Mr. Norman said Liberia is bleeding and needs the collective efforts of everyone including the youths.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of the Tecurd Academic, Technical and Vocational Institute, Mr. Varney Kiadii said his focus is to develop middle class professionals with the requisite technical capacity to create jobs for themselves and others. Mr. Kiadii said while the importance of University education cannot be dismissed, Liberia needs more middle class professionals with technical and vocational foundations for the growth of the nation
Meanwhile, Mr. Kiadii is calling on government to establish more technical and vocation institutional institutions across Liberia in order to create a middle class for the rapid transformation of the nation. He also wants government to provide support to private learning institutions through subsidy. He said private learning institutions are vital and strategic partners in government’s efforts to create technocrats and minimize the dependency syndrome on government.
Mr. Kiadii said he is constructing a two-story building to expand the technical and vocation component of the Tecurd Academic, Technical and Vocational Institute, but there is a serious financial challenge. He is therefore calling on government and the donor community to assist the Tecurd Institute in its quest to help vocationalize Liberia and create a middle class in the Society.
Student Mark-Jerome Owiredu is the valedictorian for the Tecurd Academic, Technical and Vocational Institute 2024 graduating class. He called on his colleagues to remain resilient and embrace the future with courage, realizing that the best part of life is yet to come provided they are serious. He said Liberia needs the youths for the growth and transformation of the nation.
