The President of the Patriotic Entrepreneur of Liberia, Dominic Nimely, has called on President George Weah to put in the national budget US $10M annually to improve Liberian owned businesses in the country.
Addressing a news conference in Monrovia over the weekend, the PATEL boss said that over the years, citizens of the country rely squarely on what he termed as their little incomes from their businesses have been finding it very difficult to enhance their businesses due to the lack of support from national government.
According to Nimely, Liberian owned businesses have been strangulated, despite their efforts to move to an advanced level, adding that foreigners are still taking charge of the country’s business sector.
He claimed that foreigners are taking over local bank loans in the country, adding that over the years, the Central Bank of Liberia has reportedly failed to control the monetary policy across the country.
Dominic Nimely, who is also the Chair of Commerce and Trade at the Liberia Business Association and President of the Liberian Used Car Dealers Association, stressed that over 65 citizens are attached to a 40 foot container at the National Port Authority to survive, noting that everything has been snatched out of the faces of Liberian business owners by foreigners.
He also believes that the Liberian legislature and Commerce Ministry have allegedly failed to prioritize the interest of Liberian citizens who are not depending on government jobs but doing their petty businesses to sustain themselves and their families.
The PATEL boss also said that citizens are not happy in their own country, due to what he described as the bad business climate across the country.
He named SETHI Brothers and George Abjoudi as key foreign business actors who he claims are taking monopoly over Liberian businesses in the country.
Nimely stressed the need for the Coalition for Democratic Change-led government to enforce policies for the betterment of Liberian owned businesses in the country.
Meanwhile, the President of the Patriotic Entrepreneur of Liberia lauded President George Weah and members of the Liberian Parliament, including the Liberia Revenue Authority, for their swift intervention recently to reduce what he described as hacked taxes imposed on imported goods at the National Port Authority.
It can be recalled that recently, executives and members of the Liberian business sector, including lead campaigner Dominic, threatened to stage a peaceful protest as means of drawling the national government’s attention to high fees imposed on goods entering the country through the NPA.
But according to Nimely, the planned protest has been cancelled due to the intervention of President Weah, adding that the Liberian Chief Executive upon hearing their plights, issued an Executive Order to suspend the increase in tariffs until next year.
He further admonished President Weah to always create a free space to have an audience with the business community in the country; something that will inform the President about major challenges confronting the sector.
The PATEL Chief Executive also called on the President and Legislature to work together as a team in the interest of Liberian owned businesses.
