– Montserrado County Senator Saah Joseph, political leader of the newly minted People’s Action Party (PAP), says Liberia faces a looming health crisis that could prove catastrophic if leaders fail to act, and vowed his party will focus on solutions rather than “politics of insults.”
Speaking Monday on OK FM, Joseph warned that Liberia’s fragile health sector is at breaking point. “Ten to twenty years from now, considering our health systems and situation, when nothing changes, in the next twenty years, we all will die,” he said. “If we don’t put in place a robust health care system, some of us here, including me, would not be living. That’s just reality.”
The senator said the crisis calls for honesty and urgency, noting that nurses are overwhelmed and many patients lose hope because they can’t afford treatment. He urged lawmakers to make personal sacrifices, citing their fuel allowances as an example of funds that could be redirected to support public health and education.
“The percentage of the budget that USAID supported in this country is no more,” Joseph said. “What became of that portion in the health sector, in the educational sector? It’s no more. Let’s say I’m a senator. I have $2,000 every month as gas. Can we take away all of that and send it towards government to help sponsor some of these programs?”
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A Call for Unity
Joseph urged his colleagues in the Legislature to put aside partisan divides and come together to find solutions. “I want 105 of us that are elected to sit in a room and discuss the way forward for this country,” he said. “We need to sit and say, this is the emergency case, this country is at a crossroads now, what do we do?”
He argued that when the government succeeds, citizens succeed, and that opposition parties should not wish for failure. “The People’s Action Party will not be insulting leadership. We will not be involved in throwing stones or fighting,” Joseph said. “When the country succeeds, the people succeed. When the government succeeds, the people succeed. The People’s Action Party will not be praying that the government must fail.”
A New Kind of Politics
Joseph said PAP intends to reshape Liberia’s political culture by offering alternatives and constructive contributions, rather than fueling negativity. He promised the party would submit policy papers, sit with government officials, and work to provide hope for ordinary Liberians.
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“There’s a new kind of politics that we will bring to the table,” he said. “The People’s Action Party will come with alternatives. We will not speak for the Liberian people to look at the weaknesses of government, but in a way that shows we are ready to sit at the table for conversation.”
Joseph added that even before PAP is formally certified, it has gained recognition nationwide. He insisted that the country cannot afford “business as usual” politics as it faces mounting social and economic challenges.
“Ten to twenty years from now, if nothing changes, our generation will be no more if we don’t fix the health system,” he said. “This is why we need to change the way politics is done.”
