Residents of Monrovia weigh in on the fact that Liberia’s president, George Weah, has been out of the country for a month and is expected to continue his travels for the next two weeks .
Weah went abroad at the end of October for a string of political gatherings in numerous countries – and to watch his footballer son represent the United States at the World Cup in Qatar.
Since then, the president – himself a former football star – has not been seen in his homeland where people are battling soaring prices and shortages of essential goods.
Weah has shared pictures and video of himself with his son in Qatar on Twitter, speaking of being a “proud daddy” as the US national team qualified for the knockout stages.
But images of Weah enjoying himself in the stands in Qatar — where he is a “guest of honour” — while Liberians struggle have not gone down well with many compatriots venting their anger on social media.
“This one here has passed the limit now… who (has) he left us with?” 23-year-old Abraham Kaneh told AFP in the capital Monrovia.
“He’s not going to do the work of the Liberian people. He went to do the work of his own son. He did not go on our plea, he’s gone to see other friends,” said fellow Monrovian Momo Fully.
Plenty of football-loving Liberians follow the younger Weah’s performances for his French club Lille, but for opposition politician Lewis Browne that does not justify the president’s globe-trotting activities.
“Weah continues to insult the intelligence of Liberians and exhibit a high degree of don’t-care attitude by abandoning the entire country and citizens to witness soccer matches,” he said.
Browne also accused Weah of misusing public money to lead a celebrity lifestyle.
The opposition has also condemned what it sees as the president’s gallivanting between Qatar and international summits in Morocco, Egypt, France, Monaco and the United States, with former vice president Joseph Boakai saying Liberia was “on autopilot”.
“We continue to witness other acts of poor leadership, irresponsible behaviour, lack of concern, impunity, and wanton misuse of our finances,” the Unity Party heavyweight added, suggesting others could have represented the country in Weah’s place.
Throughout the trip, Weah was expected to take part in a forum on North-South dialogue in Morocco, in the climate conference in Egypt, in a forum on international cooperation in France and another on sport and peace in Monaco, and finally in a summit of African leaders in the United States. His trip also included a ten-day stopover in Qatar for the World Cup.
