Coca-Cola confirms Cummings’ U.S. citizenship

Coca-Cola former executive and Liberian Presidential hopeful Alexander B. Cummings, Jr. has been listed as a bonafide citizen of the United States, a citizenship which he is yet to officially relinquish with barely six months to presidential and representative elections here.

Mr. Cummings, currently standard bearer of the newly formed Alternative National Congress or ANC party is among a total of 35 directors, managers and senior executives listed on the Coca-Cola website as citizens of the United States.

This paper is yet to establish whether or not he resigned from the company prior to coming to Liberia to contest for the presidency, but the ANC standard bearer is listed by Coco-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer.

“Set forth below is the name, business address and present occupation or employment of each manager and executive officer of The Coca-Cola Trading Company LLC. Except as indicated below, each such person is a citizen of the United States. None of the managers and executive officers named below beneficially owns any Common Stock or Class B Common Stock of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated. Managers of The Coca-Cola Trading Company LLC who are also executive officers of the Coca-Cola Trading Company LLC are indicated by an asterisk. Except as indicated below, the business address of each manager and executive officer of the Coca Cola Trading Company LLC is One Coca-Cola Plaza, Atlanta, Georgia 30313”, the website details.

Mr. Cummings is fourth on the list of 18 Executive Officers of Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated, including 17 Directors. The only Executive Officer that is not listed as an American citizen on the website is the President of Eurasia and Africa Group, Nathan Kalumbu, who is identified as a Zimbabwean.

Most officials in the country carry both American and Liberian citizenships, and some even go to the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia to cast their votes during the U.S. elections. When the Chairman of the ANC Orashall Gould was contacted on his standard bearer’s dual citizenship, Gould said he was accompanying Mr. Cummings to Southeast Liberia, promising to speak on the matter upon return to Monrovia.

Political observers in the country say the Liberian presidency is regarded by most citizens in the diaspora as a vacation job, which they come to vie for each electoral year, and if they lost, return to the diaspora; writes Jonathan Browne.