Political Hot-Fire: New Dawn Editorializes Pres. Weah’s Seven-Week Sojourn Abroad

Jones Mallay Answers your questions

On 4th November 2022, The New Dawn Newspaper did editorialize President Weah’s seven-week trip abroad purposely to: “attend ME Days conference in Morocco, watch the official opening program of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, honor another invitation elsewhere before coming to Ghana and returns home.”  Some left-wing Liberian politicians, hard-core comrades, and CDC fanatics in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, accidentally held up an argument in my presence that the managing editor Mr. Othello Garblah should stay in his assigned lane and not interfere with President Weah’s seven-week trip abroad-what a political nonsense, a spectator frowned!

The Managing Editor has all legitimate rights to express his freedom of speech/expression under the constitution of Liberia. Fundamentally, the managing editor is also a legitimate taxpayer. The President is illegitimately vandalizing the country’s taxpayer funds for his social program that has no corresponding effects on the growth and development of Liberia and its suffering masses. Aside from that, the Managing editor is one of the legitimate watchdogs in society equipped with all the appropriate skills and potential tools to locate, identify and expose gross societal abuses incompatible with the nation’s good governance and fiscal responsibility.

However, it is unprecedented to see a Head of State, President of a nation, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Liberia abandon his office for almost two months in exchange for a social expedition at taxpayer expense. That amounts to gross abuse of the Presidential oath of office. Even in the great United States, I have not witnessed any US President take leave for more than 7-days needleless talks about seven weeks or almost two months out of office on social festivities at taxpayer expense.

President Weah’s move is equivalent to grossly unchecked power, abuse of power, and the misuse of his Presidential portfolio. Why is he taken due advantage of by Liberians? Is it because they are tired of returning to war? Is it because they are helpless to demonstrate? Is it because Liberians accepted him as their President? Does he think Liberians are still stupid? Is it because he sees stupidity in the faces of Liberians? Is it because Liberians have become trash in President Weah’s sight?

Why is president Weah so heartless? He sees Liberians dying from systemic hunger; some eat at dumpsites. Some do not have food nor talk about getting essential services such as clean drinking and electricity. The CDC-led government has created an impoverished system where Liberians have become extremely poor in the recent past. Most Liberians search for food at different dumpsites to survive. Some young Liberians are being pushed into early prostitution, while others have become harmful armed robbers, hardened criminals, and high-way hijackers to make ends meet and find food to eat. Some Liberians who go to hospitals are declared dead on arrival due to a lack of medication and trained doctors to help save their lives. Yet, President Weah is having fun with taxpayer monies in Qatar.

The President is abusing his Presidency. The President should be making use of his Presidency for the upliftment of the nation. A patriotic President of Liberia would take a six-day official working visit along with eight useful delegations (not space occupiers) to meet with the 64-year German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz and beg him to give Liberia a two-turbine engine for a dam project in Liberia to generate electricity throughout the country rather than wine and dine at a World Cup in Qatar. The President could beg 8 German Pharmaceutical Companies through the German Prime Minister to supply Liberia with modern medication for his citizens rather than clapping his hands at a World Cup tournament that doesn’t benefit Liberia and Liberians.

The President would then travel to Zimbabwe and South Africa and negotiate with ex-white farmers to come to Liberia to teach Liberians about modern Agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and other beneficiary crops. A patriotic President would travel to Taiwan and meet with rice producers/growers. He would negotiate with them to come to Liberia to teach Liberians how to grow rice on a mass scale. The President would travel to Cuba and meet with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and ask him for 1000 Cuban doctors to train Liberian doctors.

The President will also travel to America and beg the American government for 15000 scholarships in the sciences, engineering, road construction, aviation, and road construction rather than sing at a World Cup in Qatar. These are legitimate concerns for the opposition bloc to take legal action against President Weah for the misuse of taxpayer monies to watch the World Cup in Qatar and for abandoning his office for two months while using taxpayer funds to leave his office.