-Descends on motorcyclists; puts Rep. Wesso on the spot
Bopolu, Gbarpolu County- President George Weah briefly departed from his usual response to citizens’ requests in Bopolu, Gbarpolu County on Thursday during a town hall meeting when he descended on motorcyclists and put Representative Kenneth Wesso of Gbarpolu County on the spot for calling First Lady Clar Weah, “Mrs. Clar Williams.”
President Weah narrated that he and his wife had been married for over 21 years and has not divorced. So for Rep. Wesso to call her “Mrs. Williams”, he needed to correct that before moving on.
Mr. Weah, a former campaigner for commercial motorcyclists to be allowed to ply the streets of Monrovia during his tenure as Senator of Montserrado County, also blasted cyclists here for their recklessness and expressed regrets for his earlier support to allow them run commercial bikes on the streets.
“I stood up when they were taking you from the streets, but you made me shame,” he narrated as he wrapped up his two days’ visit to that county as part of his second leg county tour in the Western cluster region, comprising Bomi, Gbarpolu and Grand Capemount counties.
“If I were in that Senate, I will not make that mistake again,” President Weah stated, as he told traditional chiefs who had requested 10 motorbikes that he would rather buy them two pickups than bikes because of safety reasons.
Mr. Weah disclosed that his administration is now considering regulations that could bring some sanity in the traffic as it relates to the motorcyclists menace. “We cannot ask you to be peaceful and then you be or [are] reckless on the streets,” he added.
He stated that the new regulations, if not followed, would lead to the impoundment of motorbikes to get them off the streets.
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The President explained that as it stands, bike riders have no respect for traffic laws and usually take the laws into their own hands whenever there is an accident, some of which are usually their faults as a result of reckless riding.
He further empathized saying, “Those that are using bikes, we need to put you in order. If the bike is your livelihood, then you got to use it with caution. You got to respect the traffic laws.
“If you don’t respect the traffic laws, trust me, for you to be alive and not vote for me, I rather you being alive. If you don’t drive those motorbikes right, we will take every motorbikes from the street. So, if the bike will make you rich or pay your school fees, you have to drive it with order.”
Mr. Weah also warned youths to eschew protest and settle their issues through dialogue because according to him, protest is very expensive.
He said the amount require to put the military and police on the streets to quell a protest could be used to solve the problems that protesters want to be solved.
“Protest is expensive. If 50 of you were to get on the street today, we have to bring in a whole military truck and police truck on the street because it’s your right to protest and we don’t want to violate your right,” President Weah went on.
“…Those police and army that are coming to you, they want fuel and we have to pay them instantly. We have to buy them materials even the ones that will be used to remove you. That you are on the street for.”
But the President added that if protesters were to settle for a dialogue the money used could be expended to solve the problem. By Othello B. Garblah
