Liberia open for investment, says new President Weah
Liberian President-elect George Weah has declared the country open to investment and pledged to tackle entrenched corruption, in his first speech to the nation since decisively winning an election last week.
Speaking in front of reporters and aides packed into a small conference room at his party headquarters, Mr Weah thanked his predecessor, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, for enabling Liberia’s first democratic transition in over 70 years but said he was determined to usher in sweeping changes.
“Those looking to cheat the Liberian people through corruption will have no place,” said Mr Weah, 51, alluding to a series of high-profile scandals that have tarnished Ms Johnson Sirleaf’s 12-year presidency.
Mr Weah, a former soccer star who became the only African to win FIFA World Player of the Year in 1995, scored a landslide victory over vice president Joseph Boakai in last week’s run-off.
He faces sky-high expectations from his base of young supporters, who want him to fix rampant unemployment and poverty, but deep scepticism from others who see him as lacking the experience and knowledge for the job.
His campaign was thin on policy specifics, and he will now be...