-Assures investors of protection
By Augustine Octavius
Liberia’s President elect George Manneh Weah says people who will be chosen to serve the public but hoping to cheat the Liberian people through the menace of corruption will have no place in this government.
Weah was formally declared winner of the December 26, 2017 presidential runoff elections by the National Elections Commission (NEC) after the final results was announced Friday, winning an overwhelming victory against current Vice President Joseph Boakai of the ruling Unity Party (UP).
In an acceptance speech at his Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) headquarters in Monrovia on Saturday, the football icon-turned politician said in few days, he will be assembling a government committed to fighting for the ideas that have inspired the CDC’s campaign and dedicated to delivering for the Liberian people.
“Those chosen to serve will and must dedicate to ideas of grass root, social transformation circle. There is no place for corruption in this government,” the incoming Liberian head of state warned.
According to him, the new government will be built on the institutional gains of current President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to improve the lives of “our people.”
“We will build new institutions where necessary to protect the rights and foster inclusion among all our people,” Weah said.
He called on Liberians in the diaspora to come home because this a new dispensation as this is the time their skills, ideas, talents and expertise are mostly needed so that “we can together build our common patrimony.”
The president-elect thanked development partners for support given over the last 12 years and called for the strengthening of this partnership in the wake of this transition.
Weah pointed out that it is widely known that aide flow to Liberia has declined over the last few years but argued that the current decline is not good for the current transition.
The President elect maintained that while the government will be trying to build Liberian economy and expand the country’ revenue base, a short or medium-term aid will be needed to support projects and will be critical to ”our long term growth.”
To investors, the 51-year-old soon to be 24th President of Africa’s first independent country made it clear that Liberia is opened and ready for business but stressed that long term business will be the key to delivering transformation.
“We will work to relax constraints to private investments, strengthen the legal and regulatory environment as we will protect business profits,” the president –elect assured investors.
Meanwhile, Senator Weah has confirmed that the current Vice President Joseph Boakai has called him purposely to congratulate him and assured him that we will work together in the interest of the state because he is statesman and his neighbor.
On other political parties he said “We are not enemies, we welcome you with open arms in order to build mama Liberia because these elections were a contest ideas but not a clash in personality,” saying, “our ideas have prevailed that does mean that you do not ideas to make.”
“We need to bring our country together in peace and work towards national unity and development,” he said.
And he thanked President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for the peaceful manner she conducted the elections.
The newly elected President’s speech was constantly interrupted by a round of applause and battle cry from his supporters.
As he spoke, President elect Weah was flanked by his running mate and newly elected Vice President, Senator Jewel Howard-Taylor, with heads of collaborating political parties in attendance.