PHOTO: Architectural drawing of the “Invincible Sport Park”
By Frank Sainworla, Jr., fsainworla@yahoo.com
Liberian President George Manneh Weah remains tightlipped on the insertion of half a million United States dollars into the 2022 draft national to pay for the “Invincible Sports Park” he had earlier said is his “personal” project.
When he broke grounds for this private project in early February 2020, this is what President Weah said:
“I want you to know that I am developing the place as a public sports park as my personal contribution to the inhabitants of this area because this place prepared me to achieve in soccer.”
While touring the ongoing construction works at the foot of the runway of the James Spriggs Payne Airport in Monrovia’s Sinkor suburb on Wednesday, January 6, 2022, President Weah ignored public criticisms that instead of paying for his “personal” sports part project, taxpayers’ money will be used, although he restated that it is his personal project.
“I’ve come here, this is my personal project. I come here every two month…I grew up here,” the Liberian leader said.
Hailing his Minister of State Without Porforlio, Trokon Kpui, who is supersing the project, President Weah said he gave people the work to do and “I trust them”.
FLASHBACK: Weah breaks grounds for Park
The discovery of the half a million US dollars in the draft, which is due to be passed by the National Legislature any time soon, sparked serious public outcry, with the issue dominating various live radio phone-in talk shows in the capital, Monrovia for days.
The heightened public discussion of the issue prompted contradictory responses from Liberian officials.
When this sports project was launched on February 9, 2020, President Weah said the construction of the sports park is his own way of giving back to the area where he began his football career before going on to win the World Best title.
His Minister of State Without Portfolio, Kpui further said at the time that the construction of the Park is under President Weah’s flagship program, and thanked his boss “for paying back to the community where he began his football career, and called on the community dwellers to take ownership of the project.”
However, what was initially pronounced to have been a “personal” project has ended up being a burden on the national fiscal envelope, as US$500,000.00 or half a million US dollar is being allotted in the 2022 budget to pay for the dream of the international football icon-turned President.
Many political analysts are seeing this as the latest act of deception by the CDC Standard Bearer and international football icon-turned politician.
“I played at the Sinkor Airfield where Invincible Eleven, my club, practiced and I became the best in the world of Football. I believe with the development of the area, we can have more Ballon d’Or winners like me,” Liberian News Agency (LINA) quoted President Weah as saying on February 9, 2020.
Previous instance
January 22, 2022 will mark President Weah fourth year in office, after massively winning the 2019 presidential election, and the “Invincible Sports Park” incident is not the first since he assumed office.
Upon taking office it was the promise to personally reroof over 200 private homes in Gibralta amounting to over US$200,000.00 and now it is his personal “Invincible Sports Park” project costing the national coffers half a million US dollars.
Shortly after his inauguration, President Weah began demolishing one of his residences on the 9th Street in Sinkor, Monrovia, which his 2015 assets declaration form valued at US$150,000.00.
On April 23, 2018, the Liberian populist President visited the Gibraltar slum settlement on Monrovia’s Bushrod Island, where he grew up and announced that all the homes/houses in the area will be reroofed with immediate effect this ongoing rainy season.
Hailed by many for remembering his root, President Weah expressed special love for people of this community, which plays host to many leaking homes that have not seen rehabilitation for decades.
“The arrangement will allow community dwellers to leave their respective homes and move to either a home of friend or family member for about five months to allow construction works take place before returning home,” the President said. “The project may go slow, but will not take more than five months to have every house in the community fully re-roofed for residents to return.”
During the visit, it was not immediately clear as to whether the project is a personal one or an officially-funded project in line with his CDC-government’s “Pro-poor” agenda.
But days later, Presidential Press Secretary Sam Mannah clarified that the reroofing of all homes in Gibralta would be funded by President Weah from his pocket.
Mr. Mannah described the swift commencement of the project a day after the visit as a promise fulfilled by the President.
However, that promise ended up being fulfilled not from the pocket of the President but from the national coffers as seen in a leaked voucher from the Finance Ministry.