Citizens of Grand Cape Mount County appeared extremely unhappy with recent statement by President George Manneh Weah, in which he tried to blame the county’s lawmakers for the lack of development in the region.
President Weah reportedly told Cape Mountainians during his just-ended tour of the county that, despite huge allotments in the budget each year for county development, Grand Cape Mount County is still lagging behind in development.
The President made specific reference to the county’s electoral district #1 accusing the lawmakers of not using the fund to address the needs of the people.
President Weah said there is nothing Representative Bob Sheriff can point to as an achievement in his district since his election to the House of Representative in 2017’s general and presidential elections.
The statement also made reference to Cape Mount’s popular Senator Cllr. Varney Sherman, who was elected on white ballot in 2014.
President Weah’s statement seems not to have gone down well with many citizens in Cape Mount, considering the many contributions the two lawmakers continue to make to the county’s development Initiative.
In their reaction, Cape Moutainians claimed in separate interviews conducted by the Hot Pepper that the allegation of poor performance levied against the lawmakers was a clever attempt by the President to shift blame at the time his government is coming under increasing criticism for not doing enough to address the plight of the nation.
Citizens in all the administrative districts of the county told Hot Pepper’s reporters that President Weah should be the one to blame for the retarded progress in Grand Cape Mount County.
The citizens alleged that Weah-led administration has made no significant contribution to the county’s development agenda since he came to power, despite the massive votes received by the CDC in the county during 2017 general and presidential elections.
Cape Mountainians pointed out that, contrary to the condemnation of their lawmakers’ performance in the National Legislature, the county’s legislative caucus is the only group that is making effort to keep the county’s development on course.
The statement noted further that the personal contributions and donations by lawmakers in Cape Mount is the only source of funding for most of the development projects, as nothing has been received from the government for development purpose.
The citizen said the County Development Fund, which the President made mention of in his address to the people, has not been forthcoming under the Weah-led government.
In Cape Mount’s electoral district #1 citizens said they are taken aback by the President’s statement, saying Representative Bob Sheriff, Senator Varney Sherman and the rest of the lawmakers are the leading contributors to development in the county. They maintained that the local leadership of Grand Cape Mount County, including paramount chiefs, clan chiefs, sectional heads as well as women groups are the sponsors of development plans in their county, with no contribution from central government.
When contacted at his Capitol Building office for reaction to comment made by the President regarding his performance in district #1, Representative Bob Sheriff said he prefers to remain silent on the matter as he wanted no confrontation with the President of Liberia.
He however noted that he welcomed the clarification made on the allegation by the electorate in the county.
The relationship between President Weah and Representative Bob Sheriff became strained during last December’s senatorial election, in which the lawmaker preferred the opposition CPP candidate over the candidate of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).
The situation led to an attack on the home of the lawmaker in the county by the radical wing of the CDC, in which two vehicles belonging to Representative Bob Sheriff were set ablaze along with other properties.