Monday is exactly one week to the final State-of-the-Nation Address for the first term of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government, led by President George M. Weah, with the public being eager to hear from President Weah his works over the years, his achievements, lapses and challenges in order to evaluate him and make the decision to either retain him for another six-year term or boot him out.
The Hot Pepper recalls from President Weah’s inauguration speech on January 22, 2018, which contained the summary of what Liberia and Liberians should expect during his six-year leadership. Among the shining lines of the speech, President Weah is recalled saying, “The tens of thousands of Liberians here today and many more in our communities across the country who are listening gathered together around radios in the palava hut, it is to you we are responsible to deliver the change you deserve. Indeed, we must deliver the change that our people need, in order to transform their lives for the better.
“I promise to do everything in my power to be the agent of positive change. But I cannot do it alone. First, I call upon the revered institution that host us today and from which the Vice President and I come—the Legislature–our co-equal branch of government, to work with me to create and pass essential laws that are needed to complete the foundation of this nation.
“Together, we owe our citizens clarity on fundamental issues such as the land beneath their feet, freedom of speech, and how national resources and responsibilities are going to shift from this capital to the counties. The people expect better cooperation and more action from their government. We can do better, together.”
President Weah received a rousing ovation when he said, “My greatest contribution to this country as President may not lie in the eloquence of my speeches, but will definitely lie in the quality of the decisions that I will make over the next six years to advance the lives of poor Liberians.”
Now, five years after, President Weah is expected to earnestly tell the Liberian people whether or not he has kept his own side of the social contract.
It is a hard fact that from 2018 to 2023 has been a long, rocky and uphill journey for the Weah administration amidst inheriting a drowning economy, exhausted donor partners, mass brain-drain, corrupt public institutions and a high expectation of “everything to be solved because George Weah is now President”.
Even though there is a lot more to be done in bringing the Liberian society to par with developing countries, fanatics of the CDC government are insisting that more has been done in Weah’s less-than-six-years as compared to the first term of any other president in the nation’s history.
It could be mutually agreed that President Weah and his CDC government have been excellent in persevering in the midst of uncompromising opposition criticism—an opposition led by the immediate ruling party, with more sophistication in terms of education, experience, finance and exposure.
Hence, President Weah’s next Monday’s nation address could be the determiner of a comeback or goodbye to the presidency.