Where Is “Bad Road Medicine”-Pres. Weah?
IPNEWS: Last week the governing Coalition for Democratic Change-CDC, announced it would begin rolling out activities for it’s “Weah second Term” blueprint beginning Thursday, October 27,2022, from Southeast Liberia, which is also home to President George Manneh Weah.
However, and from the look of things, the projected plan might just another nightmare.
After nearly five years into power, President George Weah, normally referred to as “Bad road medicine” has not been able to resolve the annual deplorable nightmare on major roads into the interior.l, particularly southeastern Liberia.
Other roads including the Nimba-southeastern corridor, neither the Grand Bassa-Rivercess to Sinoe corridor, the Lofa-northwestern corridor, and the western corridor into Robertsport and Gbapolu counties, still remain a serious challenge.
Feasibility studies and agreements for most of the major road projects ongoing were initiated and/or signed during the government of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf such as the Gbarnga-Lofa, Ganta-Sanniquellie, Ganta-Tappita-Grand Gedeh, and the Fish Town-Pleebo highways.
Southeastern Liberia is where the brunt of Liberian political power lies, yet the glittering images of poverty remain.
Pres. Weah and three of the most powerful leaders in the country’s governance structure hail from the southeast—House Speaker Dr. Bohfal Chambers, Senate President Pro Tempore Albert Chie, Deputy Speaker Cllr. Fonati Koffa and now Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh.
Statistical evidences from the World Bank, and other sources point to southeastern Liberia as the most impoverished region of Liberia.
The Southeastern region hosts one of Liberia’s biggest areas in terms of geographical landscape, forest– Maryland, Grand Kru, River Gee, Sinoe, Grand Gedeh, and River Cess counties, yet people in those communities are extremely poor and marginalized.
As stated earlier, the southeastern region currently enjoys the preponderance of political power over all other regions in Liberia, since President Weah and his CDC government took office in January 2018. This has all along been the case since President William Tubman assumed office in 1944, President Tubman, a son of the region Who hails from Maryland in Africa formerly, now Maryland in Liberia.
Presently, Southeasterners are heading the Legislative, Judiciary, and Executive branches of the Liberian government.
House Speaker Dr. Bhofal Chambers; Minister of Finance, Samuel Tweah both hail from Maryland County; Senate Pro-Tempore Albert Tugbe Chie from and Deputy Speaker are also from Kru County, while the Executive Governor & Chairman of the Board, Central Bank of Liberia, Aloysius Tarlue; and the Minister of Gender, Williametta Piso Saydee-Tarr hails from Grand Gedeh County and President George Weah is from Grand Kru County.
Recently, the Liberian Senate confirmed President Weah’s nominee, 67-year-old Associate Justice Sie-A-Nyene Gaypay Yuoh as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia.
Chief Justice Yuoh, also hails from Maryland County.
Even with all this, the southeastern region remains the poorest and abandon region in terms of development, especially under George Weah regime.
Currently, the deplorable road condition, with high transportation costs hitting the roof, continue to make the prices of basic commodities skyrocket this creating unbearable conditions for the ordinary people.
This is only worsening the already punishing economic hardships and increasing the level of the abject poverty of the struggling people, while their top kinsmen in enjoy flashes cars and luscious life in Monrovia by getting lion’s share of the national cake through huge salaries and allowances.
Living in the southeast and traveling on the bad roads through towns and villages, one gets to come face-to-face with the sufferings of the less privileged Liberians, many of whom are unemployed or unemployable due to lack of the needed education and vocational training.
