IPNEWS: Amidst the turbulence of hardship by prevailing Market forces in Liberia, especially the delay in payment of salaries for public sector workers, Finance and Development Minister, Samuel Tweah, has disclosed that President George Manneh Weah, will be awarded $ 2,000.00 daily for his ongoing eight weeks trip.
Liberia’s finance minister stated that President George Weah is “entitled” to $2,000 (£1,700) daily allowance during his current controversial overseas trip that includes a stopover in Qatar for nine days to watch the Fifa World Cup, where it is expected that his son, Timothy Weah, will play for the United States of America men’s team, at the World Cup.
Prior to this eight-week trip, President Weah informed the Liberia Senate two weeks ago that he would be out of the country from 1 to 23 November, including a visit to Qatar from 15 to 23 November.
Local reports say the former footballer, FIFA World Player of the Year, plans to watch his son, who was born in America, playing in the US vs Wales match.
Even though Samuel Tweah did not, however, disclose the overall budget for the president’s foreign travel, which began two weeks ago, the Liberia Finance Minister told Spoon Talk, a widely monitored online TV show, that the amount Mr. Weah is entitled to is the same figure his predecessor Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf received on foreign trips.
Critics, some inside the ruling Congress for Democratic Change party, say awarding Mr. Weah such a huge amount a day goes against his promise to reduce public spending in favor of his “pro-poor agenda.
The president’s communication team has said the foreign trip was already “yielding dividends” for the country.
However, on the constitutionality and legality of the President’s eight weeks trip, part four, No. 13 & 14, of Liberia Foreign Travel Policy manual states that: “Total number of days spent on any trip by the president shall not exceed seven (7) days for which per dem and accommodation shall be funded by the government of Liberia.”
No. 14: “The president as head of the delegation shall be given in addition to the entitled accommodation and per diem an Incidental Allowance of US$2,000.00 for each day of stay abroad for any extra accommodation charges and other incidental expense irrespective of the country he/she is traveling to. This amount shall be accounted for, including submission of the relevant hotel and other receipts on return.”
On Tuesday, November 1, 2022, His Excellency, Dr. George Manneh Weah arrived at the Ibn Battouta International Airport in the Moroccan City of Tangier for the MEdays International Forum’s 14th Edition
The Liberian Leader was invited by the King of Morocco, King Mohamed VI, to attend and address the MEdays International Forum.
Dr. Weah was among 200 renowned speakers at this year’s Forum dubbed “the DAVOS of Africa” held November 2-5 under the theme, “From Crises to Crisis: Towards a New World Order?”
He also addressed the Forum on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, and held a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings with his counterparts and business executives including the President of Cape Verde, King of Morocco and the President of the Amadeus Institute, organizer of MEdays International Forum.
On Sunday, November 6, 2022, President Weah and the delegation arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the COP27 conference that was held from November 6-18.
While in Sharm el-Sheikh, the President of Liberia, H.E. Dr. George Manneh Weah addressed the global leaders including governments, civil society organizations, industries, and finance at the 27th Conference of Parties dubbed COP27 in Egypt.
On Wednesday, 9th November 2022, the Liberia President, on a chain of international duties, departed the Arab Republic of Egypt and arrived in Paris, France to attend the 5th Edition of the Paris Peace Forum.
President George Weah while in Paris, attended the renowned Paris Peace Forum which serves as a platform upon which state and non-state actors engage in transnational cooperation for collective action.
The Paris Peace Forum, with the far-reaching and combined effects of crises across the world on people and global cooperation, this year’s forum focuses on “Riding out the Multi-Crisis” with special emphasis on managing the fallout of the multi-crisis on populations, cooperating through conflicts, rethinking globalization in a polarized world and catalyzing climate and environmental solutions as well as ensuring a safer and ethical digital world and fostering more inclusive and just societies.
On the margins of the forum, President Weah held a bilateral meeting with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.
