Liberia: Weah Defends 48-Day Trip Out of Liberia

President Weah at the Robert International Airport upon his return from the 48 days trip outside of Liberia

.... “I would like to take the opportunity to participate in the debate now. But before I do so, I am equally under obligation to acknowledge the rights of those who questioned the time we spent out of the country,” Weah said yesterday upon his return from the US-Africa summit.

President George Weah has brushed aside criticism against his 48-day trip abroad, saying it was necessary and imperative, and in the interest of the country.

While the presidency has said the trip was an official one and government officials have claimed that the trip has produced dividends for the country, opposition figures say it was a waste of scarce resources. Weah traveled to Morocco, Egypt, France, Monaco, Qatar, and the United States during his prolonged trip abroad.

The trip has been criticized not just for its length but the cost which, some estimates suggest, runs upwards of US$1.5 million.  However, Weah, in his first public address on the issue, claimed that while away, he was following issues on the ground closely. As such, he was fully aware of the debate regarding the trip, saying his visit derived substantial benefits that match the duration.

“I would like to take the opportunity to participate in the debate now. But before I do so, I am equally under obligation to acknowledge the rights of those who questioned the time we spent out of the country,” Weah said yesterday upon his return from the US-Africa summit.

“My visit abroad was necessary and imperative, because it was in the national interest.  Liberia accordingly derived substantial benefits from it,” Weah said. 

The President noted that he had to spend much time away from the country due to the compact nature of his schedule, considering that several of the engagements were almost back-to-back. He added that the situation forced the government to maximize the available time while avoiding excessive travel expenses “for repeated travels.”

“My meetings with my colleagues have been very fruitful and I can confidently say that we are working on the modalities to have large-scale private investment in rice production. I have asked our partners to support us in this endeavor.”

The price tag of the President’s trip, probably the longest by a sitting president in Liberia’s modern history, has been a point of contention.

On the 48-day trip, he traveled with First Lady Clar Weah and other senior cabinet officials, including the Commissioner of the Liberia Maritime Authority, Lenn Eugene Nagbe; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, Sr.

According to the government’s revised travel ordinance document of 2016/2017, which is still used today, “the President, as head of delegation, shall be given in addition to the entitled accommodation and per diem an incidental allowance of US$2,000 for each day of stay abroad for any extra accommodation charges and other incidental expenses irrespective of the country he/she is traveling to. This amount shall be accounted for, including submission of relevant hotel and other receipts on return.”

The total number of days to be spent on any particular trip, according to the document, shall not exceed 7 days for which per diem and accommodation shall be funded by the government. However, Weah’s 48-day trip out of the country violated the document but, his supporters have argued that it was necessary, considering the dividends of the trip.

In 2018, Weah’s foreign trips, according to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning budget that year, cost Liberia over US$1 million in a country that has more than 50 percent of its population living in poverty and suffering from a broken economy, 

According to the 2022 budget, the President’s foreign trips for the year will cost taxpayers US$1.6 million, a significant increase from the US$457,875 budgeted for the same purpose in the 2020/2021 budget. Local trips are estimated to cost US$1.7 million in 2022, the budget for that year noted. 

In perspective, this would be more than double the amount the Weah administration budgeted for the Saclepea Comprehensive Health Center in Nimba County, which got US$75,000 in fiscal year 2022 budget; or more than the US$100,000 appropriated in the same budget year for the only hospital (Liberian Government Hospital) in Grand Bassa, the fourth most populated county in Liberia. 

And in Margibi County, the C.H. Rennie Hospital, the only Government referral Hospital in Margibi County, which is also a populated county, was allotted US$100,000.

Weah said with the lifting of COVID-19 travel restrictions, his government will seize the opportunity for in-person participation in summits and conferences, which were not attended during the two years of the pandemic. 

The US-African summit, which he attended, ended with a commitment from President Biden to provide over US$165 million to support elections and good governance in Africa in 2023, with Liberia expected to benefit around US$25 million in election support.

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, and Sierra Leone are few countries expected to benefit as well.

The meeting Weah had with Biden and his African counterparts, according to a White House statement, discussed the challenges of holding elections, including foreign interference and political violence. It was held just a day before the US-Africa Leaders Summit, which ended on December 16. 

The Liberian leader informed Biden of his commitment to ensuring that Liberia has a free, fair and transparent election 2023 and inclusive democratic process, saying “under our watch, democratic credentials of Liberia will be safeguarded as well as peace and stability.”  

“Cntinued peace and stability in Liberia depends on the outcome of peaceful, free, fair, transparent, inclusive, and credible elections,” Weah added. After our civil war, we are on record to promote democracy, peace and freedom of speech and human rights and we must continue that path.”

Weah said on the sidelines of the forum in Tangier, his delegation met with senior government officials of Hungary, and received a commitment of $50 million United States Dollars in Export Credit for investment and other purposes in Liberia.

He said they were also able to secure an additional fifteen (15) scholarships for young and deserving Liberians students to study in Hungary, bringing to twenty-five (25) the total number of scholarships from Hungary annually.

“I appointed and dismissed officials of Government, signed Bills into law, and gave my direct and personal attention to matters of State and governance.  While away, the Government of Liberia was running, and matters of national interest were handled expeditiously,” Weah said.

On his trip to Morocco, Weah said he participated in an international forum, where he delivered a statement to over five thousand participants, including some world leaders, to discuss the main geopolitical, economic and social issues facing the planet.

He cited the war in Ukraine, conflicts and instability in Africa, tensions in the Indo-Pacific, food and energy crises and inflation and climate change. 

According to the President, he is aware of the economic hardship in Liberia, but the situation is not unique to Liberia.

“It is not a matter to be blamed on lack of knowledge to make qualitative decisions for the general well-being of the Liberian people. The precarious situation we have in the world today is the result of the double effect of the global pandemic and the war in Ukraine,” he added.

According to him, the increase in prices of food and fuel is a global phenomenon, and not unique though Liberia and Liberians “know the causes of the price increases including from the Covid-19 pandemic to climate change and the war in the Ukraine.”

“When rice prices started to rise in other places, my government did everything that it could to keep the prices low. We know that imported rice in Liberia is the cheapest in West Africa, but I had made a promise to the Liberian people that rice prices will not increase. I remain mindful of that promise,” he said.

Since early December, the price of rice – Liberia’s staple food – increased from $15 to $17.50 for each 25kg bag. This increase came off the heels of a commodity shortage that has led to long queues and inflated prices of rice and other items, partly due to disruption of global supply as Russia’s war continues in Ukraine.

According to the World Food Programme, an estimated 64 percent of people in Liberia – one of the world’s poorest countries – live below the poverty line and 1.3 million of those live in extreme poverty.

A 2019 government payroll harmonization process made things worse, as it effectively reduced the salary of government workers since then.