“I have spent many years of my life in stadiums, but today is a feeling like no other,” elated President George Weah told the mammoth crowds in the capital, Monrovia.
Former international soccer star, Weah was sworn in as Liberia’s new president Monday, taking over the impoverished West African nation from Africa’s first female leader soon after 13:00GMT in front of an estimated 35,000 people.
It is Liberia’s first transition between democratically-elected leaders since 1944.
The 51-year-old, who was FIFA’s 1995 player of the year, took the oath of office dressed in all white at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex to cheers from tens of thousands Liberians.
“I fully believe that the overwhelming mandate that I received from the Liberian people is a mandate to end corruption in public service; I promise to deliver on this mandate,” he said. “As officials of government it is time to put the interest of our people above our own selfish interests. It is time to be honest with our people.”
Weah, who has been a senator and run for Liberia’s presidency before but is relatively new to national politics, inherits a weak economy along with poor health and educational sectors.
“I do not promise you quick fixes or miracles. Instead my pledge to you today is that my administration, with your help, will make steady and deliver progress toward achieving the hopes and aspirations that you cherish in your heart for Mama Liberia,” he said.
Weah then switched seats with his predecessor, Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was president for 12 years, lifting Liberia from the destruction of back-to-back civil wars and facing the challenge of the Ebola crisis that killed thousands here.
After Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor, Sr., swore in Weah, Liberia’s flag was lowered and folded to signify the end of the presidency for Sirleaf, who stood with Weah on a raised platform. A new flag was unfolded and hoisted to signify the start of Weah’s new administration.
This is Liberia’s first peaceful transfer of power from one government to another in more than 70 years.
Many of Weah’s critics are still skeptical about his ability to deliver in a country that is faced with youth unemployment and other challenges. His running mate, Vice President-Elect Jewel Howard-Taylor, has political experience that surpasses his. She was married to the nation’s former leader Charles Taylor during his time in power. After they divorced, she was elected senator in 2005, building a political career in her own right.
His biggest priorities, he said, would be to fight corruption and pay civil servants “a living wage,” and show the private sector that Liberia was “open for business”.
Liberia’s outgoing President Sirleaf attended the ceremony. Mr Weah thanked Mrs Sirleaf, Africa’s first female elected head of state, for “laying the foundations on which we can now stand in peace”.
Born 1 October, 1966 and grown up in a slum in Liberia’s capital, Weah was signed by Arsene Wenger to Monaco from Cameroonian club, Tonnerre Yaoundé.
He made Monaco debut in 1987, went on to play for AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea and is the only African to win Fifa World Player of the Year.
Weah, who graduated with a business degree from a US university after being accused of lacking education, first ran for president in 2005, losing to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
He was elected president in December 2017.
(BBC)
