JUST IN: BOAKAI SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT OF LIBERIA
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Agency Report
Joseph Boakai, a former football player who defeated George Weah in the election, took the oath of office on Monday and took on the task of combating corruption and poverty.
After barely defeating former Ballon d’Or winner Weah in November’s runoff ballot, with 50.64 percent of the vote to 49.36 percent, the 79-year-old was sworn in for a six-year term.
US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield and President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo attended the investiture event in parliament.
Boakai has previously served in politics for forty years.
Before Weah decisively defeated him in the 2017 election, he served as vice president under Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the country’s first female president, from 2006 to 2018.
The country in West Africa held a peaceful election in November, despite the region having witnessed many military takeovers in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Niger in recent years.
But following years of civil conflict and an Ebola outbreak, the little country of five million people has been beset by corruption, extreme poverty, and a deficient legal system.
Another outstanding issue is impunity for atrocities committed during those civil conflicts.
– Backed by ex-warlord –
Boakai aligned himself with local barons during his election campaign, including former warlord Prince Johnson.
In 2017, Johnson, who is well-liked in northern Nimba County, supported Weah.
In a film, Johnson was also infamously shown sipping beer as his soldiers executed former president Samuel Doe by torture.
Jeremiah Koung, one of his colleagues, has been picked by him to serve as vice president of Boakai. The US has imposed sanctions on Johnson.
Liberians anticipate that Boakai, who made fighting corruption one of his main campaign promises, will combat corruption, strengthen institutions, create jobs, and boost the economy, given his lengthy political career.
“Expectations of Boakai’s presidency are high,” Larry Nyanquoi, a former local official in Nimba County, told AFP.
Boakai is “seen as somebody who has not engaged in corruption and one who has tried to live the simplest possible life.”
Liberians also expect Boakai to ensure a stable supply of electricity and water, and to improve the road infrastructure to attract investment, Nyanquoi said.
– Challenge of corruption –
The Weah government did not live up to its commitment to ensure the rule of law was upheld, to establish a war and economic crimes court, and to end impunity in the country.
The mysterious deaths of four government auditors also raised suspicions.
“Every leader has promised to crack down on corruption and they have failed, so he has to say something different,” Abdulla Kiatamba, an analysts at Geo Baraka Group of Strategists, said of Boakai.
“They have promised improved economic conditions and they have also failed so he has to say and do something that will be different.”
Boakai now faces the tricky challenge of accommodating all those who supported his election campaign when he starts distributing jobs, analysts say.
He is also believed to have several people in his inner circle with presidential ambitions of their own.
John Kollie, the executive director of Liberia Media for Democratic Initiatives, told AFP that Boakai was expected to drop the prices of basic commodities such as gasoline and rice.
AFP
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