Grand Kru County – The people of Grand Kru County, in southeastern Liberia, are annoyed at the standard bearer of the Coalition For Democratic Change (CDC), Sen. George Manneh Weah. Grand Kru is Sen. Weah’s native home.
The people’s displeasure derives from Sen. Weah’s failure to live up to two of his campaign promises for the County, as relayed by some of the Party’s officials in the County.
“CDC’s candidate for District number-one told us in early September George Weah will arrive in into the County from Maryland County on the 22 of September; George Weah didn’t show up” Moses Nyanneh, residing in Juduken, under electoral District one, told me in October about one of Sen. Weah’s relayed promises for Grand Kru County.
Madam Nyanneh was quoting Madam Doris N. Ylatun, CDC’s candidate for Constituency #1, who had told electorates in the District that her party’s standard bearer will arrive into the County on the 22nd day of September.
“The First-Partisan will arrive into the Grand Kru County on October twenty-two of this month, September, through Maryland County, and a Welcome-Party will be held for him in Behwan,” candidate Ylatun had told gathering of CDCians and political opponents in Picnic, a community in District #1, on September 3.
“When the First-Partisan is in Town, I will send vehicles to collect people who want to meet the First-Partisan. He will then move to Barclayville where he will interact with other CDCians and lodge for a day or two, before moving to other parts of the County.”
Madam Ylatun, the only female candidate on the list of 16 contestants for District one’s Representative seat, had said similar thing to gathering of Grand Kruans in other parts of the District.
But the Coalition for Democratic Change’s flagbearer didn’t show up September 22nd as candidate Ylatun had assured crowds of people from different political camps—most of them hailing the mention of “George Weah”, and screaming “George Weah!…George Weah!…George Weah!…”
Grand Kruans living in Sass Town (under District #2), didn’t have the blessing of Manneh (meaning “Our Son” in Kru) lodging in one of the houses in the Town, as the party’s Campaign Chair for Grand Kru County, Hon. George Wesseh Blamoh (incumbent Representative of District #1) had assured the people of the Town during his CDC-promotion tour on September 29.
“I’m here to tell you that your son, George Weah, the standard bearer of the Coalition of Democratic Change, will come here on Tuesday or Wednesday, before heading to Monrovia…he will sleep here, in Sass Town, on Wednesday or,” Hon. Blamoh assured a huge crowd of children, youth and elderly people gathered in a Town Hall in Sass Town.
The CDC’s standard bearer substantiated only the first part of Hon. Blamoh’s assurance: Weah’s presence or visitation in Sass Town, but many Grand Kruans said the visit was belated.
Weah had a meeting with CDCians at the Barclayville Central High School’s Football Field on Thursday, October 8.
But some Grand Kruans said the meeting was short.
“The meeting lasted less than thirty minutes,” William Nyanneh, a physically challenged Grand Kruan, and an 8th student of the school complained to me in an interview. “Just to see George Weah, I left my wheelchair home, but I didn’t meet him. I was extremely disappointed.”
“George Weah entered Sass Town in the night, after ten o’ clock, when most of the people who had been waiting for him during day light had gone to sleep,” Mr. Christopher Wolo, a resident in Sass Town, complained during an interview.
“He spent less than one hour and rushed out, saying he had another meeting in Sinoe, before rushing to Monrovia for some kind of meeting.”
George Weah’s rush to attend the closure of his party’s campaign scheduled for Friday, October 9, in Monrovia caused his not fulfilling his campaign promises, CDD’s candidate for District #1, Doris N. Ylatun, said in a interview on Friday.
“The First-Partisan couldn’t stay in Grand Kru County in the time the people expected, because he had an urgent meeting in Monrovia—the CDC campaign closure,” Madam Ylatun defended.
Some Grand Kruans had accused George Manneh Weah of being biased against his County for spending a short time here, compared to the time he had spent in other Counties. “On his campaign in Lofa and many other Counties, he arrived there soon, toured many of the Districts, and slept in each,” Mr. Isaac Blamoh, a CDCian in Zoloken said during an interview.
George Manneh Weah can be forgiven for failing his promise to his native home, but on one condition, some Grand Kruans hold. “The people of Grand Kru can forgive Mr. Weah for treating us in this way only when he makes Grand Kru County’s deathtraps called roads,” Mr. Jenkins Sayplah, a resident of Niplakpoh community (in District #2) said in an interview.
Grand Kru County has the lowest number of registered voters for the House of Representatives and Presidential elections: a little over 35,000.
Samuel G. Dweh/freelance journalist,
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