Monrovia – Speculations have heightened in recent weeks that the President has purchased a US$30 million jet for his travels, as observers have taken note of the plane’s continuous presence at the Roberts International Airport, even when the President is not traveling
Report by Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
The Office of President George Manneh Weah has categorically denied that the plane, which has been taking the President on many of his regional trips, has been purchased by him.
Mr. Sam Mannah, Presidential Press Secretary, told FrontPageAfrica upon inquiry that, “The Plane is a private plane being provided to the President to facilitate his travels. It is not owned by the President; neither is it a chartered plane. We have been blessed to have a President who has many friends.”
Mannah fell short of disclosing which of President Weah’s friends provided the plane.
Some speculations have suggested that the plane is being leased on a monthly basis depending on the President’s travel.
The plane’s controversy is resurrecting memories of the Samuel Doe era particularly due to the presence of one of Doe’s closest aides, Emmanuel Shaw, now in the close circle of President Weah.
In April this year, there were reports that President Weah was contemplating buying a presidential jet through the instrumentality of Shaw, a controversial businessman who is believed to have robbed Liberia some US$27 million through his oil company.
“The Plane is a private plane being provided to the President to facilitate his travels. It is not owned by the President; neither is it a chartered plane. We have been blessed to have a President who has many friends.”
Shaw, once a confidant of slain President William R. Tolbert surfaced in the government of former President Doe, who led the coup d’etat and managed to position himself in a place of trust – Finance Minister.
He’s notoriously remembered by those accustomed to the developments of Doe’s regime as being the engineer behind President Doe’s purchase of a presidential jet.
It is alleged that he later sold the jet after Doe’s demise for millions before fleeing the country.
During the waning days of the Doe era in early 1990, the New York Times under the headline, “Liberia’s Leader Finds Himself with Few Allies”, wrote:
“During much of the civil war, he spent his time in South Africa where multiple stories about his escapades dominated the headlines and a few wanted posters on the streets of Johannesburg.”
In December 1990, the Mail & Guardian under the headline: “His main occupation was stealing”; cited US court documents showing how Shaw privatized Liberia’s oil industry to benefit himself.
The article which was published after Mr. Shaw was tipped to help reshape South Africa’s oil industry, reported that Shaw was accused in a United States court of masterminding a fraudulent scheme to pocket the profits from Liberia’s petrol sales while serving as the country’s Finance Minister.
The newspaper published court papers which offered an astonishing expose of one of the most ambitious money-making schemes pulled off by Mr. Shaw while in power under the Liberian dictator Samuel Doe.
The papers also included several blanket indictments of Shaw such as: “It was common knowledge in Liberia, and internationally as well, that his [Shaw’s] main occupation while holding the office of Minister of Finance was to steal as much money as possible from the government and people of Liberia.”
Liberia is cash-strapped at the moment, leading the government to sign a controversial loan of US$536 million with Eton Private Finance, a move that has come under intense criticisms in the public domain. Economic advisors say buying or renting a presidential jet would be ill-advised at this point in time and would contradict the government’s pro-poor agenda.
There are reports that President Weah’s recent trip to La Côte d’Ivoire cost the Government of Liberia a fortune after hiring three chartered flights for him and his entourage, however, he didn’t travel with any of them, instead, the Ivorian government sent a plane which he flew with, yet the chartered flights were paid for by the government.
Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was a frequent traveler but rarely flew on chartered flights. She’s remembered for often booking a business class and midway during the flight, she would find time to walk into the economy class to greet her fellow passengers.