Monrovia – President George Weah’s inauguration speech assuring Liberians that he will not let them down seems to be drawing contention amongst many struggling Liberians, who are now describing the statement as “empty talks’.
Report By Edwin G. Genoway, Jr (231886458910)[email protected]
Said President Weah during his inauguration: “It will be my task to lead this nation from division to unity. I will not let you down. It is my belief that the most effective way to directly impact the poor, and to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor is to make sure that public resources do not end up in the pockets of government officials.”
Rock crushers from different locations across Monrovia and its environs told FrontPage Africa that they are disappointed in President Weah who they thought could have brought relief to the poor.
Harry Yorkeh is a rock crusher of the ELWA Community; he claims that during the campaign he saw the president to be a different person from who he is now.
“We saw him like a man who is one of us but on the contrary he is a different man who only came to deceive us; he came to also enrich him and his followers and his family members leaving us that ran under the rain and sun for him in poverty,” he said.
Another rock crusher of GSA Rock Hill community added that he’s disappointed in the President for turning a blind eye on struggling Liberians.
“That was a complete empty talk coming from him because we are actually disappointed in him for the lies he told us on SKD when he was inaugurated, he said he will not let us down, but for the past few months he has stayed in office, this president has already let us down and we are disappointed in his leadership,” he said.
Many Liberians are concern about the high unemployment rate, including artisanal rock crushers who are worried that their trade is the only option to make ends meet despite warning from the government barring them from crushing rocks in certain areas.
While some are expressing disappointment in the Liberian leader for allegedly letting them down, others are calling on government to create jobs in order to discourage people from continuing the rock crushing.
Gayfloy Bean is a 26-year-old rock crusher of the Wakor Community along the Monrovia-Kakata highway, within the vicinity of the Fedell Community. He says creating jobs for young people should be the priority of the government.
“The rock you see me bursting here is not my own rocks, I crush them for people on a contract level and I am being paid LD$30 per bucket,” explains Bean, who is a father of three children.
Fifty-year old Ma Yamah was also seen among the young folks in Wakor crushing rocks. She had left her hometown in Nimba County to seek medical attention in Monrovia but has not returned since completing her treatment three years ago.
She now crushes rocks to cater to her three children and grandchildren.
Another crusher, Robert Wento complains that crushing rocks is a difficult work, which he thinks should be done by machines instead of human labor to do it manually.
Robert is however calling on President George Weah to help modernize the rock crushing industry to enable unskilled Liberians work and feed their family.
“We used our hands and it is difficult for us and we can’t sit while job business is hard like this, I suggest that the president provide us machines and other modern instruments to enable some of us that are not educated to work,” he appealed.
Although the Ministry of Public Works has warned against rock crushing, by erecting a sign to emphasize its message, residents of the community are undeterred from carrying out the act.
“What to do my brother; we are seeing the warning but government can’t stop us right now because there is no job for us to do. We are doing it to survive and not to challenge government,” explains Babygirl Wento.
“They have the means to give every one of us job if they don’t want to see us bursting rock here, we are suffering in this country my dear,” added Prince Yorgbor.