MONROVIA – The former chairman of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), Mr. George Solo, has lambasted President George Manneh Weah and his officials for allegedly breaching the CDC’s manifesto.
Report by Willie N. Tokpah,
According to Solo, when he was chairman for the party, they stood for “protecting the interests of ordinary Liberians over accumulation of fast wealth.”
Solo, appearing on The Costa Show last week, told Liberians that it was unfortunate that the present leadership for the party of the “man once seen as a liberator of the downtrodden,” would embark on a spree of “stealing” and construction of luxurious homes just within year.
“The man who sold kala, who played gamble with us, who carried water on his head, is the one Liberians elected. Under his administration poverty has increased and new statue has been built for him. With this rate of illiteracy and desire to get rich quick, where else will Liberians look?” Solo asked.
He, however, maintained that those who are involved with accumulation of fast wealth in the Weah-led administration are partisans, who went through struggles.
Solo said: “CDCians who were trampled upon on November 7 are not the ones building those houses. CDCians, who lost their lives in the revolution, are not the ones building those houses, CDCians that went through pains and agony, advocating for change are not the ones; but people who do not understand the concept, drive and code of the institution and nobody can tell them the truth,” he stressed.
Solo also blamed the increase in sexual abuse against women and girls in the country on the current style of leadership being exercised by President Weah.
This, according to him, is as a result of the Weah leadership’s failure to tackle national issues that will improve the livelihood of Liberians.
He further stated that incompetency has become a national concern and it is at its highest level under the current Liberian leadership.
According to him, if President Weah does not include competent individuals in his government, his leadership will continue to experience negative results.
“The real issue is with a new government coming in, especially from the opposition, you will reflect incompetence if you are not inclusive,” Solo asserted.
“There are hundreds of Liberians from the Doe, Ellen and Taylor eras with competent skills that would reflect the positive nature of the current regime. They are siting right in Monrovia, Liberia and are willing to contribute.”
He indicated that instead of ostracizing others who have the requisite skills, there is a need for the governing Coalition government to bring experienced people on board.
According to him, the Liberian leader is working with people, who are along the bottom of competent path, adding: “This will create difficulty for his government.”
He believes the inclusion of people with competence would help President Weah’s leadership, “where competence is limited.”
Solo, who later became chairman of Mr. Benoni Urey’s All Liberian Party (ALP), noted that government is clothed with many civil responsibilities that not many members of the CDC were trained to tackle.
“All of these civil responsibilities are there; people need to do them. How many persons were groomed while in the opposition? How many persons the CDC sent abroad for studies? How many engineers have they prepared? They are not many,” Solo added.
He expressed frustration that bulk of the competent for public offices have being sidelined by President Weah due to their political affiliation and non-support to the CDC.
Meanwhile, Mr. Solo has admonished President Weah to create a platform of ‘honest dialogued’ and exchange of ideas as a means of improving his leadership.