Monrovia – Presidential hopeful Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe has squarely blamed President George Weah for the “massive corruption” under his administration.
Addressing a group of citizens in Bong County over the weekend, Cllr. Gongloe said, Weah, as president, is not leading by example owing to the questionable wealth he is amassing since he became President.
His comments come on the back of a scathing attack against the President last week where he questioned the President’s source of wealth.
Speaking at the Nelson Mandela Intellectual Forum in the Red Hill Field Community in district #17 in Montserrado County on Wednesday, April 20, Cllr. Gongloe claimed that the Liberian leader has tainted his legacies achieved during his footballing days due to his alleged failure to actualize promises made to the Liberian people and make public the source of funding for his personal projects.
He followed that up in Gbarnga, Bong County during a citizen engagement exercise. In an interaction with members at the Bong County Intellectual Forum, the former President of the Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA) called on President Weah to lead by example.
“Government is a dignified place for service, not for stealing and not for getting opportunity for yourself. That’s why we are going to bring to state power,” he said.
He continued: “Because when the President does not steal, the people under him will not steal. President George Weah built 47 condominiums opposite Baptist Seminary. Immediately after that, Samuel Tweah, Jr., (Nathaniel) McGill and everybody built houses as if they are owners of real estate companies. Our President is more of a real estate manager than a president. He has the obligation to tell us where he is getting the money.”
‘Sweeping Away Corruption’
Cllr. Gongloe was officially invited as a guest of honor at the disbursement exercise of the Gbondoi rural women’s village saving club. The ‘Rural Women in Action for Sustainable Development’ group had invited Cllr. Gongloe to speak to them at their program held at Gbondoi, Bong County. The group, which predominantly consists of women, had told Cllr. Gongloe that they use their meager resources to establish their saving club, and through the money saved, they are able to send their children to school and provide other needs.
They called on him to help link them with a suitable commercial bank to acquire loan and expand their savings.
Cllr. Gongloe, who had earlier been greeted with a rousing welcome, thanked the women for the initiative and promised to provide legal services to the group.
He said the people of Gbondoi, like the rest of the country were facing hardship because the government, under President Weah, has deserted them. According to him, the government has prioritized enriching its officials, while the citizens languished in abject poverty.
“President Weah and his government has turned the country’s economy into a fishing net. Now, only government officials are rich people and the citizens keep getting poorer,” he said.
In recent days, Cllr. Gongloe has been seen carrying a homemade broom with him at public gatherings. Addressing residents, he said the broom is a symbol of his intentions to sweep away corruption if he is elected as president.
“The law must be applied to everyone equally. We will use law to stop the stealing. All the money leaking from the government’s coffer is going into the pockets of the big people in government. All the big people in the government are stealing. Weah and his people have turned government from public service to public stealing. I want to come into government to stop the stealing.”