GBARNGA, Bong County – When President George Weah was campaigning for the 2017 general elections, he and his party, the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) made several promises to residents of Bong, the third populous county, according to 2008 National Population Census.
By Selma Lomax, [email protected]
The promises were contained not only in the CDC Manifestos but also in other campaign documents and were canvassed by the party publicly in the county.
The manifesto and campaign materials which contained all the party’s promises were made available to the media and the public at the time.
The party’s campaign was based on the catchword “CHANGE” and was implemented in a most spiteful, abrasive and propagandistic forcefulness that crowded out every message of the then ruling Unity Party and its candidate and former vice president, Joseph Boakai.
At the end of the campaign, Mr. Weah was elected and was sworn as Liberia’s 25th president.
President Weah also during his county tour in February 2021 made a lot of promises to residents of Bong County, including the construction of one hundred housing unit.
In this report, FrontPageAfrica has been able to extract four key promises made by President Weah in his much touted “Change” campaign and the analysis shows the CDC could struggle to win Bong County if these promises are not fulfilled before the October presidential election.
THE PROMISES AND THE LEVEL OF FULFILMENT:
1. Incomplete Bong County Technical College
President Weah on many occasions during the 2017 election campaigned, and vowed to complete the Bong County Technical College, a project initiated by the former ruling Unity Party. However, the college is still incomplete. Asked during his appearance on Radio Gbarnga in February 2021, the president assured residents of the county that the college would be completed in January 2023. However, a FrontPageAfrica tour established the college is yet to be completed despite assurances from the president.
2. Incomplete Gbarnga Street Pavement
Despite the above promise, the government is yet to take any concrete action to complete the Gbarnga street pavement. During his county tour in 2021, the president again reassured residents of Bong County that his government was committed to completing a project he branded as “his personal initiative” considering its importance to residents of the county. The delay in fulfilling his promise has angered residents of the county, with many threatening to vote against the re-election of the president in October.
With less than 10 months to the October election, it’s unlikely the Weah administration will complete the pavement of the Gbarnga streets.
3. One Hundred Housing Project fiasco
According to the last State of the Nation Address (SONA-2022)- President Weah reported to members of the Legislature that his government had completed 100 housing units in Salala District as part of his “pro poor” housing project. During an investigation by this paper (FPA), the number of houses already constructed in Salala- were less than 15. Citizens who spoke with FPA during the investigation were shocked when regarding question about 100 housing units. These kind of unrealistic acts on the part of government on promises they have not completed will be some of the reasons for the upright rejection of the CDC in Bong.
4. Failed Sirleaf Market Women
The abandoned market project initiated during the regime of former president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was one of the projects used by the CDC in 2017 to accrue votes. The CDC during one of their rallies in 2017 lambasted the outgoing government at the time of being “irresponsible” due to its failure to complete the project in time, promising to complete the market three months upon their takeover. Currently, the market remains abandoned and grass has engulfed the entire structure with little or no signs of the commencement of the project.