Liberia Public Radio has reliably learnt that the government of president George Manneh Weah has secured a new lobbying deal with a United States based lobbyist aimed at paving the way for Weah to meet top congress officials including President Joe Biden.
The front Page Africa newspaper quoted a source as saying the the deal was signed on June 24, 2022 between the government of Liberia and the head of the Billard and partners Brian Billard.
The Ministers of Finance and Development Planning and Justice Samuel Tweah and Cllr. Frank Musa Dean respectively signed on behalf of the Liberian government.
The monthly fee of $75,000.00 will be paid quarterly by the Weah government to Billard firm.
This is the second lobbying deal signed by the Weah’s government that is yet to have any official endorsement from the U.S. government.
Weah who came to power in 2018 is yet to meet president Joe Biden unlike his predecessor Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who visited the United States on several occasions and received a visit of former president George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Michell Obama and several officials.
In September last year, the Liberian government appointed Liberal CNN Analyst Bakari Sellers as lobbyist in Washington to improve the country’s image that has been spoiled by recurring reports on human rights abuses and corruption.
However, the deal didn’t yield any fruitful results as Weah is yet to meet U.S. president Biden or being endorsed.
Previous lobby by former president Sirleaf
Former president Sirleaf regime’s relationship with KRL yielded enormous benefits, with the Sirleaf government benefiting from millions of dollars in donor assistance and foreign direct investment.
KRL was the company of record for the two terms of President Sirleaf and led the global advocacy push during the Ebola crisis in Liberia in 2014, where the United States approved an amount of US$500 million in urgent supplemental appropriations and deployed the 101st Airborne to Liberia to assist in building a logistical bridge to fight Ebola.
