After spending nearly one month out of Liberia, President George Weah has asked the country legislature to extend his trip abroad by additional 25 days.
The notice of the extension was contained in a letter he dispatched to the Liberian Senate on Tuesday, 18 November.
However, the Liberian president had earlier written the Senate informing that august body of his absence from the country from 1 November to 23 November “to hold a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings with his counterparts and business executives.”
But on Tuesday, a dispatch from Doha, Qatar, where the president is said to be the Guest of Honor of the Fifa World Cup, noted that the president will not be returning home until 18 December.
“It has now become necessary to extend my trip abroad due to other official engagements requiring my travel to France, Monaco and the United States of America,” excerpts from the president’s dispatch to the Liberian Senate.
President Weah, according to the dispatch, is expected to attend the 13th Edition of the Peace and Sports International Forum in Monaco, France, where he is expected to serve as Special Guest of Honor from 30 November to 3 December.
On 13 December, President Weah will be attending the United States-Africa Leaders Summit at the invite of the President of the United States of America Joe Biden, according to the dispatch.
Public holiday for ‘questionable’ census
Liberia declared a public holiday on Friday so people can stay at home to be counted in a much-delayed census, yet none of the 17,000 counters hired for the job are out counting because of a dispute over their fees.
There was also a last-minute disagreement between top officials of the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services – it’s head insists preparations are complete, but another senior official in charge of statistics disagrees, and warns that any attempt at premature counting will not be accurate or credible.
In their confusion, people in rural places have been phoning others in Monrovia to find out if the census will actually happen.
Public criticisms
Many Liberians have since criticized the president move to spend more than two months out the country as the country goes through so harsh condition.
According to them, it was not necessary for president Weah himself to attend all of international engagements abroad while there are serious issues in the country including the delay in the conduct of the national population and housing census that has been delay almost 5 years now.
The prices of local commodities on the local market continue to rise but the president economic management team is yet to address the situation as the price of the country stable food rice is now been sold for $20 from $13 for 25kg bag.
