MONROVIA, Montserrado – President George Weah addressed the nation for the first time on the allegedly missing billions of dollars in Liberian banknotes – eight days after it was first reported by a local paper. His speech, which lasted for two minutes and five seconds, offered no new details in the investigation.

“I can assure you, my fellow Liberians, proper accountability of the money in question is vital to my government’s ability to improve your lives,” the president said. “As we accelerate the investigation to which I have invited international partners to join in advising us to ensure transparency, let us remain calm and have faith in the process.”

Weah reiterated his often-repeated commitment to ending corruption: “I believe that the mandate I received from you is a mandate to end corruption in public service and I remain fully committed to this task.”

However, in reality, Weah has made moves that have run counter to his stated objective of ending corruption. Despite strong calls from the public to do so, the president did not declare his assets until six months after he took office, in violation of the Code of Conduct. Moreover, Weah’s assets declaration was sealed and still has not been released to the public, even as reports emerge of him building several properties.

Under Weah’s leadership, two key anti-corruption agencies have also seen their budgets slashed. Alex Cuffy, the director general of the Financial Intelligence Unit, noted that the allotment for the FIU in the national budget was reduced from US$925,000 in 2017 to US$577,000 in 2018.

The executive chair of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, James Verdier, also said his commission’s budget was reduced by US$300,000 from US$2,312,672 last fiscal year to US$2,008,362 in the current fiscal year. Verdier also pointed out that in the current budget, the commission has no allotment for litigation.

In his speech to the nation, Weah implored the public to be patient: “Over the past 15 years, together we have achieved peace and unity. Let us continue to build on this peace.”

It’s noteworthy that in the interval the president was silent on the issue, his predecessor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, gave two interviews and spoke for a much longer time than he did, answering questions instead of simply reading a prepared statement.

Moreover, Weah’s speech did not address the public spat among his ministers. On Thursday, Finance Minister Samuel Tweah called to a radio show to tell the public to disregard previous statements and press releases by Information Minister Eugene Nagbe and Justice Minister Musa Dean. His statement then prompted the Information Ministry to cancel a scheduled press conference, according to people familiar with the issue.

Weah’s pre-recorded speech was aired on ELBC Radio on Friday after he was already on his way to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York. On social media, many had called on the president to abandon his trip to the U.N. and deal with the corruption scandal, as reports of the issue had already appeared in international media outlets such as the New York Times, Bloomberg, BBC, Al Jazeera, and Reuters. Any agenda Weah planned on championing at the U.N. is likely to be derailed by the focus on the scandal, in addition to already planned protests to pressure him to establish a war crimes court.

Featured photo by Zeze Ballah