Liberian President Cuts His Salary In Response To The Country’s Economic Status
It's a crowd-pleasing move but the real test of the new leader will be whether he can reduce corruption.
Former soccer star
George Weah was sworn in as president of Liberia this month after winning the election last month.
The new president recently announced that he will be cutting his salary because of the country's economic standings.
"In view of the very rapidly deteriorating situation of the economy, I am informing you today, with immediate effect, that I will reduce my salary and benefits by 25 percent," said Weah in a nationwide address on Monday.
This was after he spoke about the dire state of the country's economy. "The state of the economy that my administration inherited leaves a lot to do and to be decided," he said. "Our economy is broken. Our government is broke. Our currency is in free fall. Inflation is rising. Unemployment is at an unprecedented high, and our foreign reserves are at an all-time low."
Weah also touched on some of his future plans as president. One of them being building a $3 billion coastal road to link the country's capital to the remote southeast.
He also stated he will do away with the law that states only people of color are allowed to become Liberian citizens and own property in the country.
The salary cut is a crowd-pleasing move, on that may come easy to a football star with enormous personal wealth, More than anything, Weah has to prove during his tenure that he can reign in the rampant official corruption that took place under his predecessor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
