“I inherited a country that is very broke, depleted by political malfeasance. We have to make sure that the things that happened will not happen again,” Weah said. “I ordered a complete audit to make sure that what belongs to the government goes to the government.” “I believe in education. Yes, I didn’t have the opportunity in my early days but after my career, I went back to school. Today I can boast of a masters degree,” said the new leader, who grew up in a Monrovia slum.
Founded 170 years ago by freed slaves, Liberia is “the oldest African country but we don’t have an engineering school. We don’t even have a diagnosis centre to tell if someone has Ebola,” Weah said, vowing to do more to get children in school and “to leave the street”.