Football star could shine more
2005-10-07 13:47
Monrovia - Liberian football-legend-turned-politician George Weah rides around the streets of Monrovia in his armoured vehicle, certain that he is on his way to scoring the biggest goal of his career: becoming president of his country.
"When I look into the eyes of my supporters, I see that I am their future," says the 1995 World Footballer of the Year.
Some 1.5 million Liberians are expected to cast their votes in next Tuesday's presidential and general elections which come at the end of 14 years of civil war.
Weah, 38, and Harvard-educated economist Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, 66, are neck-and-neck in the race for the presidency.
Known as the Iron Lady, Johnson-Sirleaf says her experience as a former government minister and senior United Nations official make her most qualified candidate to lead the mineral-rich West African nation towards economic renewal.
Stark contrast between candidates
But for many Liberians, she is also the face of a corrupt political elite that kept the country mired for decades in misrule and civil war.
Johnson-Sirleaf was also an early supporter of Charles Taylor, the former president who was indicted for war crimes in Sierra Leone.
Under international pressure, Taylor left the country and now lives in exile in neighbouring Nigeria. Many Liberians fear he has still a strong influence on politics in his home country.
In contrast to Johnson-Sirleaf, Weah never finished school and grew up in a slum before making a fortune as one of Africa's most celebrated sportsmen.
His humble origins and political inexperience are part of his appeal in a country where about 80% of the population is illiterate.
"Weah is like a breath of fresh air blowing over Liberia. This country has known too much of trials and wars and does not need anyone with experience in poli-tricks", said former foreign minister and Weahs running mate Baccus Mathews.
Many Liberians not only consider Weah as a role model but also as the only candidate of whom it is known how exactly he earned his money.
Challenges aplenty in Liberia
The challenges for a new president are immense: More than 100 000 ex-combatants, many of them children, need to be reintegrated into a society which lacks basic infrastructures.
The capital Monrovia has been without a power grid and running water for more than a decade.
Some of Liberia's brightest fled abroad during the war, depriving the country of their help in kickstarting the economy.
The most urgent question for many Liberians is whether peace can be maintained in the region. At present, there are about 18 000 UN peacekeepers stationed in the country, which occupies an area slightly bigger than Austria.
Liberia was founded by liberated slaves in the 19th century, making it Africa's oldest independent nation. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA