Protests over ailing economy
Publish date: 13 January 2020
Issue Number: 855
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: Liberia
Thousands of protesters last week marched through the streets of Monrovia over President George Weah's handling of the economy which has experienced spiralling inflation. The demonstrators are calling for Weah to account for the $25m that the government withdrew from the country's Federal Reserve Account in 2018 in an effort to stabilise the economy. BBC News reports that they have also called on the former football star to declare his assets before and after he was elected two years ago. A report on the allAfrica site notes that Liberia’s Justice Ministry issued a statement saying ‘international best practices and Liberian law do not preclude restrictions on place, time or manner of mass protests’. However, it warned that they require prior approval as government must provide security.’ Addressing the unauthorised protests, Weah said ‘we don’t want unrest here … the country has a potential to gain growth’.
