Liberia’s aid may be at risk with a rookie president, George Weah, at the helm
Dakar — Liberia’s development is at risk of slowing as Nobel prize-winning president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a darling of foreign aid donors, is replaced this month by an former soccer star with little government experience, experts said. George Weah, who grew up in a slum in the West African country and later played for top European football clubs, was elected last week to succeed Johnson Sirleaf as her 12-year tenure draws to an end. Johnson Sirleaf, who previously worked for the World Bank and the UN, has been credited with putting the country back on its feet after it was ravaged by civil wars from 1989 to 2003. But the progress she made — such as building schools, roads, and hospitals — was bankrolled by huge foreign aid flows that analysts say Weah may be unable to maintain. "I think a lot of it had to do with her competence and strategy. Once she came into office, donors lined up," said Steven Radelet, an economist at Georgetown University and former advisor to Johnson Sirleaf...
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