By RFIPosted on 12/30/2019 Modified on 12/30/2019 at 2:16 p.m.

In Liberia, the Patriots' Council no longer calls to protest Monday against President George Weah. This coalition of associations postpones the mobilization until next Monday after last-minute mediation orchestrated by the UN and the ECOWAS. Anger as the country goes through a serious economic crisis.

Ebola put the country on its knees between 2014 and 2016. Since then, the economy has struggled to recover while the president, former footballer George Weah had promised two years ago to make the fight against poverty his priority. "Make way for hope" was his campaign slogan, with a "pro-poor" program aimed at the poorest.

In a country where 80% of the population lives on less than $ 1.25 a day, George Weah , for example, established free university, this is one of its flagship measures. It has also launched infrastructure projects, with the construction or repair of roads and slums. Except that these sites were tarnished by revelations of fraud.

This is because there are many cases of embezzlement of public funds, favoritism or trading in influence. The most resounding concerned 83 million euros, diverted by officials of the Central Bank. Since then, George Weah has undertaken to follow recommendations for good governance, resulting from a national concertation, as well as an “anti-corruption” program developed with the IMF.

Deleterious climate

Despite these commitments, the business climate remains deleterious. Liberia is still 174th out of 190 in the Doing Business 2019 ranking. In addition to corruption, companies complain of too high taxation; they also denounce impulsive decisions, for example the fivefold increase in internet prices, against which Orange Liberia has also filed a complaint. Several groups have reduced their activities, such as the Ivorian Sifca, in the agro-industry, or the American Firestone, in rubber. Others have decided to leave the country outright, such as Malaysian palm oil giant Sime Darby.

As a result, according to the IMF, growth fell from 2.5% in 2017 to 0.4% this year. Inflation is close to 25% over the same period. The only improvement: 7% growth and planned investments in the mining sector. A sector whose impact on populations is generally minimal.

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