George Weah to change Liberia’s citizenship laws

LIBERIA’S President George Weah has called for the removal of a “racist” clause in the constitution which restricts citizenship to black people.

The clause was “unnecessary, racist and inappropriate”, the ex-football star said in his first State of Nation since being elected president.

He also pledged to scrap the law, which prohibits foreigners owning land.

Freed United States (U.S.) slaves founded Liberia in 1847 as “a refuge and a haven for freed men of colour”.

The citizenship restrictions introduced at the time were no longer necessary, Mr Weah said, adding that he also wanted a ban on dual citizenship to be abolished.

“It contradicts the very definition of Liberia, which is derived from the Latin word ‘liber’, meaning ‘liberty’,” he said.

Mr Weah, the 1995 Fifa World Player of the Year, is the first former sports star to be elected president.

He won elections in December by a landslide, defeating then Vice-president Joseph Boakai.

The former AC Milan and Chelsea player succeeded Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female president who stepped down after two terms.

In his address in parliament on Monday, Mr Weah also announced that he would be taking a pay cut of 25 per cent because the government and the economy were “broke”.

“Our currency is in free fall; inflation is rising, unemployment is at an unprecedented high and our foreign reserves are at an all-time low,” he said.