Monrovia, Liberia – Hundreds of protesters gathered on Saturday at the outer section of the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Monrovia to protest against soaring costs of living, a day before President George Weah’s return from a 48-day trip abroad.
The protest was organised by the Coalition of Collaborating Parties – an opposition alliance in the West African country – but reports of internal scuffles kept only the Alternative National Congress (ANC) in the fold.
From as early as 9am, protesters gathered at various locations around the city, including the party headquarters of the two opposition parties, chanting protest songs as they walked to the stadium, Liberia’s largest. “We tiyah [are tired of] suffering”, some of their banners read.
ANC supporters also wore shirts with the face of their candidate Alexander Cummings, one of Weah’s two challengers for the presidency in the 2023 election.
“I am protesting because the country is hard,” Simon, a commercial motorcyclist told Al Jazeera. “Rice is expensive, everything is expensive, there are no jobs and the government is not doing anything about it.”
Since early December, the price of rice – Liberia’s staple food – increased from $15 to $17.50 for each 25kg bag. This increase came off the heels of a commodity shortage that has led to long queues and inflated prices of rice and other items, partly due to disruption of global supply as Russia’s war continues in Ukraine.
According to the World Food Programme, an estimated 64 percent of people in Liberia – one of the world’s poorest countries – live below the poverty line and 1.3 million of those live in extreme poverty.
A 2019 government payroll harmonisation process made things worse, as it effectively reduced the salary of government workers since then.
The protests were held a day before Weah’s return on Sunday from his trip, which included a visit to Qatar to watch his son play for the USA football team in the FIFA World Cup.
The president, whose 1995 win of the Ballon d’Or – the annual award for the world’s best player – remains the only time an African has done so, also made stops in Morocco, Egypt and France.
