大象传媒

鈥淓verybody wants to see you 鈥� everybody thinks this is an opportunity for employment鈥�. a lot of people come into government believing they are there to enrich themselves.鈥�

It鈥檚 nearly three months since Joseph Boakai started work as Liberia鈥檚 new president. But in an interview with the Africa Daily podcast he tells Alan Kasujja that he鈥檚 still fielding enquiries from people wanting government jobs every working day from early in the morning.

The 79-year-old, who was Vice President from 2006 to 2018 under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, narrowly defeated George Weah in November last year 鈥� after campaigning on an anti-corruption ticket. But he says while he鈥檚 spoken constantly about the need to clean up politics, many people 鈥榮till haven鈥檛 grasped鈥� the concept that politics is about service and not about financial security for themselves and their family.

In a wide-ranging and frank interview, he also tells Alan Kasujja how poverty and badly paid jobs like rubber tapping helped prepare him for leadership, his plans for a war crimes court to work for justice and reconciliation after the country鈥檚 two brutal civil wars, and how he wants to sort out Liberia鈥檚 awful roads within his first 100 days in office.

And he and Alan discover a shared love of Arsenal Football Club鈥�