In our material world it seems that the more power one person has, the more respect that person gets, and with that comes best possible service, or does it? It seems that the President of Liberia did not receive the presidential treatment at the Free Port of Monrovia last Saturday. He waited for about three hours at the pier waiting for tugboats.
It appeared that there was a ship, the MV Diallo Macedo, which was scheduled to depart Saturday afternoon together with the President of Liberia and few of his guests who were going to be entertained aboard the same ship. It appears that only once the President arrived the two tugboats were dispatched to bring the waiting vessel at the pier. On top of that, after the long wait, once the ship was docked the workers had a hard time opening the door of the ship in order to let the stairs down, so the President and his guests can board the ship. This lack of professionalism has been criticized by many due to the fact that the President arranged for this cruise by paying a very handsome fee.
The Managing Director of the National Port Authority (NPA), Ms. Matilda Parker, explained the inconvenience by saying that the port operators, the Dutch company called APM Terminals, waited until they heard the Presidential sirens before sending the tugboats to get the vessel.
Questions have been raised about the safety and cleanliness of the ship which was prepared for the President, himself. Even with the concerns and the questions unanswered, the Saturday’s fiasco ended on a positive note once the President and the guests boarded the ship via nondescript service stairway.
