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T-Max Jlateh, who are you?

I come from the Kru tribe from the south eastern part of Liberia. I'm an ordinary person. I don't like all this celebrity status. I'm a quiet person; a person who loves his country and wants to see the best for his country. I like peace and I want Liberia to go back to where she used to be in Africa and that's who I am.

Is T-Max Jlateh your real name?

Yes it is.

Does the T stand for anything?

The T comes from my grandfather's name and I don't care how many times I would pronounce it to you, it would be a tongue twister, you might not even get it, so I keep it at T-Max!

Tell me about your radio show.

It's a one-hour interactive phone-in talk show that deals with current issues. It deals with all issues of life like social, economic and religious issues, in fact every issue that you can think of in this country.

How do you decide on the daily issues?

Well, we have a catalogue, compiled on a quarterly basis. Political issues are run from Monday to Wednesday; Thursday we set aside for the public interaction and Friday it's social issues dealing with rape, juvenile delinquency, gender equality, marriage and divorce.

Wow, you spend three days talking politics!

People have a lot to talk about. We have just come out of a war; we have the first lady president in Africa, and the expectations are so high – people want to be heard. The anxiety is dying out and there are a lot of political issues. You could talk each day for two or three hours.

Your president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has been in power for more than 16 months now. What changes have you seen over this period?

There have been few changes. The economy is improving but the guys still cannot afford to pay school fees for their children; they cannot afford to buy zinc for shelter for their houses; they cannot afford to move from A to B because the cost for transportation is astronomical; they cannot afford a bag of rice. In the days of our wars the price of a bag of rice rose to over US$40. But as it is now, you pay US$30-35 for a bag.

Has any aspect of your job ever got you into trouble?

On George Weah's presidential bid  I told him from the onset that he was not a good commodity for the job. The job was too awesome for him; he was not prepared and he had no experience.

There was trouble during the rule of our former President Charles Taylor. He would not appreciate or agree with what I was doing and I prepared myself for that. But now I am having a jolly good time. I talk about what I want to talk about, making sure that what I say is the truth and is balanced. If it has to do with the government, I will call in the cabinet ministers who are accountable for the issues and I will question them and the public will question them. But I enjoy my work because there is no fear of being arrested or imprisoned.

So you spend a lot of time working, is there time for anything else?

Yes, I play sports when I can. I work in my church and spend as much time as I can with my children. On holidays I have a great time with them. I have three children and I'm very lucky.

What sports do you play?

I play soccer, a little basketball and a lot of running.

So what did you make of George Weah, the former footballer who ran for the presidency?

I told him from the onset that he was not a good commodity for the job. The job was too awesome for him; he was not prepared and he had no experience. It was going to be a difficult job especially as we were emerging from the war. He never had any credentials and I told him to his face that he was the wrong man to take on the presidency.

So, you are not afraid to speak your mind?

I'm not. I like to tell people what I feel. I had the privilege to speak to almost all of the presidential candidates and I told them exactly what I thought of them.

Have you ever thought about leaving Liberia and going abroad to work?

If there was an opportunity for me I would have to be paid handsomely to take my family so that they can have the kind of life I want for them. As a kid I was deprived and I don't want my kids to slump back to the situation that I was in so I want to do the best I can.

Sky FM is broadcast on 107 FM in Monrovia

This article appears in the July - September 2007 edition of BBC Focus on Africa Magazine.

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