President Joseph Boakai and Abubakar Hashim in Monrovia during the president’s interview with TheNEWS.
*What He Predicted To The News Magazine
* The Journey So Far
Abubakar Hashim/ Monrovia
Liberia’s President Joseph Nyuma Boakai clocks one year in power today January 22, 2025.
In an exclusive interview on August 17, 2024, President Boakai predicted, “There will be massive reforms in key sectors of the nation, but Liberians will feel the impacts of these reforms when my ARREST program eventually takes off soon”
Barely five months later, he officially launched his pet program to improve the quality of life of Liberians.
The Journey So Far
His inauguration at the Capitol a year ago attracted the largest audience in Liberia’s 177-year history, with the largest US delegation, led by Ambassador Greenfield.
The journey so far has been enveloped by deep-seated reforms, still ongoing, in governance policy directives.
For instance, reforms on the reduction of ghost workers so rampant in the past and beefing up locally generated revenues by the Liberian Revenue Authority LRA, which surpassed its statutory target last year. The LRA generated 720 million dollars for the first time.
The official launching of the Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation and Tourism (ARREST) program at the second port city of Buchanan is another important milestone of the Boakai government in the past year. The 8.3 billion dollar program, the campaign slogan the Boakai used to defeat former President George Weah on October 10, 2023, is an impressive document, with keen interest of support by the international community. The Liberia government is putting 30 per cent stake and development partners, 70 per cent. ARREST will, eventually, turn around the Liberian economy.
His main challenge so far is the deep-seated politicisation of every activity by Liberians.
The Liberian society is also deeply polarised along ethnic colouration. Liberians are also eminently expressive people.
He is expected to deliver a nationwide televised address today, chronicling his achievements and challenges so far.
The key plus of the Boakai-led government is the total support of the international community, particularly the UN, EU, US, AU, and ECOWAS, on his pet program, ARREST.
How the program will eventually touch and improve the quality of lives of the people in the remaining five years of President Boakai’s government, is the major task ahead.
*Abubakar Hashim is the West Africa Bureau Chief of Nigeria’s TheNEWS Magazine, based in Sierra Leone. He is presently in Liberia