Liberia on Recovery, Two Years on

By Abubakar Hashim /Liberia

 

As President Joseph Nyuma Boakai marks two years in office, his great strides set Liberia on the path of recovery

President Joseph Nyuma Boakai of Liberia was inaugurated on January 22, 2024, on a sultry and sunny morning at the Capitol Building in Monrovia.

In his lengthy speech two years ago, he catalogued his administration’s 6-year mandate, enshrined in his ARREST Agenda.

Two years on, his administration is gradually recovering, to stabilise the country on virtually all fronts.

Economy 

Two years on, his administration, through the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), launched the 2025-2029 Strategic Plan in February 2025. The plan contains a blueprint for a vibrant economic and financial sector, sustained price stability, and increased financial inclusion in Liberia, unprecedented in the country’s 178-year existence.

In an exclusive interview with this medium on August 17, 2024, President Boakai revealed: “Stabilising the inherited decrepit economy is the number one priority”. Two years on, the economy is gradually recovering, but not fully optimal.

The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) increased its main interest rate to control rising prices and keep a tab on the exchange rate, to enhance stability. Currently, 1 USD exchanges for 184 Liberian Dollars. This decision became effective after the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met on April 9, 2025, to assess the country’s economic performance in the first quarter of 2025.

The economy, two years on, is still recovering, but on a trajectory of growth by 5.6%, due to a virile, strong consumer spending, government increased investment, and increased foreign development supports, mainly grants, particularly from the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

Two years on, inflation rose sharply in the first quarter of 2025 to 12.8% from 8.7% in the previous quarter. This was largely due to a rise in domestic food prices and other structural domestic and international challenges. The Boakai government, through the Central Bank, is implementing tighter monetary policies and prudent fiscal measures to bring down inflation, particularly food prices.

 

Foreign Relations 

Liberia is back on the global stage. It has secured a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council, 2026 to 2027.

This is remarkable, as it is not just a diplomatic achievement, but also a vivid recognition of the country’s evolution from a post-conflict nation to a peaceful country in the global arena.

As one of the 10 non-permanent members in the 15-member council, 2026-2027, Liberia now sits where critical resolutions on conflict prevention, peacekeeping missions, sanctions, and humanitarian responses are negotiated and ratified.

From an ugly civil war in the 80’s and 90’s, Liberia has emerged as a champion of democracy.

 

Citizen Awareness

Liberians are eminently expressive and vocally vociferous people. There is currently an existential citizen awareness, irrespective of political persuasion and colouration.

Two years on, the Liberian people, from surveys conducted by this medium, are development-focused and are eager for rapid, inclusive growth in the quality of their lives.

 

Infrastructure 

Infrastructural development, particularly road construction, is rapidly ongoing, from Monrovia to all 15 Counties.

The main highway to Roberts International Airport (RIA) is almost completed, with street lights on. The country is now a construction site. By 2029, when the Boakai government’s first term expires, all roads leading to international border countries like Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire will be completely tarred and completed with streetlights.

Two years on, the Boakai government is stabilising a once polarised and deficient country, to one regaining its lost glory, on all fronts