“We’ve Changed Liberia’s Direction” -Minister of Information

 

 

Jerolinmek Matthew Piah is Liberia’s Minister of Information. He speaks to Abubakar Hashim, TheNEWS Bureau Chief in West Africa, on the achievements of President Joseph Boakai who has clocked two years in office

Could you explain the achievements and challenges of President Boakai’s government since he was inaugurated on January 22, 2024, marking his second anniversary on January 22, 2026?

To understand the achievements of the government, you have to understand the country you inherited. Before President Boakai was elected, the country had a terrible international image. So terrible that many officials of the administration were sanctioned. Projects were also halted by our development partners. Monumental errors were also made at the UN by the past government. In other words, our foreign relations were bad.

Second, the country was struggling with the energy sector, affecting economic viability. Roads, Ports and airports were all in bad shape. Drugs were not available everywhere. The rule of law was dysfunctional. The agriculture sector was rotten. In the transport sector, the only transit authority has zero buses in operation, to name a few.

Taking all these into consideration, and equate with what one is currently doing on the ground in the first two years, you will now know the achievements so far.

Due to all these enormous problems, we carved out our national development agenda. It is called the ARREST agenda for inclusive development. Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation, which is tagged with Healthcare, and Tourism, tagged with Trade. This is our agenda.

What Have We Done? 

We’ve increased access to electricity. Most communities did not have electricity 40 years ago. Today, the communities have seen electricity with street lights and the connection of homes. This bolstered economic growth. Under the rural electrification program, all the counties are benefiting from ongoing electricity amenities.

With roads, all roads that were under construction, some abandoned, are now addressed. For instance, the airport road that was abandoned, we are currently fixing it with street lights. The airport itself is now safe for aircraft with constant lights on the tarmac and within the terminals.

All roads to our border communities will be thoroughly paved on four lanes before 2029. Including the road to the Sierra Leone border. Also, to Lofa County, with multiple contractors before 2029. Liberia will be easily accessed from all border entry points.

So, we have massive investments in roads, energy, rule of law, education, health care facilities, and, of course, in agriculture. We are building 100 schools at the primary level under a program we call Excel to strengthen the education foundation levels nationwide.

And 73 electoral districts will benefit from the 100 Excel primary school program. On the international front, we’ve improved our international image deeply. All suspended projects are back. The overhead bridge by the Chinese is fully back. So are other suspended projects now fully back, like the LBS, the Military Hospital, and many others.

The rest of Africa now trusts us. For example, 181 countries voted for Liberia to become a member of the UN Security Council, representing the African Continent.

The US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) reviewed our capacity with a pass mark of eligibility for grants, free for our development needs and other critical necessities for our people.

You’ve eloquently talked about infrastructure; what about agriculture, where over 70% of Liberians are engaged but at subsistent level?

It’s still subsistent, but we are changing it. We are currently expecting agriculture machinery, donated by the People’s Republic of China, that will be used for our farmers to mechanize. This will boost productivity. Even without the process of mechanizing our farming process, we’ve reduced importation by 30%. Local production has been enhanced. In our supermarkets, locally produced rice dominates the shelves. Rice has been reduced from $20 to $14-$15 for a 25kg bag of rice. This led to 30% drop in importation duty on rice and the massive availability of local rice.

This is further boosted by the improvement in the production of cassava, plantain, and others. Liberians used to protest against the prices of rice, but it’s no more, due to our strategies in agriculture, farm to market model, leading to mass availability of farm products and reduction of prices of these commodities. Our farmers are now fully self-employed.

The passion for agriculture is great. The President was one time Agriculture Minister, worked with the Lofa Agricultural Development Program, Managing Director of The Liberia Produce Marketing Corporation (LPMC). Agriculture is President Boakai’s profession and passion.

The reduction in prices is also felt in the petroleum sector, which has impacted transportation affordability and availability for our people. Our schools are now equipped, and more teachers are on the payroll. Our health workers and security personnel are now supported with insurance facilities.

These are all achieved just under two years of the Boakai administration, on a budget of $800 million to be increased to 1.4 billion dollars. Things will get better.

 Could you elaborate on the health sector?

Our health sector is now evolving into a new trend. Our hospital is now being equipped, there are drugs and we have motivated health workers. In other words, doctors and nurses are now adequately paid and motivated. We’ve re-classified our health practitioners according to their qualifications and training. These have greatly improved the quality of healthcare for our people.

What is Liberia’s position on the series of coups in the ECOWAS region, six coups within six years, since 2020? 

Liberia does not have a stance different from ECOWAS. When ECOWAS leaders meet, decisions are taken and ratified. So, Liberia’s stance is not different from the position of ECOWAS, not only to coups, but also to other ratifications and treaties of ECOWAS.

With all these development strides you enumerated, come 2029, will President Boakai be re-elected for a 2nd term? 

President Boakai always says something. What we are doing every day, don’t worry about the election. What the President thinks about every day is the next generation, not the next election. What we are doing is to meet the needs of the people, not about the next election. The people will decide about the next election.