Liberia Airport Authority (LAA) Managing Director Ernest R. Hughes has formally requested a review by the Authority’s Board of Directors into alleged administrative, financial and governance irregularities involving the Port Manager of James Spriggs Payne Airport, Abner Yonly, according to sources familiar with the correspondence.

In a letter dated Oct. 19, 2026, addressed to the Board chairman and members, Hughes outlined several concerns involving Yonly’s management of the airport, including alleged unauthorized financial transactions, personnel decisions and failure to comply with directives from the Authority’s senior management.

A source familiar with the developments, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the communication raises questions about administrative oversight, accountability and adherence to established management procedures at the airport.

Yonly did not respond to FrontPage Africa’s inquiry up to the time of publication. He did not respond to FPA’s letter sent to his WhatsApp, as well as text messages and calls.

Among the most significant concerns is a reported request for approximately US$40 million submitted to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning to support operations and development at James Spriggs Payne Airport.

According to the letter, the request was allegedly made without the prior knowledge, review or authorization of the LAA managing director or senior management.

The letter also raises concerns about reports that bank accounts may have been opened or maintained on behalf of the airport without approval from the Authority’s senior leadership.

Additionally, Hughes cited reports of funds allegedly solicited or received from external entities outside established financial management and reporting procedures.

The allegations, if substantiated, could raise questions about financial accountability and the extent of authority exercised by airport management.

The managing director also identified several personnel-related concerns, including the reported removal of an employee identified as Mr. Bosco from his office assignment without authorization from senior management.

In another incident, Hughes said Yonly allegedly refused to implement a July 6 directive transferring three security officers from Roberts International Airport to James Spriggs Payne Airport.

The letter further referenced an Oct. 14 communication posted in an official LAA forum during discussions about the launch of the Authority’s Strategic Plan. Management reportedly considered the communication inappropriate in tone and inconsistent with expected standards of professional conduct.

Taken together, the concerns outlined in the correspondence point to possible disagreements over management authority, institutional reporting structures and compliance with the LAA’s administrative procedures.

Hughes requested that the Board examine the matters and determine whether additional administrative review, investigation or corrective action is warranted.

The letter does not announce disciplinary action against Yonly or establish that the allegations have been proven.

It also does not indicate whether the Board has initiated a formal investigation or reached any conclusions.

The development comes as LAA continues efforts to strengthen institutional governance, operational efficiency and administrative accountability across the country’s airports.

The outcome of the Board’s consideration could have implications for management oversight and the relationship between the Authority’s central administration and individual airport managers.

The Board had not made its position public up to the time of publication.

Monrovia – Bomi County Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe, Jr. has called for an urgent, independent audit of local government spending in the county, citing allegations that some officials are spending county resources without adequate accountability and inflating contract values to facilitate possible kickbacks.

By Rodney D. Sieh

Speaking as the Liberian Senate resumed its legislative duties, Sen. Snowe told his colleagues that the implementation of the Local Government Act, passed by the Legislature, “raises serious concerns requiring our urgent attention.” He said the allegations warrant an audit “to establish the facts and ensure appropriate action where wrongdoing is found.”

The senator also urged the Legislature to revisit provisions governing the qualifications, selection and responsibilities of County Council members, saying lawmakers must address weaknesses that undermine competent representation, transparency and accountability.

School Closed for More Than Three Years

Sen. Snowe drew particular attention to Bomi Junior High School, which he said has been closed for more than three years because of a damaged roof. Its students are currently being accommodated at C. H. Dewey High School.

He told the Senate that when the Minister of Education appeared before the body, she made a firm commitment to intervene urgently. “Regrettably, that commitment remains unfulfilled,” he said.

According to the senator, he wrote to the Minister offering to use his legislative project funds to repair the roof. The Minister, he said, asked him to hold off, explaining that funding was available and that the repairs were awaiting approval from the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC), along with works at other schools across the country.

“Our students cannot continue to bear the consequences of these delays,” Sen. Snowe said, calling on the plenary to require the Minister to explain the outstanding procurement issues and provide a definite timetable for the repairs.

He also asked the relevant Senate committee to examine concerns about the Western Region University’s compliance with its Charter, particularly the constitution of its governing Board and the recruitment of its leadership. The university, he said, is now fully operational.

Development Projects and Student Support

Sen. Snowe listed ongoing projects in the county, including a public clinic in Weajour, an auditorium for the Sess Town High School and a town hall in Lower Zor. He said he continues to provide full scholarships for 100 students at the Western Region University and, during the period under review, gave short-term vacation jobs to 536 students. Each student worked two hours daily for four days and received LRD 5,000 toward returning to school.

He noted that, despite political differences, he and his Bomi colleague, Senator Alex Tyler, maintain a cordial working relationship.

“Follow the Money”

Turning to national matters, the senator acknowledged that Liberia’s budget has crossed the billion-dollar mark, describing it as a significant milestone. But he warned that the Senate “cannot continue to celebrate increased revenues or reported budget surpluses while our communities struggle to see the benefits.”

“Our oversight must follow the money from allocation to release, expenditure, and results,” he said, adding that institutions falling behind on implementation must explain the delays.

As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Hydrocarbon, Energy and Environment, Sen. Snowe said his committee continues oversight of electricity generation and distribution, tariffs, petroleum-sector governance and environmental protection, working with institutions including the LEC, LERC, EPA and NIC.

He also called for sustained legislative and budgetary support for the fight against drugs, covering prevention, enforcement, treatment and rehabilitation.

US$17.5 Million Owed to ECOWAS

Sen. Snowe raised alarm over Liberia’s reported US$17.5 million in arrears to ECOWAS, recommending that the relevant committees engage the Ministries of Finance and Development Planning and Foreign Affairs to establish the status of the debt and secure a practical payment plan.

He said the arrears must be addressed as Liberia eyes major regional roles, including the possibility of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai chairing the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, and the presidency of the ECOWAS Commission, allocated to Liberia for 2030–2034 subject to meeting the applicable criteria.

He recognized three Liberians serving in regional institutions: Hon. Dehpue Yenpea Zuo, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture; Hon. Boima S. Kamara, Director General of the West African Monetary Agency; and Justice Charlyne M. Brumskine, President of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, whom he described as the first Liberian to head an ECOWAS institution.

Africa CDC Appointment, Diaspora Voting

The senator announced his appointment to the Continental Immunization Advisory Council of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). He said the council’s new 15-member configuration includes three parliamentarians from across the continent, and he is one of them.

He also recommended that the Legislature begin a structured examination of diaspora voting, saying the continued inability of Liberians in the United States and elsewhere to vote from abroad “deserves serious legislative consideration.”

Sen. Snowe thanked President Boakai for inviting him to development discussions in the United States with American inventor Dr. Lonnie Johnson, and said a formal report on those talks will be submitted to the Senate.

Summary

• The Boakai government’s flagship program to get children off the streets is falling behind. The program promised to move 73,000 children back to families in five years, but two years in, the project is not on track, and there is little transparency.
• The government has received little of the $15 million projected budget from donors and has put up just $1.3 million.
• Advocates say the project falls far short of the exploding numbers of street children. A 2024 report found 366,00 Liberian children living in “street situations.” The number has likely grown as poverty rises.  

By Augusta S. Lafalay, senior reporter with New Narratives

WEST POINT, Monrovia – When school lets out here in this informal settlement on the seashore, 15-year-old Stanley does not go home to rest or study for the next day. He picks up a bundle of plastic bags and walks towards the traffic, selling until dark. He then carries whatever he makes back to his mother and grandmother.

His classmates see him out there and laugh at him. He has cried over it before, he says, but he keeps coming back because the family needs the money. His mother sells cooked creamy wheat in a wheel barrow but her income is not enough to cover their needs.  

“I want people to know me as a student, not the boy selling plastic bags in traffic,” he said. “But if I don’t sell plastic bags in the street, I won’t carry recess to school or get other things like my friends.”

Even still, Stanley is luckier than many of the hundreds of thousands of children found to be living on the streets in a 2024 government-backed survey, supported by UNICEF, that said more than 366,000 were children living in “street situations” nationwide. A Front Page Africa/New Narratives report found many of the children were forced into drug use, selling, and prostitution and had given birth to babies who also lived on the streets. As climate change and price rises have tipped more people into poverty since then, the number has certainly risen.

The survey prompted the Boakai administration to launch its flagship “Support a Child, Save the Future” initiative to remove 73,000 children like Stanley from Liberia’s streets over five years through school enrollment, family reunification and support grants for caregivers. The first two phases of the program alone were estimated to cost $15 million. But that was almost entirely dependent on support from donors. The government committed just US$300,000 when the program was first launched and followed it with US$500,000 the next year. Since it was announced, donors have slashed hundreds of millions in annual support for the country. The project is now 95 percent funded by the government, according to a ministry official.

The project’s progress is unclear. Sylvesterus Armand Johnson, the project’s coordinator at the Ministry of Gender, said nearly 24,000 children have been reached so far and just over 4,000 of them have been placed in school. Johnson did not provide supporting evidence for the figure beyond a screenshot of a factsheet shared via WhatsApp.

Abraham M.T. Sagi Jr. and Ellen Sagi, both 18, are two of the children who have been helped by the project. Both now attend Picoli Academy, Gardnerville. Both used to beg on the streets to help their families, whose fathers live with disabilities. Abraham’s father is visually impaired.

Abraham said he spent long days begging from morning until night instead of focusing on school. “It was stressful and discouraging, especially seeing other children going to school while I was trying to help my family survive,” he said.

People sometimes made hurtful remarks as Ellen begged, telling her that instead of asking for money, she should be selling something. “Those experiences were painful and made life even harder,” she said.

The project identified the two children’s families and helped enroll her in school. It now pays their school fees and provides books, uniforms, shoes and bags. “Now I can stay in the classroom, study, and concentrate on building my future. I no longer have to return to the streets to beg,” Abraham said. The program “has changed my life and given me hope for a better future,” said Ellen.

Both are already looking beyond school. Ellen’s dream is to learn tailoring so she can become self-reliant. Abraham wants to pursue business skills training so that he can build a better future for himself and his family.

Johnson K. Dorbor, president of the Hoping God Association of the Blind, said it has brought meaningful change to many families, especially those of people with disabilities and other vulnerable households. Children from those families are enrolled at schools including Perfect Grace, Daniel Memorial and Picoli, where the program covers tuition and provides school uniforms, bags, shoes and other learning materials.Parents get help too. Some received small livelihood grants of between US$100 and US$120 to start or strengthen a small business, Dorbor said. His own wife uses their grant to support the household and their children’s education. Social workers regularly visit the community to encourage children to stay in school and to support parents, he said. About 62 children in his association are currently benefiting.

A limited project without transparency has advocates calling for an overhaul

But advocates say they have no way of knowing if the project has achieved measurable success. There has been no independent audit as would be required in a donor-funded project “to know as to whether the very children that they are claiming to take off the street are not going back in the street,” Kalifala Kromah, chairperson of the Child Protection Network of Liberia, a government-led coalition of ministries, civil society groups, UN agencies and other partners working to coordinate efforts to protect children.

Getting a child into a classroom does not settle what comes next. Dorbor said many families still struggle to pay rent and put food on the table, and some parents work long hours just to provide the next day’s meals.

“Children learn best when their basic needs are met,” he said. He asked the government and its partners to bring in school feeding programs, help vulnerable families with housing, and keep funding the program beyond its five years, so that more children stay in school and away from the streets.

Johnson acknowledges the project is dramatically underfunded compared with the original plan. There is a direct 2026 budget line of US$296,000, topped up with a US$200,000 supplementary allocation, according to Johnson, putting the year’s funding close to US$500,000.

Cumulative government commitments since the launch come to just under $1.3 million against the US$15 million estimated for the first two phases alone. That is less than nine cents of every dollar the program’s own architects said it needed, with two of the five years already gone.

“Even if we were going at a pace of $500,000 [a year] … in five years’ time, it’s not going to even equate to $15 million,” said Andrew Tehmeh, former county director of Street Child Liberia, “Resource mobilization is far below the targeted amount.”

The funding gap has led to a staffing shortage. Johnson said the ministry deployed around 50 social workers for the pilot phase to track thousands of children nationwide. That forced civil society groups to step in and undertake documentation work the ministry could not keep pace with alone.

Tehmeh said the hardest cases remain the ones the program struggles most to resolve: children with disabilities or those whose disabled parents, who rely on them to beg.

“Every time you got them all, you kind of saw them back again,” he said.

Johnson confirmed that the ministry only recently began a targeted approach with the National Commission on Disability, acknowledging that some caregiver grants intended for small businesses were instead diverted to other uses. He maintains that the program is on track and hopes it will eventually be absorbed into permanent ministry operations rather than ending when its five years run out.

A Children’s Rights Law that has been ignored

Experts said the whole program was unnecessary from the start. Liberia already has a legal tool designed to address exactly this problem: the Children’s Rights Law of 2011 – which provides a range of policies to reduce the number of street children, but which has never been enforced.  The law calls for a standing Child Rights Advancement Fund meant to pool government and donor money and a Child Well-Being Council to coordinate child protection efforts across the government permanently. Neither has been established more than a decade on. Advocates said that failure, more than any single funding shortfall, explains why the country is falling behind.

“The law is better than whatever intervention is being done,” said Kromah. “That will be a statutory and holistic means of protection for children instead of short-term projects.”

Kromah said the funding shortfall is exactly why a legally mandated fund matters more than a project budget line. A standing Child Rights Advancement Fund, he said, provided by the bill, could pool government and donor contributions in one place instead of leaving the program dependent on whatever a single ministry can secure in each budget cycle.

“If the fund is established, partners can come in and support the fund,” he said. Without it, “everybody will want to own their own project, and there will be no coordination.”

“Help me feed my family, pay my rent, and survive with dignity”

Seven-year-old Alice attends school, but her mind is often not on her studies. When classes end, she returns to the traffic at 72nd Junction, where she moves between cars to raise money for school expenses and food for her family. She says she knows the street is dangerous but feels she has little choice.

“If somebody wants to help me,” Stanley said, “I’m asking for two things: pay my school fees and help my family. If that happens, I will leave the street the same day. I want to stay in school and learn. I don’t want to grow up begging between cars.”

Patience, Alice’s mother, keeps her daughter in school at a painful cost. The 40-year-old, who has a disability, begs at 72nd Junction alongside her daughter. She says removing children from the streets without supporting the families they depend on will not solve the problem.

“I am not asking the government to leave my child on the street,” Patience said. “I am asking them to give us a way to live. Send my child to school, yes, but help me feed my family, pay my rent, and survive with dignity.”

This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Investigating Liberia project. Funding was provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency in Liberia. The funder had no say in the story’s content.

MONROVIA — Labour advocate and University of Liberia adjunct faculty member George Sahr Tengbeh has called for comprehensive financial, personnel and academic credentials audits at the country’s premier public university, urging authorities to strengthen accountability, transparency and academic standards ahead of 2027.

Tengbeh is calling on the General Auditing Commission (GAC), the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) and the university administration to undertake an independent review of the institution’s finances, verify employee records and qualifications, and ensure that faculty appointments and promotions comply with established academic requirements.

In a statement addressed to University of Liberia President Dr. Layli Maparyan, GAC Comptroller General Garswa P. Jackson and IAA head David A. Kemah, Tengbeh urged the relevant authorities to prioritize a comprehensive external financial audit beginning in January 2027.

He said the exercise would establish a clearer picture of the university’s financial and administrative position while identifying weaknesses requiring corrective action.

According to Tengbeh, the university’s last financial audit was reportedly conducted during the 2023/2024 period, with no subsequent external audit of the current administration identified in his statement.

“We want to see a different version of institutional integrity at the University of Liberia in 2027,” Tengbeh said, emphasizing that accountability and academic excellence should remain central to the institution’s governance.

Tengbeh Calls for Semester-Based Financial Audits

Beyond an external financial review, Tengbeh proposed internal financial audits every semester under the supervision of the Internal Audit Agency.

He argued that the university’s public funding and internally generated revenues require consistent monitoring to ensure proper accounting, effective expenditure controls, and responsible resource management.

Regular audits, he said, would help identify potential financial irregularities, improve financial reporting and strengthen the university’s internal control systems.

Tengbeh also acknowledged President Maparyan’s reported initiative to station IAA representatives at the university as independent internal auditors. However, he argued that their presence should be supported by regular reviews, effective follow-up mechanisms and implementation of recommendations arising from audit findings.

He maintained that internal auditing should produce measurable improvements in financial oversight rather than remain a procedural arrangement.

Personnel Records and Academic Credentials Under Scrutiny

Tengbeh also called for periodic personnel and academic credentials audits to verify employees’ records, qualifications, appointments, and related expenditures.

He recommended annual or biennial reviews, with the university’s Human Resource Management Department working alongside the IAA to maintain accurate and regularly updated personnel records.

According to him, such reviews would help establish whether appointments are properly documented, academic qualifications are verifiable, and personnel expenditures comply with established procedures.

He stressed, however, that the process should be conducted professionally and fairly, with respect for institutional regulations, employee rights and appropriate verification procedures.

Challenges GAC to Commission Independent Audit

Tengbeh directly challenged the General Auditing Commission to prioritize an independent audit of the university, referencing Jackson’s previous experience in the institution’s financial administration, internal auditing and comptrollership.

He also pointed to Jackson’s record of commissioning audits under his leadership at the GAC, arguing that the University of Liberia should receive similar attention.

“The GAC under your watch must respond to the University’s request for an audit and take the necessary steps to commission one under this new administration,” Tengbeh said.

He emphasized that an external audit should not be construed as an accusation against the current administration but as a standard governance measure for public institutions entrusted with managing public resources.

An independent review, he argued, would provide a clearer assessment of the university’s financial position and help strengthen public confidence in its management.

Faculty Promotions and Research Standards

Tengbeh’s proposed reforms extend beyond financial and administrative management to the qualifications, research records and promotion standards of faculty members.

He urged President Maparyan to enforce existing policies requiring the verification of academic credentials, research outputs and qualifications corresponding to faculty members’ respective ranks.

He expressed concern about cases in which faculty members holding master’s degrees may occupy senior academic positions without demonstrable research experience or peer-reviewed publications, where such qualifications and outputs are required by university standards.

Tengbeh said the institution should consistently apply its approved requirements and ensure that promotion decisions are supported by verifiable evidence of scholarly competence.

He also called on the university’s Board of Trustees to establish clear and transparent promotion criteria for academic staff if such provisions are not already in place.

Under his proposal, promotions to Assistant Professor and Associate Professor should follow the university’s approved requirements, including terminal degrees where required, peer-reviewed publications, demonstrated research capacity and the ability to attract competitive external research grants where applicable.

Tengbeh argued that transparent promotion standards would strengthen the university’s academic credibility, encourage research productivity and improve its prospects of securing international academic partnerships and donor support.

Calls for Broader Institutional Reform

Tengbeh framed the proposed audits as part of a broader effort to strengthen the university’s financial management, administrative systems and academic standing.

He said regular financial reviews, accurate personnel records and credible academic promotion procedures would help ensure that public resources are properly managed and academic standards are consistently enforced.

He cautioned that the proposed exercises should follow established institutional procedures and should not be used to target individuals or undermine any administration.

“As we enter 2027, our goal should be to build a University of Liberia that is financially accountable, administratively transparent, and academically competitive,” he said.

He urged the university administration, the GAC and the IAA to treat the proposals as an opportunity to reinforce public trust and advance institutional development.

“The time is now. Let us make 2027 a year of accountability, credible academic standards, and meaningful institutional reform at the University of Liberia,” Tengbeh added.

The statement did not include responses from the university administration, the GAC or the IAA regarding the proposed audits.

MONROVIA — Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has made a candid admission that her administration failed to defeat corruption in Liberia, acknowledging that despite extensive institutional reforms during her 12-year presidency, the menace remains deeply entrenched and continues to confront the country today.

By Gerald C. Koinyeneh

“We did not succeed,” Sirleaf said Tuesday while delivering the keynote address at a Governance Commission symposium on good governance in Monrovia. The event marks the inaugural ceremony marking October as Liberia’s Month of Good Governance, an initiative declared by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai.

The former president said she wished her administration had won the fight against corruption but conceded that its efforts fell short.

“I wish that I could, with all these efforts, have won the corruption fight. We did not. And we are facing the same thing today,” she said.

Sirleaf’s admission comes nearly two decades after she famously declared corruption “public enemy number one” during her inauguration in January 2006, shortly after becoming Liberia’s first post-war president and Africa’s first democratically elected female president.

She served two constitutional terms, leaving office in January 2018 after peacefully transferring power to then-President-elect George Manneh Weah.

‘Audits Were Published and Then Forgotten’

Reflecting on the shortcomings of her administration’s anti-corruption campaign, Sirleaf pointed to weak enforcement, inadequate funding for integrity institutions and the failure to prosecute individuals accused of wrongdoing.

“I have said so before, and I will say it again. Audits were published and then forgotten. Too few cases reached the courtroom, and fewer ended in conviction,” she said.

She also acknowledged that some institutions were given broad mandates without the budgetary resources required to effectively perform their functions.

Sirleaf said the experience taught her that establishing institutions and passing laws, while important, were insufficient to defeat corruption.

“Institutions are necessary, but they are not enough. Accountability without consequence will only be a report on the shelf,” she said.

According to Sirleaf, laws provide the framework for accountability, but their effectiveness depends on leaders, citizens and institutions working together to enforce them.

Reforms, But Corruption Fight Fell Short

Sirleaf defended the governance reforms undertaken during her administration, recalling that her government inherited a country emerging from years of civil war, institutional collapse and widespread public distrust.

“We inherited a nation that had been looted by the people who had lost faith in government,” she said.

She said her administration understood that sustaining peace would require rebuilding public confidence in state institutions.

Among the measures undertaken, she cited strengthening the General Auditing Commission and establishing the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission.

Her administration also established the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission and reviewed concession agreements signed during the civil war, canceling some contracts it determined were not in the national interest.

Sirleaf also pointed to the National Forestry Reform Act of 2006 and the 2009 Community Rights Law, which she said strengthened legal benefits for communities.

Through the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, she said Liberia became the first African country to meet the global standard for publishing information on what companies paid and what government received from the extractive sector.

Her government also passed the Freedom of Information Act in 2010, which she described as the first such law in West Africa.

The administration also secured relief of approximately US$5 billion in Liberia’s public debt, which Sirleaf said enabled the country to meet requirements for national reconstruction.

Yet, despite those achievements and the creation or strengthening of accountability institutions, she acknowledged that corruption remained unresolved.

‘It Starts From the Very Top’

Sirleaf said the responsibility for fighting corruption ultimately begins with political leadership.

“Accountability begins at the top, the very top, or it does not begin at all,” she said.

She argued that citizens are more likely to follow what leaders do than what they say.

“It’s not enough to make laws; enforcement is cardinal,” she said.

The former president stressed that public officials must lead by example and demonstrate integrity in the exercise of their responsibilities.

“It starts from the very top,” she emphasized.

She also called for Liberia’s integrity institutions to receive the full budgetary allocations required under the law, while challenging those institutions themselves to uphold the standards they are mandated to enforce.

Judiciary Must Enforce Its Decisions

Sirleaf also called for greater respect for the judiciary and implementation of court decisions, while warning against treating the courts as the sole solution to Liberia’s governance problems.

“The judiciary and our courts, yes, must be respected, and decisions rendered must be fully implemented,” she said.

But she added that the judiciary itself must be properly staffed with competent and highly principled officials capable of making decisions in accordance with the law.

“Waiting for the courts, waiting for the Supreme Court to take the lead to resolve the problem is not going to help us on this matter,” she said.

‘Exclusion Breeds Resentment’

Beyond corruption, Sirleaf used the symposium to place Liberia’s governance crisis within the broader context of the country’s history.

She recounted Liberia’s establishment by the American Colonization Society for the resettlement of freed Black people from the United States and the declaration of independence in 1847.

She noted that Liberia and Ethiopia were the only African countries to maintain their sovereignty during the period of European colonial expansion and the Scramble for Africa.

But Sirleaf said Liberia’s history was also marked by the exclusion of the indigenous majority from political and economic power.

She argued that the prolonged exclusion created resentment that eventually contributed to the 1980 military coup and the civil wars that followed.

“For more than a century, our Republic was governed and taught the school of loyalty, affirming the axiom that a government that answers only to a few will sooner or later serve only a few,” she said.

“This is what happened. Exclusion breeds resentment. Resentment bred the problems of 1980. And then 14 years of civil war that reportedly took 250,000 lives.”

She said the country’s years of militarism and civil war also destroyed infrastructure, weakened institutions and damaged Liberia’s democratic culture.

Accountability Is Not a Foreign Concept

Sirleaf rejected the notion that accountability and good governance are foreign concepts imposed on Liberia.

“Let us also be clear that accountability is not a foreign idea brought to us from outside,” she said.

She invoked the traditional Palava Hut system, where chiefs who abuse their authority can be challenged by elders and members of the community.

“Leadership is trust and can be withdrawn,” she said, stressing that public authority must be accompanied by responsibility and accountability.

For Liberia, she said, good governance should be viewed as a restoration of balance between government and citizens.

‘Freedom of Information Law Belongs to You’

Sirleaf urged Liberians to take greater responsibility for demanding accountability from their leaders and institutions.

She called on citizens to understand and use the country’s laws, particularly the Freedom of Information Act, as a tool for demanding transparency.

“To the citizens of Liberia, our Freedom of Information Law belongs to you as a democracy,” she said.

She also had a direct message for journalists.

“To our journalists, keep asking the hard questions,” Sirleaf said.

Analysts say her remarks at the Governance Commission symposium offered one of the clearest assessments of the limitations of her administration’s anti-corruption campaign, while placing responsibility for confronting the problem on Liberia’s current and future leaders, institutions and citizens.

Recognizing Sirleaf’s ‘Enduring’ Legacy

The event was convened by the Governance Commission in Monrovia and brought together government officials, diplomats, development partners, civil society leaders, media executives and governance stakeholders.

Alaric K. Tokpa, Acting Chairman of the Governance Commission, described Sirleaf’s participation as particularly significant because she was the first chairperson of the Governance Reform Commission, the institution from which the current Governance Commission evolved.

Tokpa praised Sirleaf’s political career and her role as Africa’s first democratically elected woman president, saying her journey from imprisonment to the Executive Mansion had helped challenge longstanding assumptions about women’s capacity to lead.

He also credited the establishment of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development with extending her influence beyond her presidency.

“Your leadership example and great legacy” should continue to inspire women and young people across Africa, Tokpa said in welcoming the former president.

He said the Governance Commission considered Sirleaf’s presence at the inaugural Good Governance Month event especially meaningful because of her historical connection to the commission and Liberia’s governance reform process.

Tokpa urged Liberians and Liberia’s international partners to embrace good governance as a requirement for national renewal, peace, stability and socioeconomic development.

He identified transparency and accountability, effective government, public participation and inclusion, the rule of law, justice, equity and decentralization of power as essential pillars of good governance.

GREENVILLE, Sinoe County — New video and photographic evidence obtained by FrontPage Africa has raised questions about the conduct of officials associated with the Sinoe County Labour Commissioner’s Office, amid competing accounts over the handcuffing of a Chinese national and a separate confrontation involving the County Attorney and county officials.

By Gerald C. Koinyeneh

The controversy comes as questions continue to surround an incident involving Sinoe County Attorney Cllr. Mmonbeydo Nadine Joah, who became involved in a dispute with Labour Commissioner Cleophas Nyantee Mah and County Superintendent Alexander Nah Slewion.

Mah, however, strongly denies allegations that he or members of his team have harassed, intimidated or extorted business operators.

He told FrontPage Africa that neither he nor members of his team have demanded unauthorized payments from investors or subjected them to harassment.

What the Footage Shows

Video obtained by FrontPage Africa appears to show a Chinese businessman seated on a green plastic chair with his hands handcuffed.

A man in plain clothes, holding what appears to be documents and a mobile phone, is seen speaking to the businessman and pointing in his direction.

The incident appears to have occurred inside a container-like office at what sources identified as a mining operation.

Mah acknowledged that the incident occurred but disputed accounts portraying him as responsible for the arrest and handcuffing of the Chinese national.

According to Mah, the incident occurred several months ago and was unrelated to the more recent confrontation involving the County Attorney and Superintendent.

He said he went to the location in his capacity as Labour Commissioner and that the Chinese national was arrested and handcuffed by members of the Liberia National Police who were investigating an incident.

Mah said his office subsequently imposed a fine on the company, but that the County Attorney later revoked the fine.

He also said the County Attorney subsequently accused him of abuse of office and took legal action against him.

Mah maintained that the matter was eventually dismissed by the Magisterial Court.

The County Attorney did not respond to FrontPage Africa’s request for comment on the matter.

Competing Accounts of the Mining-Site Incident

Darius Shajay Nagbeh Sr., Superintendent of Kpanyan Statutory District, disputed Mah’s account of what happened.

Nagbeh told FrontPage Africa that the incident occurred within his district at the Glorious Mining Company operation site following an incident involving the death of a miner.

According to Nagbeh, the County Attorney had established a team, led by him, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death.

He alleged that Mah arrived at the site accompanied by a Community Police officer and participated in the arrest and handcuffing of the Chinese national.

Nagbeh also disputed the amount of the fine, saying the Labour Commissioner imposed a hefty fine on the company. Mah’s account also referenced a fine, but the parties differ over the circumstances surrounding its imposition and subsequent revocation.

Nagbeh said the County Attorney later revoked the fine and initiated legal proceedings against Mah, accusing him of abuse of office.

Mah maintains that the arrest itself was carried out by the Liberia National Police and that his role was limited to labour enforcement.

Allegations of Extortion

Separate allegations have emerged concerning the treatment of business operators in Greenville.

Sources familiar with the situation allege that members of the Labour Commissioner’s team have visited businesses operated by members of the Fula community and demanded payments allegedly outside Liberia’s established labour and work-permit procedures.

The allegations have not been independently verified.

Mah categorically denied the claims, saying neither he nor his team has engaged in extortion or intimidation.

He said his office recently dispatched the Deputy Labour Commissioner to collect information from businesses as part of its reporting responsibilities.

According to Mah, the dispute escalated after the County Attorney allegedly ordered the Deputy Labour Commissioner arrested while he was carrying out his official duties.

Mah said he resisted the arrest of his deputy after being informed of it and was subsequently accused by the County Attorney of obstructing justice.

Dispute Over County Attorney’s Intervention

The competing accounts have now become intertwined with a separate confrontation involving the County Attorney, the Labour Commissioner and Superintendent Slewion.

Mah said the County Attorney later went to his office with police officers to arrest him and his deputy.

He said they resisted the attempted arrests and that a confrontation followed.

According to Mah, the Superintendent became involved after being called to intervene, and the situation subsequently escalated.

Slewion offered a different account.

He told FrontPage Africa that Mah complained to him that the County Attorney had gone to his office to arrest him and asked for his intervention.

The Superintendent said he invited Joah to his office because the dispute involved officials from different government institutions and he wanted to mediate.

According to Slewion, Cllr. Joah declined to participate in the proposed intervention.

He said that when he later went to the Labour Commissioner’s office, he asked Cllr. Joah to stop recording and sit down for dialogue.

Slewion said Cllr. Joah refused and accused him of obstructing justice.

He further alleged that he was assaulted during the ensuing confrontation and had to be taken away from the scene.

The Superintendent denied knowledge of claims that Cllr. Joah’s phone was seized or that she was assaulted.

He said he has sought the intervention of Senator Augustine Chea, the Minister of Justice and the Solicitor General over continued misunderstanding between him and the County Attorney but that the dispute remains unresolved.

County Attorney’s Hospitalization

Sources told FrontPage Africa that Joah was later taken to F.J. Grant Hospital following the confrontation.

There are also allegations that a man identified as Cornelius, reportedly associated with the Superintendent, struck the County Attorney during the confrontation.

Those allegations have not been independently established.

Cllr. Joah did not respond to FrontPage Africa’s requests for comment.

FrontPage Africa has gathered that the Ministry of Justice is reviewing aspects of the dispute.

Questions Over Official Conduct

The competing accounts raise broader questions about how labour and other regulatory authorities are exercising enforcement powers in Sinoe County.

Labour inspections, work-permit enforcement and related administrative actions are expected to be carried out under established laws and procedures.

The dispute also raises questions about the boundaries between the Labour Commissioner’s Office, the County Administration, the County Attorney’s Office and law-enforcement authorities when government agencies become involved in the same matter.

The growing controversy has prompted calls for an impartial investigation into the competing allegations.

A Margibi County corruption case — backed by a paper trail of prosecutors asking, three separate times, for a trial date — is raising hard questions about whether Liberia’s courts are giving the LACC’s cases a fair shot at trial, or letting them run out the clock.

By Rodney D. Sieh, rodney.sieh@frontpageafricaonline.com

MONROVIA — Picture a prosecutor who has done everything the law asks. The evidence is gathered, the witnesses are lined up, and three times over as many court terms, someone from the prosecution’s side has written to a judge, on paper, asking for a trial date. And still, no trial happens — not because anyone dropped the ball, but because the docket simply never made room. Then the defendant’s lawyers show up and ask the court to throw the whole case out, because too much time has passed.

That is not hypothetical. It is, according to court filings reviewed for this piece, roughly what has played out in a Margibi County corruption case — and it is the latest in a pattern that has some in Liberia’s anti-corruption community asking a blunter question: is the court system, whether by neglect or by design, making it structurally impossible for the LACC to actually get its cases heard?

Section 18.2 of the Criminal Procedure Law is blunt about what’s supposed to happen when a trial doesn’t start on time. “Unless good cause is shown,” it reads, “a court shall dismiss an indictment if the defendant is not tried during the next succeeding term after the finding of the indictment.” Not “may.” Shall. Once the clock runs out, dismissal is close to automatic.

Nobody serious argues with the principle behind that. A person charged with a crime shouldn’t have to live under that cloud forever while the state drags its feet. But a harder question is creeping into Liberia’s anti-corruption cases: what happens when it isn’t the state dragging its feet at all — when prosecutors keep asking for a court date, in writing, and the court is simply too busy with other matters to give them one?

 A paper trail, not just a pattern

This isn’t the first time the question has come up. In Criminal Court “C” of the First Judicial Circuit in Montserrado County, corruption cases against former NOCAL head Rustolyn Suacoco Dennis and former Bureau of State Enterprises head Arthur Massaquoi reportedly sat untouched for terms at a time while the docket was consumed by the Financial Intelligence Agency’s case against Samuel Tweh and the Finda Bondoo matter. Both cases were eventually dismissed.

What makes the Margibi case different is that it doesn’t rest on “reportedly.” It’s in the file.

The defendants — Patrick Tarnue Worzie, former head of the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission, along with Alieu Fofana, Joseph Wea and Jeredine Kolleh — were indicted back in the May 2025 term, in Montserrado County, on charges including economic sabotage, theft of property and tampering with public records. The case moved to the 13th Judicial Circuit in Margibi County in February 2026.

From there, the record tells a fairly clear story

– On May 11, 2026, Margibi County Attorney H. Deddeh Jomah Wilson asked the court, in a formal filing, to put the case on the docket for that term. Everyone was ready, the filing said — the witnesses, the evidence, all of it.
– Two weeks later, on May 25, the LACC’s chief prosecutor, Bobby F. W. Livingstone, wrote directly to the presiding judge with the same request.
– When that term came and went too, Livingstone tried again on August 10, this time addressing a new judge who’d since taken over the case, asking that it finally be prioritized.

Three requests. Three different points in the calendar. And on September 3, with the case still untried, the defense filed to have it dismissed — pointing to five straight terms, from May 2025 through August 2026, in which no trial ever happened.

Read those two facts side by side and the dismissal motion looks less like a case of prosecutorial neglect and more like a test of what “good cause” is supposed to mean when the neglect, if there was any, sat somewhere else.

Why “without prejudice” doesn’t make this a non-issue

It’s worth being precise here. When cases like Massaquoi’s or Dennis’ are dismissed under Section 18.2, it’s typically without prejudice — meaning the state can, in theory, refile. Section 18.3 says as much: a dismissal entered before a jury is sworn, or before evidence starts in a bench trial, doesn’t close the door on prosecution for good.

But “the door isn’t closed” is cold comfort when you consider what it actually costs to get a corruption case to the indictment stage in the first place — months of investigators pulling financial records, tracing transactions, interviewing witnesses, building a paper trail solid enough to survive a courtroom. Refiling doesn’t mean starting from a clean slate at no cost. It means doing a lot of that work over again, on an agency that’s already stretched thin.

And there’s a cost that doesn’t show up in any budget line at all: what the public makes of watching case after case vanish before a single witness testifies.

 What the Supreme Court has already said about this

Liberia’s own case law hints at how this should be handled. In Judge Ware et al. v. Republic of Liberia, the Supreme Court took up Section 18.2 and made a point that’s easy to lose in the mechanical business of counting terms: not every delay is the state’s fault. Where the delay came from legitimate court processes rather than prosecutorial foot-dragging, the Court found, it couldn’t fairly be pinned on the state.

That’s the crux of it. Section 18.2 isn’t supposed to be a stopwatch that runs blind to who caused the delay. It’s supposed to ask why the trial didn’t happen. In the Margibi case, the “why” is sitting right there in three dated letters asking, plainly, for a hearing.

The question this case actually puts to the court

None of this is a case against Section 18.2, or against defendants having a real right to a timely trial. Nobody’s arguing for indictments to hang over people indefinitely.

The argument is narrower than that: when a prosecutor has done the asking — repeatedly, formally, on the record — should the case still fall on the state’s side of the ledger? Or does that record change what “good cause” means?

Uncomfortable Backdrop

There’s a bigger, uncomfortable backdrop to all of this, too. Liberia’s courts are working through crowded dockets with limited capacity, and when a judge has to choose between a corruption trial and, say, a high-profile drug case — as reportedly happened in Margibi, where proceedings against Quita Dolo Kosso occupied the court’s attention during the relevant period — something has to give. That’s not a problem any one judge created, and it’s not one any single ruling will fix. It’s a conversation the judiciary, the Ministry of Justice, the LACC and the Legislature probably need to be having about how cases get prioritized, and what happens to the ones that lose that competition.

For now, though, the immediate question belongs to the 13th Judicial Circuit: does a prosecution that asked for a trial date three times, and never got one, still lose the case on a technicality built to punish the side that didn’t ask?

There is no evidence in the record reviewed here that any judge deliberately set out to sink these cases — congested dockets and competing priorities are a real and separate problem from bad faith, and the two shouldn’t be conflated without proof. But intent may be the wrong thing to fixate on. Whether the courts are working against the LACC on purpose or simply failing it through inertia, the effect on the ground looks the same: cases investigated for months, indictments secured, and then quietly emptied out before a single witness takes the stand. At some point, a pattern repeated enough times stops needing a motive to be a crisis.

An indictment isn’t accountability. A trial that actually happens is. And a system where prosecutors do their part and the case still disappears — dismissed, not because anyone failed to try, but because nobody made time — is a system that owes the public, and the LACC, some answers.

Monrovia — Renowned Liberian lawyer Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe has challenged President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to publicly disclose his salary, raising questions about the legal basis, implementation, and transparency surrounding the President’s reported 40 percent voluntary pay reduction.

By Gerald C. Koinyeneh, gerald.koinyeneh@frontpageafricaonline.com

President Boakai pledged during his campaign and upon assuming office to reduce his salary by 40 percent as part of his commitment to responsible governance and fiscal discipline. The Executive Mansion has subsequently maintained that the President is honoring that commitment.

However, the actual amount President Boakai receives monthly or annually has not been publicly disclosed, prompting Cllr. Gongloe to demand clarity on what he describes as a fundamental transparency issue.

In his latest “Question for the Weekend” commentary, titled “Mr. President, What Exactly Is Your Salary?”, Gongloe said the reported 40 percent reduction raises a basic question: 40 percent of what?

“Liberians were told that President Joseph Nyuma Boakai voluntarily reduced his salary by 40%. But 40% of what?” Gongloe asked.

He pointed to Article 60 of the Liberian Constitution, which provides that the salaries of the President and Vice President are determined by the Legislature and shall neither be increased nor diminished during the term for which they were elected.

Against that constitutional provision, Gongloe is asking the administration to explain the exact salary legally established for the President and how the announced voluntary reduction is being applied.

He posed four specific questions: What salary did the Legislature legally fix for the President? What was President Boakai’s gross annual salary when he assumed office? How much does he actually receive after the announced 40 percent voluntary reduction? How is the voluntary reduction being implemented consistently with Article 60 of the Constitution?

Gongloe also invoked Article 15(c) of the Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to be informed about the government and its functionaries.

He argued that disclosure of the President’s compensation should not be viewed through a partisan or personal lens, but rather as an issue of public accountability.

“This is not a personal question. It is not a partisan question. It is a transparency question,” Gongloe stated.

The lawyer stressed that the President’s compensation is ultimately financed by Liberian taxpayers and therefore, in his view, the public has a legitimate interest in knowing precisely how much the country’s chief executive is receiving.

“Mr. President, the Liberian people pay the President’s salary,” Gongloe said. “How much are they paying you?”

The call comes amid broader public debates over government spending, executive accountability and the need for greater transparency in the management of public resources.

Gongloe ran on the presidential ticket of the Liberian People’s Party in the 2023 presidential and legislative elections. He and the LPP subsequently threw their support behind then-presidential candidate Joseph Nyuma Boakai during the 2023 runoff election between Boakai and incumbent President George Manneh Weah.

Although Gongloe was offered a cabinet position in the Boakai-Koung administration, he declined the appointment. His vice-presidential running mate, Dr. Emmanuel Urey Yarkpawolo, was later appointed Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Gongloe has, however, maintained an independent public posture toward the administration. While applauding the government for what he considers notable achievements, he has also consistently criticized policies and decisions he believes require greater transparency and accountability.

He said his latest inquiry into President Boakai’s salary should therefore not be viewed through a partisan lens, emphasizing that his concern is rooted in the broader principles of transparency, accountability and the public’s right to know.

According to Gongloe, his past political support for Boakai does not prevent him from questioning the administration when issues of public interest arise. His call for disclosure of the President’s salary, he stressed, is intended to promote openness in government and ensure that public officials remain accountable to the Liberian people.

While the Executive Mansion has maintained that President Boakai has fulfilled his pledge to cut his salary by 40 percent, the renewed challenge from Gongloe puts the spotlight on the actual monetary value of the reduction and the mechanism through which it is being implemented.

The questions now place the administration under pressure to provide a clear public accounting of the President’s legally established compensation, the amount he receives, and how the reported salary reduction squares with the constitutional provisions governing presidential remuneration.

For Gongloe, the issue is straightforward: if the public pays the President’s salary, the public should know exactly how much it is.

Monrovia — The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission has celebrated its 18th anniversary with renewed calls for stronger prevention of corruption, institutional collaboration, prosecution, and recovery of public resources lost through corruption.

By Francis G. Boayue

The anniversary celebration held over the weekend in Monrovia brought together current and former LACC officials, government representatives, civil society actors, media practitioners, and other stakeholders involved in Liberia’s anti-corruption efforts.

The LACC was established on August 28, 2008, following post-war governance reforms and recommendations for the creation of an independent institution to lead Liberia’s fight against corruption.

Speaking during the ceremony, LACC Executive Chairperson Cllr. Alexandra K. Zoe, who delivered a presentation titled “18 Years of the LACC — A Journey in Numbers,” said the Commission’s progress over the past 18 years has been marked by institutional growth, legal reforms, and increased public awareness.

She stressed, however, that the fight against corruption cannot be won by the Commission alone.

“This is not an easy fight, and it’s not something that LACC can do alone,” Zoe said, urging citizens to report corruption and help create awareness in communities beyond the Commission’s reach.

“Your role is to report. Your role is to create additional awareness in areas that we cannot reach,” she added.

Zoe said the Commission’s 2022 amended and restated Act represents a major milestone, as it granted the LACC direct prosecutorial powers.

Previously, the Commission was required to forward investigative reports to the Ministry of Justice for prosecution, with the Ministry given 90 days to act on cases. According to Zoe, the arrangement contributed to delays and sometimes weakened the prospects of successful prosecution.

She said the Commission is now exercising its prosecutorial authority but needs a specialized court to efficiently adjudicate corruption cases.

Zoe welcomed ongoing efforts toward the establishment of a specialized anti-corruption court, saying it would facilitate speedy trials and ultimately strengthen efforts to recover stolen public assets.

“When this court is established, what it does is that it will create a speedy trial, and then it should ultimately lead to recovery,” she said.

She said the Commission’s focus must increasingly shift toward recovering public resources in existing cases while strengthening prevention to stop new cases of corruption.

Zoe also called for increased budgetary support, stressing that the Commission remains understaffed and under-resourced relative to the scale of Liberia’s corruption challenges.

She said the LACC has grown from a small institution with a skeleton staff to its current structure but still lacks sufficient personnel, particularly prosecutors, to effectively execute its mandate.

The Executive Chairperson said increased funding is critical to implementing the Commission’s 2026–2030 Strategic Plan, which focuses on prevention, enforcement, partnerships, and institutional strengthening.

She also called for greater institutional independence and sustained support from government and development partners.

Delivering the keynote address, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Hon. Samuel A. Stevquoah said Liberia’s next phase of the anti-corruption fight must prioritize prevention, institutional cooperation, and consequences.

“We cannot investigate our way out of corruption,” Stevquoah said, warning that investigations often come after public resources have already been lost.

He called for stronger procurement systems, internal controls, audits, asset declaration and verification, digital financial systems, and other mechanisms designed to make corruption more difficult to commit.

The Minister also urged closer collaboration among integrity institutions, including the General Auditing Commission, Internal Audit Agency, Ministry of Justice, Financial Intelligence Agency, Public Procurement and Concessions Commission, and Liberia Revenue Authority.

“Too often in government we see institutions that operate in silos,” he said, calling for improved information sharing and more efficient movement of cases from audit and investigation through prosecution and adjudication.

Stevquoah said accountability must be both firm and fair, with due process respected.

“At 18, the LACC is no longer a young institution,” he said. “You’ve matured.”

He urged the Commission to be “fearless” while remaining fair, independent, collaborative, and aggressive in protecting public resources while respecting due process.

For his part, former LACC Executive Chairperson Cllr. James N. Verdier reflected on the Commission’s early struggles, urging current officials to remain resilient in the face of political pressure, criticism, and public skepticism.

Verdier, who served as Executive Chairperson from 2013 to 2019, clarified that Cllr. Frances Johnson-Morris was the Commission’s first chairperson.

He recalled that during his tenure, the LACC faced significant limitations under the law, particularly regarding prosecution and enforcement.

He said the Commission pushed the boundaries of its existing legal authority, including making arrests in corruption investigations, while advocating for stronger legislation.

Verdier also emphasized the importance of professional training for investigators and greater investment in forensic investigative capabilities.

He further stressed that asset declaration must be accompanied by verification.

“The crux of the asset declaration is the verification,” Verdier said, calling for adequate resources to determine whether assets declared by public officials are accurate.

In remarks, the National Civil Society Council of Liberia President Lawrence Yealue said the fight against corruption must begin in homes and communities by teaching children honesty, integrity, and accountability.

“The fight against corruption starts here in our homes,” Yealue said.

He argued that prevention should receive greater attention than prosecution, while urging the media to highlight honest public servants instead of giving excessive attention to individuals accused of corruption.

“There are more good people in this country than bad people,” Yealue said, calling for greater recognition of public servants who demonstrate integrity.

As the LACC enters its 19th year, its leadership says the institution’s next chapter will focus on strengthening prevention, enforcement, prosecution, and recovery while rebuilding public confidence.

“We don’t need to be making excuses anymore. The public has our attention. Now is the time to build their trust,” Zoe said.

Monrovia – As Liberia marked its 179th Independence Anniversary with celebrations across the country and among Liberians in the diaspora, renowned human rights and constitutional lawyer Tiawan Saye Gongloe used the occasion to deliver a powerful moral and political message, declaring that the country’s greatest challenge is not a lack of natural resources but a “poverty of good leadership.”

By Gerald C. Koinyeneh

While the official national celebration was held in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, under the leadership of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, churches, mosques, and civic organizations also hosted commemorative programs reflecting on Liberia’s journey as Africa’s first independent Black republic.

One such event took place at the Restoration Baptist Church in Monrovia, where Gongloe delivered a lecture titled “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself: The Church’s Prophetic Voice for Ethical Leadership and National Renewal.” Drawing from biblical teachings, he challenged Liberians to confront corruption, drug trafficking, poor governance, and moral decline through ethical leadership rooted in Christian values.

“Government Is a Place to Serve, Not to Steal”

Addressing worshippers during the church’s Independence Day observance, Gongloe argued that public service is a sacred responsibility rather than an opportunity for personal enrichment.

“I have often summarized this truth in one sentence: Government is a place to serve, not to steal,” Gongloe declared, emphasizing that leaders are called to protect the vulnerable, uphold justice, and ensure national resources benefit all Liberians.

Using the biblical account of Jesus feeding the multitude, he said genuine leadership is measured by service rather than privilege or power.

“Leadership is not about privilege; it is about responsibility. It is not about status; it is about stewardship,” he said.

Corruption Is Both Crime and Sin

Gongloe described corruption as more than a legal offense, insisting it represents a direct violation of Christ’s commandment to love one’s neighbor.

“Corruption is not merely a crime against the state. It is a grave sin against God because it violates His command to love our neighbors as ourselves,” he told the congregation.

According to him, every dollar stolen from public coffers translates into schools left unbuilt, hospitals left unequipped, roads left unfinished, and opportunities denied to ordinary Liberians.

“Corruption always has victims, and those victims are our neighbors,” he warned.

Drug Crisis Linked to Corruption

Referencing Liberia’s recent record cocaine seizures, Gongloe cautioned that the country’s growing narcotics problem is rooted in corruption and moral decay.

“The recent seizure of a large shipment of cocaine reminds us that Liberia is not immune from this global evil,” he said.

He warned that drug trafficking destroys families, undermines communities, and robs young people of their future, stressing that combating the crisis requires not only law enforcement but also churches, parents, educators, and communities.

“When corruption opens the door, narcotic drugs enter; when narcotic drugs enter, hope leaves many homes,” Gongloe said.

Leadership Determines National Success

In one of the strongest political observations of his address, Gongloe argued that Liberia’s underdevelopment stems primarily from failed leadership rather than a shortage of natural wealth.

He cited countries such as Botswana, Rwanda, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, and Cabo Verde as examples of African nations that have achieved greater development through accountable governance and stronger institutions.

“There is no office in a presidential system more powerful than the office of the President,” Gongloe said. “Even with strong laws and institutions, if a president lacks the political will to follow the law and do what is right for the majority of the people, a nation suffers.”

He added that Liberia continues to suffer because successive leaders have failed to demonstrate that political will.

Invoking a familiar Liberian proverb, he remarked: “A fish starts getting rotten from the head.”

According to Gongloe, Liberians naturally emulate their leaders, making integrity at the highest level of government essential for national transformation.

“Liberia is not a naturally poor country,” he asserted. “It has been and is suffering from the poverty of good leadership.”

Natural Wealth Must Benefit All

Gongloe also challenged the management of Liberia’s abundant natural resources, arguing that concessions and public assets should be administered transparently and in the interest of present and future generations.

Comparing resource management to Jesus’ distribution of bread after feeding the multitude, he said God’s blessings were never intended to be monopolized by a privileged few.

“Our natural resources belong to the people,” he stressed. “Leaders are stewards, not owners.”

A Challenge to the Church

Gongloe urged the Church to maintain its prophetic role by speaking against injustice rather than remaining silent in the face of corruption and moral failure.

“The Church is not called to seek political power, nor to remain silent in the presence of moral failure,” he said. “It is called to proclaim Christ, defend truth, strengthen families, shape character, encourage honesty, and remind every generation that the love of God must be demonstrated by love of neighbor.”

Appeal to Liberia’s Youth

Turning to young Liberians, Gongloe encouraged them to reject corruption and embrace integrity despite societal pressures.

“Choose character over comfort, conviction over convenience, honesty over dishonesty, selflessness over selfishness, and a good name over great riches,” he urged.

He expressed confidence that a generation committed to ethical values could build a Liberia worthy of celebration.

Congregational Pledge

At the conclusion of his lecture, Gongloe invited the congregation to stand and publicly pledge to reject corruption and serve their fellow citizens.

The congregation affirmed their belief that corruption is a sin against God, pledged to live honestly, and repeated Gongloe’s declaration:

“Government is a place to serve, not to steal.”

He ended the Independence Day program with a prayer asking God to deliver Liberia from corruption, greed, violence, and narcotic drugs while blessing the nation with leaders of wisdom, integrity, and compassion