Using “covert operations” as the pretext, Mr. Weah put at least USD 122m at the disposal of his NSA Director and agents, without regards to the Annual Budget law or the NSA Act[1]. And between the periods of 23-Februry-2018 and 11-December-2023, Mr. Henric Pearson II, working in collaboration with and under the direction of Mr. George Weah, then President of Liberia, made at least 227 individual transactions in which they took bags to the CBL, stuffed it with cash and simply walked out the Bank’s door. Not one cent of that money was ever accounted for
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Many of the activities observed in the audit constitute grave violations of our financial laws and, in other instances, amount to felonies when proven. For example, violation of the procurement law, failing to remit tax deductions, and making payments without a contract… are all acts that could amount to felonies. …The Senate leaders cannot just say: “Oh, it’s just a glitch; let’s move on.”
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Liberia has other political voices, which, for now, are operating on the fringes. Frequently, they are derisively called the “one percenters” – a poignant reminder of the dismal performance of some well-regarded candidates in the 2023 elections when they failed to cross the one percent threshold. However, given that the “99 percenters” are actively destroying Liberia, it behooves the “one-percenters” to get their act together. If they don’t, this unfortunate reality will continue ad infinitum
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Mamaka Bility, notwithstanding these laws and the Constitution of Liberia, in collusion with others, and with the apparent acquiescence and approbation of the President of Liberia, Mr. Joseph N. Boakai Sr., illegally negotiated the dubious USD 80m deal and caused the machines to be brought to Liberia in contravention of the all the listed statutes and the Constitution. In her attempt to get as big a kickback as she could get, it did matter to her the land mass of each county or the estimated population; each county was entitled to nineteen machines
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There are many reasons why Liberia is poor. Let’s start with the salary of GOL officials. The average VIP salary, as seen from Table B above, is about US $200k per annum. A lawmaker in China’s Congress will need to work for at least ten years to make one year’s salary of the average top GOL official. But it is the GOL officials that go to beg the Chinese for alms, for grants, and loans.
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By Wonderr K. Freeman, Attorney, CFCS About a month ago, I wrote the article: Liberians must demand a new constitution before 2029 to end the naked greed of the budget mafia clan (https://wonderrfreeman.com/liberians-must-demand-a-new-constitution-before-2029-to-end-the-naked-greed-of-the-budget-mafia-clan/law-governance/07/). It’s been exhilarating to hear chatters in the media about the need to relook at our Constitution. However, in these chatters, I frequently find that ‘constitutional amendment’ gets mixed up with the call
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For your information Nyonblee-Dillon, Fonati-Fallah, Liberia has systems in place. We have a constitution, statutes, regulations and institutions to enforce and implement our laws. It is you, our political leaders, who refused to follow the laws and systems that are already in place. So, you think that when you say “systems audit”, then you will be let off the hook. As you envisage in your limited understanding, with a “systems audit”, you can just say: “Okay, our corruption is no big deal; it’s just some little systems issues that we are going to fix soon!
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This extreme greed and dysfunction have been part of our political culture for a long time and were significant contributing factors to our civil war. The fact that the civil war, notwithstanding, this very malfeasance continues to haunt Liberia shows that something more fundamental is at play. That something more fundamental is what I am now giving name to. It’s the failure of our 1986 Constitution
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As if all the violations already discussed were not enough, Mr. Boakai decided to trample upon the Constitution and trash it totally by bringing into the country several million [USD] dollars’ worth of earth-moving equipment (known locally as “yellow machines”). He’s signed a self-incriminating letter to our National Legislature to let them know that, in fact, it is not just Ministers Mamaka Bility and Mr. Sylvester Grigsby who are engineering this illegal deal, but that he is fully complicit.
Find related articles hereBy. Wonderr K. Freeman, CFCS Whenever counting and naming are mentioned in the same sentence, it is not surprising to have a flashback to the old Christian hymn with lyrics: count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Feeling my “preacherman” vibes, I choose to reflect on this Christian hymn and mention “counting and naming”
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By: Wonderr K. Freeman, CFCS The current Liberian government is on the move – seeking investors. So far, the President, Mr. Joseph Boakai, has been to the USA, Guinea Bissau, and South Korea. First off was the US-Africa Business Summit held in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, from May 6-9, 2024. I heard Mr. President tagged along a very high-powered delegation to the conference and gave a very
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Author: Wonderr K. Freeman Like many countries, Liberians love rice. They can have it all day, several days, without complaints. But lately, the price and supply of rice have been shaky. The local price for rice has been stable for the past several years at $17 per 25kg sac. Lately, however, with 75% of the rice supply in Liberia coming from abroad, it’s like Liberia will
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By: Wonderr Koryenen Freeman If there were a “World Cup” for telling parables, maxims, and proverbs, this would be hands-down back-to-back trophies for Liberia. For the typical Liberian, telling parables is how we make sense of our less-than-enviable lives. So then, when the Liberian man asks, “When chicken white?!!”, … the listener or the audience aptly responds…”Ay white” (i.e., it’s white). This parable, “When chicken white…it’s
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By Wonderr K. Freeman On April 24, 2024, The Supreme Court of Liberia ruled that article 56 of the Liberian constitution is no greater than article 89. The Court, in their wisdom, opined that just as article 56 gives the President the power to appoint [officials], article 89 equally gives the Legislature the power to create additional agencies of government and ascribe unto them powers in
Find related articles hereby Wonderr K. Freeman & Marc N. Kollie Over the past years, as regime in Liberia shuffled between Unity Party (UP) and the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the country has long been rocked by many corruption scandals – often flagrant and unconscionable. So many corruption cases, but very few cases of accountability[1]. In many cases (and on a sad note too), the culprits have been
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Back to the “Imperial Presidency”: Unity Party’s Unsavory Assault on Ellen Sirleaf’s Defining Legacy
By: Wonderr K. Freeman, Attorney, CFCS In Africa, it is common practice to see a leader purposely trying to undo the legacy of his/her predecessor. Often, that happens when an opposition leader takes the helm of power. If anything spells the legacy of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s presidency, it is the plethora of government institutions whose officials were given fixed contractual terms (a.k.a. tenure). This was one of
Find related articles hereBy. Wonderr K. Freeman, CFCS Whoever thought Alex Tyler, the man widely derided in Liberia as Corruption King King, would resurface in Liberia’s political structure? Yeah Alex Tyler, you heard me right, the man from “Oil Block 13 consultations” and the same man from “BigBoy 1 & BigBoy 2 [mining license] scandal”. Alex Tyler, a real “gbanna man” has been forging and reforging alliances to just
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By Wonderr K. Freeman, Attorney, CFCS Originally Published in March 2023 Liberia is awash with talks about Joseph Nyumah Boakai’s pick of running mate. As the logic goes, once Mr. Boakai chooses his deputy, then the election is over. That’s the popular refrain, though pushed around without any “polling data” to back up this claim. I’m not one of those who think so. By the way,
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To evaluate and appreciate if Liberia is making socio-economic progress, we must compare Liberia with other similarly situated countries, geographically, like West Africa/Africa, or with other developing countries. The constant comparison of UP with CDC (and vice versa) is an exercise in futility. There is no sense in continuously comparing “failure” to “failure”.
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The order of the Honorable Supreme Court best fits a judicial overreach and undermines Chapter III, Article 15 (b) of the Constitution, which guarantees that the “right of freedom of expression encompasses the right to hold opinions without interference.”
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The Supreme Court held that criticism of judicial decisions is permissible. But statements charging the judiciary with corruption and improper motives without proof tend to destroy public confidence in the administration of justice and therefore constitute contempt.
Find related articles hereBy: Wonderr Koryenen Freeman, Attorney, CFCS This December (2025) the Liberian government passed three major concession agreements—simultaneously. These included the Ivanhoe Atlantic (formerly HPX), alongside separate offshore exploration contracts with TotalEnergies and Oranto Petroleum. It was interesting to note that the simultaneous passage of three investment deals raised the specter of due diligence adequacy and public scrutiny. This is especially necessary within the context of Liberia’s
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The distilled wisdom of Dambisa Moyo, Moeletsi Mbeki, and Thandika Mkandawire, among others, rings hollow in Monrovia. The GOL policy remained unabashedly: abuse government resources (at home), steal as much as you can and go abroad and beg for aid. In more than twenty years, Liberian political elites have not changed this mindset.
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The departure of USAID and, most recently, Sweden’s announcement to phase out its $149.6 million bilateral aid and close its Monrovia embassy by August 2026, underscore the urgent need for Liberia to chart a new course – one defined by economic self-reliance, prudent public spending, and a decisive break from aid dependency
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