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 white”, is a poignant reflection of the current political climate in Liberia. It signifies that when some things are so obvious, it’s useless to argue or contest the fact or inevitability. And then there is another quintessential Liberia parable, that “if your Christmas will be good, you can tell from the eve (i.e., eve of Christmas)”. Meaning essentially, don’t count last-minute magic or turnarounds; if, by Christmas Eve, not much is happening; it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that not much will, in fact, happen for you on Christmas day. This applies to all aspects of life, not just Christmas. When things are going to get bad, there are always early signs and forewarnings. Most people don’t pay enough attention; they gloss over details or dismiss the early forebodings and, eventually, end up with disaster.

Now, what do “white chicken” and “Christmas Eve” (maxims) have to do with Joseph Boakai’s presidency? Well, firstly, Joseph Nyumah Boakai Sr is without doubt the most experienced person ever to be elected President of Liberia. His campaign inundated Liberians with messages about Mr. Boakai’s 50 years of government experience and how this extensive experience was going to do “wonders” for Liberia. Mr. Boakai had been eying the Liberian presidency for the past eighteen years, patiently waiting out Ellen Johnson’s twelve years and courageously waiting out George Weah’s six. He had criticized his former boss – Mrs. Sirleaf – alleging “she squandered opportunities”. In Boakai’s recounting, she alone (as President) squandered opportunities and not him (as Vice President). Then he criticized George Weah for six years (nonstop) as being clueless and corrupt, often directly, but more frequently, using bombastic surrogates like Yekeh Kolubah and Henry Costa. Finally, Liberians decided they will, in fact, have Mr. Boakai as their President. And so it came to pass, on January 22, 2024, Mr. Boakai was inaugurated as President of Liberia, ending his nearly 20-year quest for Liberia’s highest office. Liberians were ecstatic. Now, Mr. Boakai whose campaign slogan was aptly named “Rescue Mission”, had the starting whistle blown for him to begin his “rescue operation” – rescuing Liberia from corruption, waste, unemployment, illiteracy, hopelessness, and even more importantly, from business-as-usual.  

One hundred days later, we pause to check in with the “Rescue Mission” to see how well it is going – under Mr. Boakai’s leadership. In this article, I shall NOT prevaricate or obfuscate. This article is an unflattering critique of President Boakai’s first 100 days in power. Those who want the “praise and worship” version…well, they will have to check the Unity Party (UP) website or emansion.gov.lr. I am going to describe the “white chicken” as “white”. I’m not going to call it “cream”, and I’m not going to call it “light pink”, or “sky blue”. When chicken white … ay white!  Mr. Boakai’s first 100 days are an unmitigated disaster. Liberia’s oldest and “most experienced” president has been oscillating between constitutional violations and statutory violations (on one hand), and between business-as-usual, and [in some instances] complete U-turn from previous policy positions and/or campaign promises on transparency, accountability, and justice” (on the other hand). Mr. Boakai’s professed 50’s years of government experience seems to be much too high on the “business-as-usual” side and way too low on the “reform side”. And so, while Liberians were eagerly awaiting an exhibition of leadership from Mr. Boakai, he has been only too happy to let his deputies and surrogates run the show, as he plays “Don Dadda” (i.e., godfather) – leading from the rear or more aptly leading in silence”. And sadly, just when Liberians thought they had turned the curve – from a President who only spoke through songs, like “Mr. Liar Man” – or who spoke only when he was “on the pulpit” and pretending to be preacher, they find themselves stuck for the next six years with a president who has outsourced his power to the “select” group of senators, and to his son, and also to his “Minister of State”. And as the saying goes, “Too many cooks spoil the soup”. We have gone from a debauched playboy pastor as president to a president who leads in silence and via proxies. And not surprisingly, we have witnessed nothing but confusion, illegality, injustice, corruption, business-as-usual, and a whole host of vices antithetical to a “Rescue Mission”. Liberians are slowly waking up to the reality that, once again, they have allowed themselves to be duped by an elderly con man – “Don Dadda”.   

Having set the backdrop against which I shall assess the Boakai’s presidency, I delve straight into my assessment, covering several sectors and issues that I feel are crucial to the fostering of a prosperous, wholesome, and stable nation.

1. Allegations of Bribery and Corruption Met with Silence and Blackmail.

President Boakai’s presidency got off to a rough start. Even before he was inaugurated, his political ally, Hon. Yekeh Kolubah fired the first warning shots. The Honorable man had challenged President Boakai to reveal the source of his [US$54k] donation to fire victims in Bong County. This challenge is borne out of the fact that Mr. President had long presented himself as a man of “modest means”, living on loans and scraping by. The UP official platform (p. 51) puts it even better: he is a patriotic statesman with clean hands ([i.e.] from war and corruption). Now, the mere announcement that one has won the presidential election does not, ipso facto, change one’s financial status. Moreover, during the election, it was revealed that a US-based convicted fraudster, Stanton Witherspoon, was bankrolling Mr. Boakai via Mr. Henry Costa for several years. This is sufficient confirmation that Mr. Boakai was in dire financial straits. And then… boom!!! He’s President-elect, and now he’s making “charitable donations” to the tune of USD54k in his “own name and on behalf of his family”. Wow! Financial miracle? What this situation shows is the President-elect accumulating “unexplained wealth” just on the cusp of taking office. Had he been in countries like Australia, Ireland, Singapore, and South Africa, his “unexplained wealth” would have been subject to inquiry and likely subsequent seizure. But of course, this is Liberia where anything goes. To date, Mr. Boakai has chosen the path of silence against these serious allegations of impropriety and illicit wealth accumulation.

And that was not all! Mr. Boakai was next accused by members of the House of Representatives of interference in their election (a brazen constitutional violation) and of bribery. Depending on whom you wish to listen to, there were allegations of bribery in exchange for support for the UP candidate for [House] Speaker, Richard Koon. Honorable Nathaniel Bahway (of Grand Kru, Dist. 1) had accused Mr. Boakai of offering USD 25k in exchange for support to Mr. Koon of UP. Mo Ali, then UP spokesperson, countered that it was USD5k and was for the upcoming “inauguration” celebration. It is highly unlikely and unusual that someone who offers a bribe is going to call it a “bribe”. A bribe is almost always given a fancy name, like “consultancy fees,” “goodwill gesture,” “charitable donations,” “project management fees,” “inauguration funds,” etc. It is the facts and circumstances that make the “offer” a bribe. Why offer any money at all on the “eve of an election”, especially one in which you are constitutionally barred from interfering? Mr. Boakai, in response, has chosen to remain silent, as is his constitutional right.

And you would think that Mr. Boakai and his officials had learned their lessons, but no, they’ve not. Another bribery allegation was again lobbed at President Boakai’s office by Mr. Yekeh Kolubah. Mr. Kolubah displayed a voucher for office furniture for a “select” group of representatives, as a “goodwill” gesture – to keep the “Richard Koon’s bloc” together and as motivation for possible removal of the current House Speaker (Fonati Kofa). Mr. Kolubah specifically accused Mr. Sylvester Grigsby of the President’s office, Mr. Richard Koon, and Mr. Boakai himself as being offerors of the bribe. Again, Mr. President has chosen to stay silent amidst such damning allegations. Both Houses of the Liberian legislature have decided this is a non-issue and not worthy of an investigation. But in an apparent fallout, there were direct acts by unknown persons to blackmail Hon Kolubah, and in response, in his usual bombastic fashion, Mr. Kolubah unleashed a tirade of insults against the first family. Now, the House of Representatives, which has not seen it fit to investigate the allegation of bribery against the President and his office staff, suddenly finds it fitting and proper to investigate Yekeh’s tirade against the first family. Yes, “this too is Liberia,” where allegations of bribery against the President are not worthy of investigation, but insults are. Lest we forget, Mr. Boakai and his Unity Party have long been at the beneficial end of Yekeh’s tirades when they were directed at Mr. George Weah, who was President at the time. What is so strange about it now? I suppose by talking about investigating Yekeh’s outbursts, it is easy to duck the more weighty and damning allegations of bribery against the President and his aides and some members of the House, who were alleged to be the recipients.  

And that is still not all. The very Mr. Grigsby (and presumably with Mr. President-elect’s acquiescence) has also been accused of soliciting the purchase of three vehicles worth USD117k, even though they had not yet taken office and had no “apparent authority” for such undertaking. The solicitation letter was sent to National Social Security (NASSCORP). As a matter of fact, NASSCORP does not have FREE money. NASSCORP manages money for pensioners who pay into the system. But the likes of Mrs. Boakai and Mr. Grigsby, having spent decades living off the Liberian taxpayers, can’t help but continue the only thing they know well – living off GOL freebies. Going to NASSCORP for what they believe to be free government money seems like a wonderful idea to them. This allegation, as damning as it is, again, has been met with complete silence by the accused. However, that was not what UP promised on their campaign platform. In the campaign platform (p. 50), Mr. Boakai and the UP promised that they were absolutely committed to the uncompromising fight against corruption to restore integrity and accountability in the governance system. Now they are being dogged by corruption allegations daily, and their only response is silence, hoping the “noise” will die down and people will forget.  

• Back-to-Back Violations of the Constitution and a Growing List of Statutes

President Boakai and his UP party promised to “restore good governance and the rule of law” (UP Platform, p.38). Instead, they have double-down on violating every possible law necessary for good governance and accountability. President Boakai commenced the violation when instead of declaring his “assets” before assuming office, he, for no apparent reason, willfully violated this provision. Moreover, given that he’s violated the Code of Conduct law, he lost the moral authority to chastise his official for non-compliance. Now, in terms of compliance with the Code of Conduct law, Boakai UP is no better off than the CDC he criticized and is woefully underperforming in comparison to the UP government headed by Mrs. Sirleaf, whom Boakai also accused of “squandering opportunities”. And if it was just the Code of Conduct, he violated and nothing else, he could be forgiven somewhat. But no. He’s gone on to violate the Constitution and a slew of other statutes (especially as regards appointments). Every elected president faces pressure from supporters for jobs. But when Mr. Boakai faced pressure, instead of showing leadership, he set up a committee of senators and other party officials to manage presidential appointments – a flagrant violation of article three of the Liberian constitution. As a result, there is no difference in the conduct of confirmation hearings at the Senate; it remains a mere formality (i.e., much as under the CDC and Mr. Weah). What happened to the promise of rescue from bad governance?

Given Mr. Boakai’s penchant to placate and satisfy his political supporters, he has not hesitated to violate the various laws on tenure. He has gone on to appoint his partisans to tenured posts, even in the face of unexpired terms, and despite laws to the contrary. Several of these cases have landed in court and the President lost big time. He has decided he will not accept the judgment of the Supreme Court and has co-opted the General Auditing Commission (GAC) to help him undermine the ruling of the Supreme Court of Liberia. Only time will tell how the Supreme Court responds to Mr. Boakai’s contemptuous acts. And that’s not all! He has also been accused by civil society groups (e.g., NAYMOTE) of violating local government law by appointing “partisans” to local government posts that, by law, i.e., Local Government Act 2018, should be made by county authorities.  Others have accused him of ignoring a merit-based recruitment process, when the law clearly calls for “rigorous selection process” and stakeholders’ consultations (e.g. Independent Information Commission). It seems to me that for President Boakai, “securing” government jobs for UP partisans (and other supporters) trumps all other societal concerns. All this from a man who promised that Liberia would be a “different country under me”.

• Continuation of the Culture of Impunity

Former President Weah’s idea of justice was to go after the Unity Party people. CDC lawbreakers were granted immunity from prosecution by virtue of their party allegiance. As a result of such a policy, political violence surged under Mr. Weah. People like Jefferson Koijee took the “culture of impunity” mandate from Mr. Weah to dangerous new highs, and President Weah did “absolutely nothing”. In comes Mr. Boakai with “Think Liberia, Love Liberia, Build Liberia” (a.k.a Rescue Mission). But it’s now shaping up that Mr. Boakai’s idea of justice is just the same as Mr. Weah’s. There has been a litany of corruption allegations against his Chief of Staff and Minister of State, Sylvester M. Grigsby. And Mr. Boakai has said and has done nothing. His Unity Party Chairman, the Reverend Luther Tarpeh, was caught with his hands in the cookie jar (US$365k siphoning scandal), and Mr. Boakai has said and done nothing. His inauguration ceremony was bungled by the Miatta Fahnbulleh committee (USD650,000 blown to shreds), with accusations and counter-accusations of improprieties, and Mr. Boakai has said nothing. Even justice for victims of the 2023 election violence, with multiple deaths and injuries, has been ignored by Mr. Boakai. Don’t they deserve some justice? Again, Mr. Boakai has said and done nothing. After all, he’s President now; that’s all that matters. And much like Mr. Weah’s impunity license for CDC people, Mr. Boakai’s modus operandi is to “say nothing” and do nothing whenever his UP people are accused of crimes or other wrongdoings. Chairman Luther Tarpeh and his UP officials are still running scot-free, with no investigations and no prosecutions. As UP stalwarts, they are “seemingly” immune from investigation and prosecution. But that was not the reaction from Mr. Boakai, when Mr. Stanley Ford, a CDC-appointed official at the Financial Intelligence Agency, was accused of corruption. Mr. Boakai’s action was swift. He had Mr. Ford suspended and immediately replaced. This is the George Weah [justice] formula (100%). If they are from my party and they do wrong, they have immunity. But if they are from the wrong party, then I move swiftly to investigate and prosecute. What kind of justice system is this? And this is the very Boakai that had the audacity to say Mrs. Sirleaf squandered opportunities. What exactly is he doing now? Perpetuating the culture of impunity?

• Chaotic Appointments – without Regard for Background Checks or Merit

President Boakai’s appointments and recalls have been nothing short of comical. He had announced a justice minister and recalled him after Prince Johnson’s outbursts. Recall that Mr. Boakai governing partner is none other than Liberia murderous and unrepentant warlord, Prince Y. Johnson. Mr. Boakai chaotic appointment continues with him recalling an appointee while the person was already seated for confirmation (e.g. Bobby Livingstone). He had had appointees’ names changed without his knowledge (e.g. Emmanuel Gonqoi, Roger Domah etc[1]). He’s appointed people to top posts with questionable academic credentials (eg. Sarah Nyanti, Alex Chersia Grant[2]). He’s brought on people with tainted [integrity] records (Nortu Jappah, Patrick Sandike[3],). When it comes to problematic appointments and failure to vet and/or failure to hire the most competent people, Mr. Boakai has done it all. He campaigned on “Think Liberia, Love Liberia, Build Liberia”. But when it comes to Liberia, it’s Boakai and his family first, his county/region second, UP third, other political supporters fourth, his 1960/1970s playmates fifth, and a whole bunch of other people and interests – before Liberia. Liberia is, apparently, the last thing on the mind of the man who campaigned on “Think Liberia; Love Liberia; Build Liberia”. And this is the very Mr. Boakai who said ex-President Ellen Johnson squandered opportunities and who criticized George Weah for six years nonstop.  Now he’s doing much the same, possibly worse. Is this the change that was promised? Really?!!!

• Continuation of Misplaced Fiscal Priorities and Budget Law Violations.

During the campaign season (2023), Mr. Boakai and the UP promised [campaign platform (page 9)]:

11.11.6   … Introduce a program budgeting system to shift the focus from just wages to and other recurrent costs to programs and project that directly impact economic growth and social development.

We will fully support the PPCC to enforce all of its rules and regulations (including the rules on open competitive bidding).

In the first 100 days, the same man who promised “adherence to budget law and PPCC rules” stands accused of awarding US$21m in works contracts without legislative approval and without following PPCC rules (i.e., open competitive bidding). Now the Senate has launched an inquest, pursuant to a complaint from Senators McGill, Dillon, Findley, and Taylor of Margibi, Montserrado, Grand Bassa, and Grand Cape Mount Counties respectively[4]. As usual, Mr. Boakai remains silent. It seems his standard “no comment” in the face of putrefying corruption allegations is now his default position. Mr. Boakai also promised to introduce budgeting with an emphasis on “economic growth and social development” and to rein in recurrent costs. Well, that too seems to be another “vlah” (blah blah blah)!

Without opinionating, TABLE A below lays out facts that speak for themselves:

TABLE A (all amount in US dollars)	FY 2024	2019-’23	FY 2023	FY 2022	FY 20/21	FY 19/20
	UP – JNB	Ave. CDC	CDC -GMW	CDC GMW	CDC GMW	CDC GMW
Recurrent costs*	650	642	624	648	808	491
Public Sector Investments Projects (PSIPs)*	89	103	154	139	83	35
Total Budgetary Allocation in millions of US dollars	739	745	778	787	890	526
% of Budget (PSIP) = % of reduction btw Weah CDC years & Boakai/UP year 1		-13%	-42%	-36%	8%	151%
Average Recurrent Expenditure (%)	88%	86%	80%	82%	91%	93%

• Note: the initial total budget of USD 692m has just been increased to USD 739m, but the full allocation is not yet public, so it’s unclear how this will affect the distribution between recurrent and PSIP. I project a 4:1 split in favor of PSIP – projecting $650m in recurrent costs and $89m in PSIP (i.e. a 4:1 split of the addendum).   

From the above, one can see very clearly that the Unity Party (under Joseph Boakai), contrary to their campaign promises of promoting “economic growth and social development” (i.e., more money for PSIP [above]), has just followed the path laid down by the CDC, which had, in turn, copied the Sirleaf’s UP approach. Using an estimate most favorable to PSIP, I still end up with a recurrent expenditure of 88%. This is still less than what the CDC government spent in each of the last 2 preceding years (2022 and 2023). It’s clear that the UP’s budget is more about consumption and less about investment (PSIP).

I often mention the National Security Agency (NSA) because it represents some of the worst ways the Liberian government wastes taxpayers’ money. NSA does nothing more than funnel money to corrupt politicians and get kickbacks in the process. Absolutely nothing about security. Boakai has bought into that tradition wholeheartedly. He ordered an audit of the NSA, and then he “Nicodemously” retracted his order, granting the NSA carte blanche to continue their long-running corrupt practices. Whatever happened to the promises of ending business-as-usual? Giving the NSA the freedom to spend USD 10m in public money without audit is business-as-usual and probably worse.

On another count, Mr. Boakai repeatedly spoke about agriculture. He has always spoken of agriculture with some passion, whilst claiming some level of expertise. He has also claimed to have cut tens of millions of dollars in wasteful expenditures by the CDC government. However, if Mr. Boakai had indeed cut millions of dollars in wasteful expenditure, one would have expected that much of those savings would flow into agriculture. Now let’s look at the agricultural sector comprising of six institutions[5]

TABLE B, FY2024 Budgetary Allocation to Agriculture (all amounts in USD)

Sector Total – AGRICULTURE	FY 2024	% of Agric Budget
Salaries	4,126,958	46.19%	53%	Recurrent Cost
Goods & Services	601,888	6.74%		Recurrent Cost
Grants	56,084	0.63%	9%	PSIP (potential)
Non-Financial Assets	750,000	8.39%		PSIP
Additional allocation	3,400,000	38.05%		unclear if all PSIP
	8,934,930	Spending just 1.2% of the total budget on the Agriculture Sector is not an indication of top priority. And it is not from lack of funds since millions are allocated to institutions with questionable value.
Percent to total budget	1.2%
Total Budget	738,800,000

• Note: All figures from GOL Proposed Budget FY 2024

A few things are clear from the above table.

• Just around 1.2% of the total budget is allocated to agriculture.
• That corrupt NSA gets nearly US$11m. The corruption-prone Ministry of State gets US$9.5m, and the wasteful EPS (US$8.5m). Going by the allocations, it seems that these money-wasting institutions are considered equally important as the agriculture sector, which comprises six institutions.  Seems like business as usual to me.  Remember, Liberia’s Ministry of State is where Nathaniel McGill made his millions—and this particular agency has been a ticking timebomb for corruption for the past twenty years. Why is the MOS/EPS/NSA, for example, comprising just a handful of people, getting just about the same budget as the entire agriculture sector (which comprises at least half a dozen institutions)? Why? Where is the priority?  

Mr. Boakai’s first 100 days: my parting comments

After going through this article, it’s clear to me that Liberia is firmly stuck in a business-as-usual mode. Lawbreaking and impunity for ruling party officials remains the norm. Corruption, bribery, and other financial malfeasance continue, with Mr. Boakai doing nothing to stop it but being swift to act only when the accused are CDC rolled-over appointees. He’s continuing to bring in misfits, incompetents, and academic fraudsters, not vetting officials and frequently resorting to recalling officials after public outcry. He’s showing no respect for the separation of power doctrine of the Constitution, co-opting senators to manage appointments, and challenging the Legislature and the Judiciary branches on tenure. For a man who has repeatedly criticized his predecessors for squandering opportunities (Mrs. Sirleaf) and incompetence and corruption (Mr. Weah), Mr. Boakai’s first 100 days is an unmitigated disaster. Things have literally fallen apart. Senators are exercising executive powers, as well as Mr. Grigsby (MOS) and Boakai Jr. (Jojo), and possibly lining their pockets as well. The unadulterated truth is that Mr. Boakai’s quest for the presidency was simply to have a luxurious retirement. He is utterly visionless and had sought the Liberian presidency simply to preside over its “spoils system.” By ascending to the presidency, Joseph Boakai has exposed his sheer incompetence and ineptitude, which was not so apparent as Vice President (2005-2017). Now, Liberians are waking up to the reality that there will be no “rescue” from corruption and bad governance, only business as usual or worse. The Boakai’s presidency is turning out to be a sham and a disaster. His surrogates will try their best to spin his first 100 days as a success. But, going by the glaring disaster of the first 100 days, we are gradually waking up to the reality that “when chicken white, ay white.”

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Wonderr K. Freeman is a Liberian Investment Attorney, Political Economist, Accountant, and Certified Financial Crimes Specialist (CFCS) currently based in Minneapolis, USA. Mr. Freeman’s professional interests span the intersection of law and economics, including the political economy of development, economic justice, international trade/investment law, and financial crimes law. He can be reached at [email protected]. He blogs at https://wonderrfreeman.com

[1] See more at https://www.liberianobserver.com/liberia-whos-illegally-swapping-boakais-nominees

[2] See more at https://frontpageafricaonline.com/news/liberia-grand-gsedean-diaspora-expresses-disappointment-over-senates-confirmation-of-alex-chersia-grant-as-county-superintendent/

[3] See more at https://frontpageafricaonline.com/politics/liberia-madam-sirleaf-corruption-rejects-land-in-boakais-government/

[4] See more at https://frontpageafricaonline.com/community-news/liberia-senate-committees-to-probe-21m-unapproved-road-contracts-awarded-by-public-works/

[5] Agriculture sector (Liberia) comprises of 6 agencies, including MOA, CARI, LACRA, CDA, LRDA, RDF, LPMC