MONROVIA – Liberia, a country with vast resources, has the potential to provide for its citizens, yet public waste remains deeply ingrained in its government. President Joseph Boakai, who promised to run a modest government in 2023, has overseen the allocation of millions of dollars towards luxurious cars, high-end fuel costs, and extravagant celebrations, while many of the nation’s civil servants suffer from inadequate pay, delayed wages, and subpar working conditions. The government’s inability to prioritize its people, particularly teachers, health workers, and other public servants, raises serious concerns about the current leadership and its commitment to addressing the needs of the Liberian people.
Despite promises to prioritize the education sector, thousands of public school teachers are either on a go-slow or not on payroll at all. The ongoing strikes and protests from students are a direct response to these failings. Yet, in stark contrast, the government has allocated over US$4 million in the 2024-2025 fiscal years to consultancy services and special services alone, with just one agency, the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs (MSPA), spending a staggering US$5.7 million on food, celebrations, and consultancy over a two-year period.
From US$919,361 for consultancy services in 2024 to nearly US$1.5 million for special services over the same period, the MSPA’s expenditure far exceeds what is being invested in the people who keep the country running, including teachers, healthcare workers, security personnel, farmers, and many others. In addition, nearly US$1.5 million has been allocated to celebrations and food. It’s a stark contradiction to the plight of the citizens who, despite working tirelessly, continue to be underpaid, or in many cases, left without pay entirely.
This lavish spending at the top echelons of government raises critical questions. Why is the government spending exorbitantly on consultancy services when it has a large number of advisors, ministers, and ambassadors already on its payroll, all of whom are supposed to provide expertise to the president? According to Martin K. N. Kollie, a staunch critic of the government’s financial priorities, these expenses amount to nothing more than “public waste,” particularly in a country where poverty and unemployment levels remain high. Kollie demands that President Boakai address these disparities and refocus public spending on the people who need it most.
In a country where public school teachers and health workers are struggling to make ends meet, the government’s prioritization of luxury spending sends a disturbing message. As the government continues to squander taxpayer dollars, the people’s right to basic services like education and healthcare is being neglected. “The suffering in Liberia is artificial. It is man-made,” Kollie said in a powerful statement. It is man-made,” Kollie said in a powerful statement. “The deliberate neglect of the people’s needs in favor of wasteful spending must end now.”
Liberians, especially the students and public sector workers, have every right to protest the government’s failure to meet their needs. Kollie stands in full solidarity with these groups, urging them to remain peaceful but firm in their demands. He calls for the government to cut down on public waste and redirect those resources into improving the lives of ordinary Liberians, teachers, healthcare workers, security personnel, farmers, and all those who keep the country moving.
