MONROVIA – Former Minister of Finance and Development Planning Samuel D. Tweah has sharply criticized the Boakai administration over what he describes as persistent inaccuracies and exaggerations in the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA), arguing that the so-called “Rescue Government” is failing to match the governance performance of the previous Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) administration.
In a statement issued Wednesday, January 28, 2026, two days after President Joseph Nyuma Boakai delivered his third SONA to a joint sitting of the Legislature, Tweah acknowledged the government’s attempt to correct an error regarding road pavement figures, but insisted that the correction itself remains fundamentally flawed.
“We welcome the Government’s admission that it erred on the road pavement ratio reported by President Joseph N. Boakai in his 2026 SONA,” Tweah stated. “But this is ‘thanks but no thanks,’ since the correction still has the same error and needs to be corrected.”
According to Tweah, the language used by the President and repeated in the subsequent press release implies that the current administration has constructed approximately 1,430 kilometers of paved roads, an outcome he described as impossible within a two year period.
“The English the President read implies RESCUE Government built about 1,430 km of roads, an impossibility,” Tweah said, adding that retaining the same wording in the clarification only deepened public confusion rather than resolving it.
Despite his criticism, Tweah said he appreciated the administration’s willingness to acknowledge a mistake, noting that such admissions are essential to strengthening public discourse. “Honesty is required to move our country forward,” he said, emphasizing that his concern was accuracy rather than personal recognition.
Addressing suggestions that the government should have credited him for flagging the error, Tweah dismissed the idea. “I don’t need credit; just honesty in public discourse,” he declared.
Tweah argued that the error reflects the intense pressure facing the Unity Party-led administration to match or surpass governance indicators achieved under former President George Manneh Weah. He said similar pressure underlies what he described as another questionable claim in the SONA that the government had created 70,000 jobs.
“We look forward to admission to other errors, as in the false claim about ‘creating 70,000 jobs,’” Tweah said, contending that the available data does not support such assertions.
Turning to inflation, Tweah presented official Consumer Price Index figures showing that prices have risen by approximately 13.5 percent since the CDC left office in January 2024. He noted that inflation between December 2024 and December 2025 stood at about four percent, according to Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services data.
“Since CDC left power, prices are up by 13.4 percent,” Tweah explained. “If something cost US$100 under the CDC, it now on average costs US$113.40.”
On economic growth, Tweah referenced International Monetary Fund data showing growth rates of five percent in 2021, 4.8 percent in 2022, and 4.7 percent in 2023, which he said formed a solid foundation handed over to the Boakai administration.
“Achieving five percent is nothing to celebrate because CDC achieved that in 2021,” Tweah said, adding that the CDC inherited a growth rate of 2.5 percent in 2017 and transferred a significantly stronger economy in 2023.
Tweah also highlighted Liberia’s net international reserve position, noting that reserves grew from US$110 million in December 2017 to US$220 million by December 2023, and further to US$280 million by December 2025.
“CDC inherited US$110 million after UP’s 12 years in power and handed UP twice that amount to RESCUE UP,” Tweah said, calling it clear evidence that the CDC did not damage the economy.
On electricity access, Tweah pointed out that between 2018 and 2023, approximately 240,000 households were connected to the national grid, an average of 40,000 connections per year, compared to about 63,000 households connected between 2024 and 2026.
He said this translates to an annual average of 31,500 household connections under the current administration, below the CDC’s yearly pace. “For six years, President Weah gave electricity to more than 1.4 million Liberians,” Tweah stated.
Tweah acknowledged that electricity expansion continues under President Boakai, but stressed that generation capacity remains Liberia’s most critical challenge. He urged renewed focus on large-scale hydropower development, particularly the proposed damming of the Via River to support Mount Coffee.
On road construction, Tweah said Liberia entered the Weah administration with 745 kilometers of paved roads, largely built under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, averaging about 62 kilometers per year over 12 years.
Under President Weah, Tweah said an additional 454 kilometers were paved between 2018 and 2023, increasing the annual pace to approximately 75 kilometers.
By contrast, Tweah said the Boakai administration’s actual road output remains unclear due to the erroneous SONA figures, but even under generous scenarios of 50, 75, or 120 kilometers over two years, the pace still falls below CDC averages.
“Of course we know no Liberian government can build 1,400 km of roads in two years,” Tweah remarked.
In concluding, Tweah warned against efforts to discredit the CDC’s record, arguing that most of the current administration’s activities remain “mired in the shadows” of its predecessor.
“The numbers above confirm this,” he said. “Trying to discredit the CDC is both useless and baseless.”
Tweah stressed that even if the Boakai administration were to surpass CDC infrastructure numbers, it would not automatically demonstrate superior governance, particularly if much of the financing originated from commitments secured under the previous government.
He argued that roads and electricity have largely become institutionalized through existing mechanisms such as the national road fund, and should no longer dominate political debate.
“The country’s politics ought to focus on constraints to job creation and private sector expansion,” Tweah said, calling for greater attention to credit access and human capital development.
“We have not institutionalized credit to the private sector or human capital development,” he concluded. “These are where the focus ought to be. Let’s keep the debate honest.”
