MONROVIA – The Solidarity and Trust for a New Day (STAND) has delivered a scathing assessment of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA), rejecting it as a presentation filled with promises and figures but lacking measurable results and accountability. The critique was issued one day after the President addressed the National Legislature on Monday, January 26, 2026.
In a statement released through its Chairman, Mulbah K. Morlu Jr., STAND said the address was carefully packaged to project optimism, but failed to reflect the harsh realities confronting ordinary Liberians. Morlu argued that the speech relied heavily on projections, selective statistics, and future intentions presented as current achievements.
“What the President delivered was not a report card of governance, but a political script designed to distract a suffering nation,” Morlu said, asserting that the address masked deep governance shortcomings behind polished language.
Morlu bluntly dismissed the speech’s credibility, declaring, “This is not a State of the Nation Address. It is a State of nonsense,” a statement that underscores STAND’s rejection of the President’s narrative.
The STAND Chairman challenged the President’s repeated references to the rule of law and impartial justice, saying such claims ring hollow in a country where, according to him, accountability remains selective. He noted that no senior government official has been convicted for grand corruption, despite repeated claims of prosecutions.
“Claims of indictments and convictions are thrown at the public without names, without crimes, without recovered assets, and without accountability,” Morlu said, arguing that enforcement of the law continues to favor the politically connected.
On the legislative agenda outlined in the address, Morlu described it as a wish list rather than a record of achievement. He pointed to long-promised institutions such as the Civil Service Commission, a Land Court, a National Road Authority, and Universal Health Insurance, noting that they remain largely absent nearly three years into the administration.
“Repeating intentions in a State of the Nation Address does not constitute progress; it confirms failure,” Morlu added.
STAND also disputed the President’s economic claims, questioning how an economy described as stable could coexist with widespread hunger, unemployment, and a weakening Liberian dollar. Morlu said a billion-dollar budget offers little relief when inflation erodes incomes and living conditions continue to worsen.
He further raised concerns over Liberia’s public debt, which he said has climbed to approximately US$2.8 billion without a clear debt-reduction strategy. Morlu warned that the planned introduction of Value Added Tax by 2027, without safeguards for vulnerable populations, risks placing an added burden on the poor.
The Chairman sharply rejected the President’s claim that seventy thousand jobs have been created, saying there is no job registry, sectoral data, wage information, or independent verification to support the figure. “This claim exists only in the President’s speech,” he said.
Morlu also dismissed assertions that the cost of living has declined, pointing to persistent food price instability, rising transportation costs, and increasing expenses for rent, education, and healthcare. He described it as contradictory for the government to caution businesses against price hikes while pursuing inflationary policies.
Infrastructure claims in the address were similarly criticized. Morlu said many roads touted as completed are laterite, seasonal, or already deteriorating, with maintenance failures becoming evident during each rainy season.
He also questioned the transparency surrounding the Yellow Machines program, saying the equipment remains unaudited and unaccounted for, with reports that parts of the initial consignment are being returned abroad. According to him, what is presented as development increasingly resembles deception.
On energy, Morlu said Liberia remains among the lowest electricity-access countries in Africa, with frequent blackouts undermining daily life. He dismissed large-scale energy projects cited in the address as existing only on paper, without financing closure or clear timelines.
Agriculture, often highlighted by the government as a success story, was described by STAND as still dependent and fragile. Morlu said Liberia continues to import most of its rice despite claims of extensive farmer support.
He further criticized social protection programs, arguing that cash transfers reach only a small fraction of those in need and lack transparency, while youth drug abuse has escalated into a national crisis.
Morlu also highlighted contradictions in land reform and decentralization, citing continued land disputes, forced evictions, and elite land acquisitions, even as decentralization is praised in official rhetoric.
Foreign policy achievements were described as largely symbolic. Morlu said Liberia’s election to the United Nations Security Council may enhance international prestige but does little to improve living conditions for ordinary citizens.
On reconciliation and justice, STAND accused the government of substituting ceremonies for accountability, noting that the proposed War and Economic Crimes Court remains stalled at the draft stage.
Concluding his critique, Morlu said a State of the Nation Address should reflect reality rather than manufacture optimism. “Until truth replaces theater, accountability replaces excuses, and delivery replaces deception,” he said, “Liberia has not heard a true State of the Nation Address.”
