An investigative report has laid bare two years of systemic failure, brazen corruption, and national decline under the Unity Party government of President Joseph Boakai, branding the era “ABANDONGATE” and depicting a nation in deepening crisis.
The exhaustive 23-page dossier, compiled from public records and reported incidents, portrays an administration defined by empty promises, financial malfeasance, brutal police tactics, and a staggering disregard for public welfare. While the author, Gertrude JD Williams, former Assistant Minister, Minister of Transport, cautions the report is a “documented fragment” of national chaos, its contents paint a devastating portrait of Liberia’s current state.
The report zeroes in on what it calls “fiscal anarchy” at the highest levels. It alleges that within weeks of President Boakai’s inauguration in January 2024, approximately 19.5 million United States dollars of an inherited $40 million foreign reserve had vanished from the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL). In a further explosive claim, the suspended CBL Governor confessed to being instructed by President Boakai to transfer a further $8 million to a private bank for “political campaign activities” without due process. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reportedly demanded its return, but the Executive Mansion remains silent. “This isn’t governance; it’s grand larceny at the national treasury,” the report states, noting a complete absence of independent audits or accountability.
A flagship policy of the administration—the 25-year concession of the Ministry of Transport to Liberia Traffic Management (LTM)—is condemned as a “fire sale” of national sovereignty. The deal, which hands 70% of revenue to the private company and only 30% to the state, is projected to lose Liberia over $100 million compared to previous projections. It also puts over 300 Liberian civil servants out of work and threatens the entire local vehicle insurance industry. “The Boakai administration isn’t creating jobs; it’s outsourcing them and our sovereignty to foreign interests,” the report charges, alleging insider involvement by relatives of powerful officials.
The dossier catalogs a laundry list of high-level allegations with zero accountability. President Boakai is constructing a $10 million private mansion in Lofa County with unclear funding. The Ministry of Labor, led by Minister Cooper Kruah, stands accused of issuing over 10,000 work permits to foreigners while Liberian youth unemployment soars. A $22 million road rehabilitation project has left rural roads “muddy and dusty.” Meanwhile, legislators spent $700,000 of taxpayer money on a 2-day retreat in Buchanan while the National Fire Service lacked $1,200 to repair a critical truck. “From the presidency to the port, the motto appears to be: exploit first, explain never,” the report observes.
The document further describes a “reckless” and brutal Liberia National Police, detailing incidents where unarmed civilians, including a Fulani woman and a group of Muslims, were severely beaten. A man in Caldwell was killed by an LNP anti-power theft team. At the same time, a wave of “mysterious killings” and missing persons cases—many involving children—remain unsolved, pointing to a “public security breakdown.” The administration’s justice is labeled “selective,” citing the swift detention of opposition lawmakers contrasted with the impunity enjoyed by a former Justice Minister acquitted in a high-profile murder case, who now chairs the board of NOCAL.
Despite numerous international trips and high-profile announcements, the report finds a trail of broken promises and abandoned projects. Eighty-five police vehicles promised after a UNSC milestone have never arrived. A $250k mini-reservoir in Gbarpolu is no longer in use. A donated $20 million worth of military equipment is unaccounted for. Furthermore, recurrent, deadly fires linked to faulty LEC wiring plague communities, with the state offering no solution. The crumbling social contract is evidenced by relentless strikes and protests by medical workers, university staff, students, and civil society groups, all decrying unpaid salaries, corruption, and failed governance under the banner #EnoughIsEnough.
The report concludes that the first two years of the Boakai-Koung administration have been “marked by fragility, polarization, and unmet public expectations,” with “significant implications for national stability.” It ends with a searing indictment: “The patterns evident… demonstrate the urgent need for systemic reform, accountability, and justice. The lived experiences of ordinary citizens… show that governance must prioritize the welfare and rights of the people over personal or partisan interests.”
The Executive Mansion has yet to respond to the damning allegations contained in the report.