Power Must Return to the People” Boakai Pushes Historic Shift to Local Governance

GBARNGA, Bong County President Joseph Nyumah Boakai has reaffirmed his commitment to ending Liberia’s decades-long tradition of centralized governance, declaring that meaningful national development can only be achieved when citizens in the leeward counties are fully involved in shaping government decisions.

The President made the remarks as he convened a historic two-day National Assembly of Chiefs and Tribal Governors the first of its kind under his administration bringing together traditional leaders from across all fifteen counties to discuss governance, peace, decentralization, and national development.

The event, organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, fulfills a directive President Boakai issued two months ago instructing the ministry to gather the “custodians of the land” for a direct national dialogue.

“Governance Must Grow From the Ground Up” President Boakai

Delivering his address, President Boakai said the Assembly marked a major step in fulfilling the promise he and Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung made on January 22, 2024 to lead a people-centered, inclusive government capable of restoring public trust and rebranding Liberia’s image.

“Governance works best when it grows from the ground up,” the President said.

“Liberia can only be transformed if its people especially those in the interior, who have historically been marginalized by an overly centralized state are fully involved in the decision-making process.”

President Boakai emphasized that Liberia’s centralized system has produced exclusion, unequal growth, and what he described as “the predatory nature of the Liberian state.”

He vowed that under his leadership, decentralization will no longer be treated as a mere policy concept but as the engine of Liberia’s national renewal.

The President restated his appeal for lawmakers to pass the long-awaited Bill to Establish the Ministry of Local Government, saying it is essential to fully implement the Local Government Act of 2018.

“Its approval could transform Liberia more than nearly any other reform currently before us,” he asserted.

He said decentralization will strengthen local institutions, promote accountability, and give ordinary citizens a greater voice in shaping the nation’s future.