NATIONAL NEWS
MONROVIA – Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, has strongly defended the performance of the administration of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, insisting that the country is making steady progress despite criticism from political opponents.
By: Trokon S. Wrepue – trokon1992seokin@gmail.com
Speaking Friday during the launch of the 2026 National Cadet Program in Gbarnga, Bong County, Ngafuan said Liberia is clearly “going forward, not backward,” citing developments in education, infrastructure, healthcare, electricity, governance reforms, and public sector compensation.
“Today, through this National Cadet Program, we are about to give hope to more than 1,000 young people of Liberia; yet, our detractors will say Liberia is going backward,” the Finance Minister declared to applause from participants and government officials attending the event.
The program was launched under the Ministry of Youth and Sports’ Public Sector Investment Program.
Education, Roads and Electricity Expansion
Minister Ngafuan said the government is preparing to construct or rehabilitate more than 100 schools across Liberia’s 15 counties to strengthen the education sector.
According to him, several high schools, including institutions under the Monrovia Consolidated School System, are also expected to undergo renovation.
He further highlighted ongoing road infrastructure projects, including pavement works toward southeastern Liberia and rehabilitation along major highways.
“We are paving the road to the South-East including to Zwedru, Fish Town, and Harper,” Ngafuan stated. “We are rehabilitating and paving the road from Free Port to St. Paul Bridge and then to Bo Waterside, and will soon begin the pavement of the Salayea to Voinjama and the Mendikorma to Voinjama highways. Yet the detractors will say Liberia is going backward.”
On electricity access, the Minister said more households and businesses are now being connected to power in Monrovia and other parts of the country.
“Today, we are connecting more households to electricity and business and other activities are extending into the night hours in Monrovia, RIA Highway, Buchanan, and many other cities,” he added.
Salary Increases and Public Sector Reforms
Ngafuan also defended the administration’s compensation reforms, saying critical public sector workers including health professionals, judges, engineers, and other civil servants have begun benefiting from salary increases and improved incentives.
He recalled emotional reactions from workers at C.B. Dunbar Hospital in Gbarnga after they reportedly received mobile alerts confirming salary increases effective January 2025.
“Today we have begun increasing the pay and incentives of critical professionals in the civil service,” he said. “We have also fully reversed harmonization at the GAC and the LACC and for members of the Supreme Court Bench and judges of subordinate courts.”
Budget Growth and Revenue Performance
The Finance Minister disclosed that Liberia’s national budget has grown from US$738 million to US$1.3 billion within just over two years.
He attributed the increase to improved domestic revenue collection, stronger tax administration, and efforts to reduce financial leakages.
“Today, we have succeeded in just 2 years, 3 months, and 24 days, in growing the budget from US$738 million to US$1.3 billion,” Ngafuan asserted.
He noted that increased revenue is helping government recruit more personnel into the army, police, and immigration service, while also allowing volunteer teachers, health workers, and local chiefs to be placed on government payroll.
Ngafuan also pointed to Liberia’s growing international recognition, referencing the country’s role as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and its strengthened relations with international institutions including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, African Development Bank, and the European Union.
He also mentioned Liberia’s bilateral partnerships with countries including the United States, China, and France.
“Red Light to Gbarnga” Analogy
In one of the most notable moments of his address, Ngafuan used a travel analogy to describe Liberia’s development trajectory.
“We may not have reached Gbarnga yet, but it is wrong for anyone to say we are still at Red Light. We have made meaningful progress,” he said.
The Minister explained that national development should be viewed as a gradual journey rather than an instant transformation.
“The development journey is not a 100-meter rectilinear dash to the finish line,” he stated. “It is oftentimes like a marathon that passes through bumpy and curvy paths to the finish line.”
According to him, Liberia still faces challenges but has moved beyond where it once stood.
“Today is better than yesterday. And tomorrow will be better than today,” he added.
Message to Cadets
Addressing newly inducted cadets, Ngafuan reflected on his own experience as a six-month intern at the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company between 1988 and 1989 while studying at the Booker Washington Institute.
He said the internship helped shape his professional growth and encouraged cadets to serve with discipline, humility, integrity, and patriotism.
“Being an honor roll student in university does not automatically transform someone into an honor roll professional in the workplace,” he cautioned.
He further urged the cadets to become positive agents of change in society.
“Where you find darkness, spread your light; where you find laziness, spread your strength; where you find hopelessness, share hope; where you find indiscipline, spread discipline; and where you find dishonesty, share your integrity,” he advised.
Ngafuan also commended Youth and Sports Minister Cornelia W. Kruah for implementing the National Cadet Program and pledged continued support from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
He then officially declared the 2026 National Cadet Program launched.
“May this program produce graduates who embody discipline, competence, and integrity,” he announced, “and may these cadets become the professionals Liberia needs and the leaders Liberia deserves.”
