President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has renewed his call for a transformative shift from Liberia’s long-standing centralized governance structure to a decentralized one. He emphasized that true national development can only be achieved through full decentralization and grassroots participation.
The President made the statement on Friday, November 21, 2025, while addressing the National Assembly of Chiefs and Tribal Governors in Gbarnga, Bong County. The event brought together senior government officials, lawmakers, members of the diplomatic corps, development partners, and traditional leaders from across the country.
President Boakai said the gathering demonstrates his administration’s commitment to leading a “people-centered and inclusive government,” as promised when he and Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung took office on January 22, 2024. The Liberian leader also stressed that Liberia’s development agenda, anchored in the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), relies heavily on the involvement of local authorities.
“Governance works best when it grows from the ground up. Liberia can only be transformed if its people, especially those in the interior, who have been historically marginalized by an overly centralized state, are fully involved in the decision-making process,” the President stated.
Boakai explained that centralized governance has contributed to inequality, exclusion, elite control, and uneven development, describing decentralization not as a political slogan but as the key to unlocking Liberia’s transformation. Reaffirming his reform agenda, the President urged the 55th Legislature to pass the long-pending Bill seeking to establish the Ministry of Local Government, which he said would be critical to implementing the Local Government Act of 2018. The law, he noted, is the foundation of Liberia’s decentralization framework.
According to him, empowering local government structures will strengthen institutions, enhance accountability, and ensure citizens play an active role in shaping decisions that affect their lives, adding that true democracy thrives when people participate fully. President Boakai highlighted progress made under his administration, including improvements in food security, road development, education, anti-corruption efforts, and the fight against harmful traditional practices.
