MONROVIA, LIBERIA, September 7, 2026: Veteran human rights lawyer Cllr. Tiawan S. Gongloe has written President Joseph Nyuma Boakai seeking public disclosure of his official salary and clarification on how the President’s announced 40% voluntary salary reduction is being implemented.
In a letter titled “Mr. President, What Exactly Is Your Salary?” Gongloe questioned the basis on which the 40% reduction was calculated and argued that Liberians have a constitutional right to know how much their President is paid.
“But 40% of what?” Gongloe asked, referring to reports that President Boakai voluntarily reduced his salary by 40%.
Gongloe cited Article 60 of the Liberian Constitution, which provides that the salaries of the President and Vice President are determined by the Legislature and “shall neither be increased nor diminished” during the term for which they are elected.
Against that constitutional provision, the lawyer questioned how the President’s voluntary reduction is being implemented and whether it affects the salary legally established for the office or only the amount personally retained by Boakai.
Gongloe also cited Article 15(c) of the Constitution, which guarantees the public’s right to information about the government and its functionaries.
“This is not a personal question. It is not a partisan question. It is a transparency question,” Gongloe wrote. “The Liberian people pay the President’s salary. How much are they paying you? The people have a right to know.”
The former presidential candidate posed four questions to President Boakai: What salary did the Legislature legally fix for the President? What was Boakai’s gross annual salary when he assumed office? How much does he actually receive after the announced 40% voluntary reduction? And how is the reduction being implemented consistently with Article 60 of the Constitution?
Gongloe said answers to the questions would help clarify whether the President’s salary reduction is being administered in accordance with the Constitution while strengthening transparency and accountability in government.
He maintained that presidential compensation is a matter of public interest because it involves public resources and the constitutional framework governing remuneration of the country’s two highest elected officials.
According to Gongloe, publicly disclosing the President’s compensation would also allow citizens to better understand how government resources are managed and how constitutional provisions governing presidential remuneration are being applied.
The letter places renewed attention on President Boakai’s salary reduction and raises a legal question over how a voluntary reduction can be implemented without diminishing the compensation constitutionally fixed for the office during his term.
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