IN A NATION WHERE hope is often eclipsed by hardship, President Joseph Boakai’s recent decision to establish a High-Level Presidential Ad Hoc Committee to tackle the country’s soaring cost of living is both bold and necessary. It is not merely another political maneuver; it is a pivotal response to an urgent crisis that touches every home, every market stall, every weary commuter, and every parent struggling to make ends meet.
THE TIMING OF this decision, announced during Liberia’s 178th Independence Day celebrations, carries enormous weight. Beyond the fanfare and ceremonial speeches, the Liberian President used the occasion to send a message that he is not tone-deaf to the suffering of ordinary Liberians.
THAT HE UNDERSTANDS the deep and daily frustrations that confront citizens in a country where the economy on paper does not reflect the lived experiences of its people.
FOR TOO LONG, Liberians have been trapped in a painful paradox. Despite reports of stable or falling import costs, the prices of goods and services continue to rise with no apparent justification. Basic commodities like rice, flour, and sugar are increasingly out of reach.
TRANSPORT FARES DRAIN household incomes. Building materials remain unaffordable, putting dreams of homeownership out of reach for the average citizen. The numbers might suggest progress, but the reality tells a very different story.
THIS IS WHY President Boakai’s initiative is not just timely — it is politically and morally imperative. By acknowledging the glaring contradiction between falling import prices and rising market costs, and by acting swiftly to establish a committee to investigate and address it, the President has taken a critical first step. It sends a message that the days of ignoring economic distortions may be coming to an end.
BUT EVEN AS we commend this move, we must be clear-eyed about what lies ahead.
LIBERIANS HAVE SEEN committees before. They have read reports. They have heard promises — many made in earnest, and just as many left to gather dust. What the people crave now are results. Tangible, visible, daily relief from the unbearable weight of living. The cost of rice must come down. Transportation must become affordable. Building a home should not require a lifetime of savings or a foreign salary. The stakes could not be higher.
PRESIDENT BOAKAI HAS placed his leadership on the line. And rightly so. For if this committee fails to produce not only a clear-eyed diagnosis but also decisive policy action, the damage to public trust will be profound. Cynicism will deepen, and disillusionment will spread among a people who have waited far too long for economic justice.
IT IS IMPORTANT to place this moment in the broader context of President Boakai’s presidency. In his Independence Day address, the President celebrated notable national achievements — Liberia’s seat on the UN Security Council, improvements in agriculture and infrastructure, and efforts toward national healing.
THESE ARE NO doubt important. But none of them will resonate deeply with the public unless they are matched by economic relief felt in the market, in the home, and in the wallet.
THAT IS WHY this cost-of-living committee may very well define his administration. It is not just another government initiative — it is a referendum on his ability to respond to the people’s most pressing concerns.
THE SPARK FOR this action was the passionate and unsparing oration by Emmett L. Dunn, the President’s Special Envoy for Partnership and Philanthropy. Dunn’s Independence Day speech was a masterclass in speaking truth to power, wrapped not in anger, but in urgency and moral clarity. His words captured the suffering of a nation: the mother who cannot afford medicine, the farmer without tools, the child who cannot wait for policy.
DUNN’S CALL WAS not merely rhetorical. He challenged the administration to act — not in six months, not after endless studies, but now. To President Boakai’s credit, he responded immediately. This kind of leadership — one that listens and acts — deserves acknowledgment. But it also raises expectations.
DUNN’S MESSAGE ALSO extended beyond economics. He called for structural reforms, including full enforcement of the Liberianization Policy, which reserves certain business sectors for Liberians. He urged equity clauses in all foreign investment agreements and demanded real participation by Liberians in their own economy. His was a call to reclaim sovereignty—not just in political rhetoric, but in ownership, in employment, and in dignity.
HE ALSO PROPOSED a National Commission on Reconciliation, a re-examination of Liberia’s national motto, and a shift in how the nation sees and supports its youth. These are bold and sweeping ideas—but they are rooted in a hunger for a more inclusive, more equitable Liberia.
PRESIDENT BOAKAI ECHOED many of these themes. He reaffirmed his commitment to healing national wounds and announced plans for a memorial to honor victims of the civil wars and the ECOWAS peacekeepers who helped restore peace. He declared a National Day of Prayer, calling for unity and divine guidance.
THESE ARE MEANINGFUL gestures — but again, they must be matched by measurable change in people’s lives.
AND THAT BRINGS us back to the cost of living — the single most important test the Boakai presidency currently faces.
BECAUSE NO AMOUNT of diplomacy, no infrastructure project, no well-written policy paper will matter if the average Liberian cannot afford to eat, to move, to live with dignity. The public will not measure this administration by the eloquence of its speeches, but by the prices in the marketplace and the opportunities in their communities.
THIS IS NOT a time for delay. The 45-day mandate given to the committee should be treated not as a bureaucratic deadline, but as a countdown to impact. Every day that passes without relief deepens the crisis and erodes public confidence.
LIBERIANS ARE A patient people, but patience has its limits. They have survived war, disease, and disaster. But survival should not be the national aspiration. The Boakai administration must now shift the national narrative from survival to progress, from despair to dignity.
PRESIDENT BOAKAI HAS been handed a rare convergence of public expectation, political capital, and moral urgency. This is his defining test. If he can turn this committee’s work into bold policy, if he can translate words into actions and actions into results, he will not only strengthen his presidency — he will change the trajectory of the nation.
BUT IF HE fails, the cost will not just be political. It will be human. The time for committees is over. The time for delivery has begun. This is his test. This is his time. The country waits.
