By Socrates Smythe Saywon
When Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe speaks on governance, Liberians listen. His latest statement on President Joseph Boakai’s trip to Japan for TICAD 9 and Expo 2025 cuts deep into the very heart of Liberia’s governance culture, extravagance dressed as diplomacy. Gongloe’s critique is not an attack on the importance of international engagement, but rather a sober reminder that in a country ranked among the ten poorest in the world, prudence must be the guiding principle.
The issue is not whether Liberia should attend global platforms like TICAD 9 and Expo 2025. Of course, we must. These gatherings present opportunities for investment, tourism, technology, and jobs, exactly the kind of development pathways the struggling Liberia economy desperately needs. But as Gongloe rightly noted, the problem lies in how Liberia shows up. A 23-member official delegation, including twelve cabinet ministers, reeks of misaligned priorities. Why should multiple officials from the same ministry, minister, deputy, and assistant, be on a single trip? What value does duplication bring other than ballooning government spending at the expense of already suffering Liberians?
This is where the moral weight of Gongloe’s argument bites. Liberia’s poverty remains glaring: hospitals still run out of basic medicines, schools in the hinterland still operate without desks, textbooks, or even clean drinking water. Roads remain impassable, and food insecurity is worsening. Against such a grim backdrop, sending a jumbo entourage abroad is not simply poor judgment, it borders on betrayal. Gongloe’s framing of this practice as “legalized theft” is provocative, but not far from the truth. When taxpayers’ money is funneled into bloated delegations and extravagant perks while citizens die in understaffed clinics or study under trees, what else can it be called?
Boakai’s defenders may argue that foreign trips require robust representation. They may also say some costs are covered by partners such as Japan. But here is the point: Liberians deserve transparency. Gongloe’s call for the government to publish the full delegate list, with clear details on who is paying for what, is not unreasonable. In fact, it is the bare minimum for a government that claims to champion accountability. If donor partners are footing part of the bill, say so. If ministries insisted on bringing their deputies and assistants, explain why. Otherwise, the perception of wasteful spending and self-enrichment will continue to fester.
The broader danger is that such spectacles erode public trust. Gongloe is correct, modesty in governance inspires both national confidence and international respect. Other poor nations send lean, disciplined delegations abroad and still secure investment deals. Why should Liberia, with its fragile economy and aid-dependent budget, pretend it can afford to mimic the habits of wealthy nations? When government officials earn salaries that in some cases surpass those of U.S. counterparts, then add lavish foreign trips on top, the message to ordinary Liberians is loud and clear: the state exists to serve the officials, not the people.
If Joseph Boakai wants to distinguish his presidency from the excesses of the past, he must heed Gongloe’s warning. Strategic, lawful, and frugal international engagement is possible. In fact, it is the only respectable path for Liberia today. Anything less would confirm the growing suspicion that this administration is more committed to recycling old habits of waste than to breaking them.
Liberia does not need another government that glorifies travel allowances while hospitals beg for syringes. It does not need leaders who take pride in first-class flights while rural children study without chairs. What Liberia needs is seriousness, the seriousness Gongloe spoke of, seriousness about investment, about reform, and about protecting taxpayers’ money.
Boakai’s trip to Japan should not be remembered for its entourage. It should be remembered for what it brought home: concrete investments, partnerships, and solutions. But unless the government addresses Gongloe’s concerns openly and promptly, this trip risks being defined not by opportunity, but by extravagance. And in the eyes of the struggling Liberian public, that is unforgivable.
A better Liberia is possible, as Gongloe reminded us. But it will not be built on wasteful government spending disguised as diplomacy. It will be built on modesty, discipline, and the recognition that every dollar wasted abroad is a dollar stolen from the people at home.
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