Addressing his fellow compatriots, Gongloe decried Liberia’s long-standing reliance on exporting raw materials without adding value—despite its vast natural wealth.
Monrovia – Former presidential candidate, Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe, has issued a stirring call to action to Liberians at home and abroad, urging them to rise above decades of failed leadership and demand transformational change to lift Liberia from poverty and underdevelopment.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]
In an passionate Independence Day address delivered via video link to the Liberian community in Queensland, Australia, Gongloe themed his speech: “From Raw Materials to Real Development: Time for a Transformational Leadership.”
Liberia, Africa’s oldest republic, marked its 178th Independence Anniversary with a series of commemorative events. In Liberia, the government organized several activities to honor the occasion, with the centerpiece being a grand celebration at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion in Monrovia.
The event drew government officials, heads of state, and members of the diplomatic corps. Celebrations also took place across the diaspora, including in the United States, Europe, and Australia—where the Liberia Association of Queensland hosted a major program.
Addressing his fellow compatriots, Gongloe decried Liberia’s long-standing reliance on exporting raw materials without adding value—despite its vast natural wealth.
“We export logs but import chairs. We mine iron ore but import everything made from it,” he said. “Until Liberia changes the quality of its exports, we will remain underdeveloped and poor.”
He pointed to neighboring countries like Ghana, Rwanda, and Botswana as examples of African nations making strategic use of limited resources, while Liberia—blessed with rainforests, gold, iron ore, and fertile land—remains stagnant due to what he called “a problem of poor leadership.”
“Ghana is making chocolate, textiles, and refining its gold. Ivory Coast is exporting processed rubber, cocoa butter, choclate, canned pineapple, and electricity! Botswana is 70% desert, but is stable, clean, and prosperous by exporting meat and polished diamonds. Rwanda is landlocked, but it is packaging coffee, building tech hubs, and running clean cities as well as attracting tourists from all over the world; turning the history its civil war into a tourist attraction, while we are struggling with the issue of accountability for war crimes committed during our civil conflict. Cape Verde has no forest — but it has electricity, transparency, and working systems. Mauritius and Seychelles have no minerals, but they’ve built thriving tourism and banking systems.”
So, what is wrong with Liberia?, he asked rhetorically. “We have beaches from Cape Mount to Cape Palmas. We have rivers and forests and fertile soil. In fact we have 40% of the remaining tropical forest in the Gulf of Guinea. We have iron ore, gold, diamonds, rubber, oil palm, and wood, amongst others ! We have great sunshine and high rainfall, something lacking in some countries that are more developed than Liberia. God has given us everything — but we are poor. Why? Because our leaders over the years have turned government into a business to enrich themselves — not to serve us!”
“A betrayed state, not a failed state”
Gongloe sharply criticized successive Liberian governments for prioritizing personal enrichment over national development, describing Liberia as “a betrayed state, not a failed state.”
“The problem is not the soil, not the sun, not the rain. The problem is man-made. It is leadership failure,” he said.
Recalling the vision of former President William R. Tolbert, Cllr. Gongloe noted that Liberia once had a clear roadmap for national transformation—grounded in self-reliance, rural development, and industrialization. However, he said that vision was abandoned by leaders “hungry for power, not progress.”
President Tolbert was assassinated in 1980 during a bloody coup led by Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe. Thirteen senior officials of his administration were later executed by firing squad following a swift, widely condemned trial.
Once a peaceful nation, Liberia soon descended into chaos, enduring two brutal civil wars that killed an estimated 250,000 people, displaced hundreds of thousands, and forced tens of thousands into exile. Today, Liberia maintains a large diaspora community spread across Africa, the United States, Europe, and Australia.
“We Need You”
Addressing the thousands of Liberians living abroad, Gongloe appealed to the diaspora to go beyond sending remittances and play a more direct role in rebuilding the country.
“You are not just remitters, you are reformers. Not just donors, but developers,” he said. “We need your voices, your votes, your values—and your presence.”
He praised diaspora communities from Rwanda and Ghana for returning home to build businesses, hospitals, and tech industries. “Why not Liberia? Why not now?” he challenged.
“You have seen what good roads look like in Australia and other parts of the world.
You know what functional hospitals feel like. You’ve lived under governments that fear their people — not the other way around! Come help us change Liberia, but not from a distance.
Join us to build the Liberia we all dream about. A Liberia that keeps its talent, not exports it.
A Liberia where you can come back, build a life, and say: “This is my home. I helped to build it.”
We don’t need just your money. We need your voices, your votes, your values and your presence. Come join us. Let’s rise together. Because a better Liberia is not a fantasy — it is a responsibility and possibility. And the time is now.”
“Stop Celebrating Mediocrity”
In his typically bold style, Gongloe urged Liberians to abandon what he described as a culture of low expectations for government performance.
“Trying is not enough when children are dying from preventable diseases… when civil servants go months without pay,” he declared. “Trying is not leading. Delivering is leading!”
He reiterated his belief that national transformation must begin with integrity and accountability, not mere slogans or vision statements.
From Broom Symbolism to Action
Brandishing his trademark broom, Gongloe said it symbolized a nationwide cleanup campaign to sweep out corruption, selfishness, and mediocrity, and sweep in rule of law, productivity, and dignity.
“This broom is not decoration—it’s a tool for transformation,” he declared.
He closed with a hopeful but urgent message: “Liberia is not cursed. It is blessed, but badly led. Now is the time to rise!”
Gongloe, a former solicitor general and respected human rights lawyer, placed third in the 2023 presidential elections as the standard bearer of the Liberia People’s Party (LPP). Since the elections, he has continued to speak out on governance, development, and the rule of law.
