MONROVIA – Exiled Liberian activist Martin K. N. Kollie has launched a rebuttal to recent claims made by former Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel D. Tweah, accusing the former official of manipulating economic data to whitewash the legacy of the George Weah-led administration.
In a lengthy commentary released on Sunday, July 20, 2025, Kollie said Tweah is “desperate to hang on just any straw even if it is thin as a thread,” in an apparent attempt to rescue the reputation of the opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), which suffered a major electoral defeat in 2023.
“The truth matters, and it is stubborn,” Kollie wrote, citing data from the IMF, World Bank, and Central Bank of Liberia to systematically challenge Tweah’s assertion that the Weah administration left a sound macroeconomic foundation for President Joseph Boakai.
Kollie outlined five key indicators: public debt, GDP, inflation, current account balance, and poverty, arguing that each shows a pattern of mismanagement and fiscal recklessness during Tweah’s six-year tenure.
According to Kollie, public debt under the CDC skyrocketed from US$881.7 million in 2018 to US$2.34 billion by January 2023, an increase of over US$1.5 billion, representing 165.38% growth. He contrasted this with the Boakai administration, which has added only US$220 million in debt over 19 months, bringing the total to US$2.56 billion as of March 2025.
He also pointed to a rise in GDP under Boakai, from US$4.39 billion in 2023 to US$5.17 billion in 2025, a 7.26% increase. Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) GDP rose by 16.53%, while real GDP growth climbed from 4.6% in 2023 to 5.3% in 2025. GDP per capita increased by 12.3% in the same period.
Inflation, Kollie noted, declined from 10.1% in 2023 under Weah to 8.2% under Boakai. The current account deficit also narrowed from -26.3% to -18.2%, and poverty dropped from 31.2% to 26.4%, based on recent World Bank data.
While acknowledging the current administration’s shortcomings, Kollie warned against “false equivalence,” stressing that Liberia’s challenges did not begin under Boakai.
“Are these tough times under President Boakai? Yes. But was it tougher under ex-President Weah? Yes. Are families suffering under Boakai? Yes. But were families enjoying under Weah? Absolutely not,” Kollie asserted.
He lambasted Tweah for what he called “flawed comparisons and scattered data,” and warned that the CDC’s record should never be used as a benchmark for success.
“The country was not just looted under the CDC, it was gang-raped,” Kollie wrote. “They (Tweah and others) were even sanctioned. They should be in jail by now. But I blame President Boakai for this.”
Tweah had earlier praised Senator Amara Konneh for recognizing what he called the macroeconomic “solidity” inherited by the Unity Party, citing declining poverty and inflation, rising reserves, and significant school construction under the CDC administration. He also claimed prices rose by 12.48% between January 2024 and June 2025 based on LISGIS data, urging the Boakai government to maintain or improve upon CDC’s strategies.
But Kollie pushed back, saying the numbers speak louder than propaganda. “Using the CDC as a gauge to measure progress is a weak form of politics,” he said. “We won’t allow anyone to distort the narrative. The people deserve to know the truth.”
Kollie’s statement comes amid ongoing public debate about Liberia’s economic direction and accountability for past governance failures. The exchange between Tweah and Kollie reflects a deepening political and ideological divide over how Liberia’s recent history should be remembered and who should shape its future.
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