President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s latest directive requiring public officials to sign performance bonds is a welcomed — and long overdue — policy shift in a country whose public service has for decades been mired in mediocrity, impunity, and political patronage. But while the announcement thunders with good intentions, the Liberian people have heard such thunder before, only to receive no rain.
For years, our nation has suffered under the weight of a bloated and inefficient public sector, riddled with underperforming institutions and leadership cultures where titles and privileges supersede responsibility and results. From ghost workers on government payrolls to the shameless negligence of state-owned enterprises, Liberia’s governance landscape has too often been defined by slogans rather than substance.
This is why President Boakai’s vow that “accountability must no longer be optional” resonates. For once, we hear a sitting president speak not in vague platitudes but in binding terms — literally. The introduction of performance bonds tied to measurable institutional outcomes is not just a policy tweak; it is an attempt at cultural reform. A promise that failure will carry consequences.
And yet, while bold on the surface, the initiative will only succeed if it is brutally impartial and consistently enforced. The president must resist the all-too-familiar temptation to use accountability as a political weapon, sparing allies while punishing rivals. If the performance bond policy is to carry legitimacy, it must be applied across the board — ministers, managing directors, board chairs, and even presidential advisors must all be held to the same exacting standards. Otherwise, it risks becoming another theatrical gesture in the long history of Liberia’s unfulfilled reforms.
The early signals are mixed. While the president rightly recognized top-performing institutions such as the Liberia Agriculture Regulatory Authority and the Jackson F. Doe Memorial Regional Hospital, the conspicuous absence of major service agencies like the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), National Transit Authority (NTA), and the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC) speaks volumes. Their omission suggests systemic dysfunction — a dysfunction that directly affects the daily lives of ordinary Liberians.
Why is it that year after year, these crucial entities escape the public rebuke they so clearly deserve? Why the crumbling transportation systems in 2025? Are those entrusted with these agencies above scrutiny? The public deserves answers — and under the president’s new performance regime, we demand them.
To that end, Boakai must also go beyond threats of dismissal. Real reform means the public must be granted access to institutional scorecards, quarterly progress reports, and independent audits. It is not enough to say that targets were missed; the people must know how, why, and by whom. Transparency must not be a tool of ceremony but a constant mechanism of governance.
Furthermore, the president should empower an independent accountability task force — insulated from political influence — to track, verify, and publicize performance data. Without a watchdog with teeth, the bonds he so proudly announced could easily become symbolic paper promises.
We must also caution that performance cannot be measured solely in numerical outputs. A minister who bypasses procurement laws, or an agency that hits targets through inflated contracts, is not performing — they are deceiving. Metrics must be coupled with integrity.
President Boakai has taken a significant step. But walking the talk is where many of his predecessors stumbled. If he truly seeks to dismantle the “culture of complacency,” then he must be willing to make difficult decisions — including firing long-time allies, jailing corrupt appointees, and publicly calling out institutional rot.
Let this be the moment where slogans give way to systems, and politics to principles.
The Liberian people have waited too long for a government that works for them — not merely for its own comfort. If this policy is fully enforced, history may remember Joseph Boakai as the man who finally brought discipline to Liberia’s public sector. If not, it will be chalked up as yet another missed opportunity in a nation still desperate for functional leadership.
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