The 2025 Legislative Digest, released by Naymote Partners for Democratic Development, is a damning indictment of the 55th Legislature’s first year in office. The findings expose a chronic failure in governance, a disregard for transparency, and an alarming lack of legislative efficiency. If the lawmakers entrusted with shaping Liberia’s democratic future refuse to uphold the fundamental principles of accountability and oversight, what hope remains for a functional government?
Naymote’s report paints a troubling picture of a Legislature that has failed in its core responsibilities of lawmaking, representation, and oversight. Public access to legislators’ voting records is nonexistent, legislative transparency is abysmally low, and citizen engagement remains an afterthought. Worse still, the House of Representatives is embroiled in an internal leadership dispute that has paralyzed its ability to function effectively.
The struggle for power between Speaker Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa and Majority Bloc-elected Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon has transformed the House of Representatives into a battleground of political ego rather than a chamber of governance. This dispute has not only deepened divisions within the Legislature but has also compromised its ability to focus on issues that truly matter to the Liberian people. The longer this impasse persists, the more the country suffers from legislative inaction and instability.
The report’s findings on legislative productivity further highlight the depth of the crisis. While the House of Representatives convened 146 times and passed 32 legislative instruments, nearly half of these came from the Executive Branch. The Senate, despite holding 76 sessions, acted on just 29 instruments, most of which were routine ratifications rather than substantive legislative reforms. With 38 legislative proposals still languishing in committee rooms, one must ask: What exactly are our lawmakers prioritizing? The answer, it seems, is not governance.
Equally troubling is the Legislature’s failure to hold government institutions accountable. The report reveals that multiple ministries, agencies, and commissions have refused to submit performance reports, effectively dodging any form of legislative scrutiny. Without rigorous oversight, corruption thrives, inefficiency deepens, and public funds are mismanaged with impunity. Yet, rather than take decisive action to correct this trend, the Legislature remains silent, complicit in its own irrelevance.
Perhaps one of the most glaring failures is the absence of a functional digital platform for legislative proceedings. In an era where technology has revolutionized governance worldwide, Liberia’s lawmakers have deliberately kept legislative activities shrouded in secrecy. The failure to establish a public voting record system or publish committee reports denies citizens their constitutional right to information. How can the people hold their representatives accountable when they are kept in the dark about how decisions are made?
The gender imbalance within the Legislature is yet another disgraceful reminder of Liberia’s failure to ensure equitable governance. With only 11 women among 103 legislators, the country remains trapped in a cycle of male-dominated decision-making that excludes half of its population from meaningful political participation. Naymote’s call for policies that promote women’s leadership must not be ignored. Liberia cannot claim to be a true democracy while systematically sidelining women from legislative power.
The 2025 Legislative Digest is a wake-up call. Naymote has laid out clear and urgent recommendations to address these governance gaps. The Legislature must immediately implement a public voting record system, mandate performance reports from all government institutions, and create a digital platform that allows real-time public access to legislative activities. The ongoing leadership battle in the House of Representatives must be resolved swiftly to restore legislative stability. Furthermore, proactive measures must be taken to increase women’s representation in governance.
Liberia’s lawmakers cannot continue to operate in a vacuum, detached from the needs and expectations of the citizens they claim to serve. The path forward is clear: reform or be rendered obsolete. The people of Liberia will not tolerate a Legislature that prioritizes political squabbles over governance, secrecy over transparency, and inaction over accountability.
It is time for the 55th Legislature to confront its failings and rise to the challenge of true democratic leadership. Anything less is a betrayal of the nation.
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