Published: February 9, 2026
CAPITOL HILL, Monrovia — Youth and Sports Minister-designate Atty. Cornelia W. Kruah has proposed a major restructuring of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, including separating youth and sports into distinct entities, as she laid out a sweeping vision aimed at creating clear pathways for young Liberians from education to employment, innovation, and productive citizenship.
Appearing before the Senate Youth and Sports Committee on Monday, February 9, Kruah said the proposed separation would allow youth development to take center stage while positioning sports as an independent system for national unity, talent development, and economic opportunity.
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Kruah told senators her vision is anchored on PATHWAYS, a framework designed to ensure every young person can move from learning to livelihood and from potential to agency.
“My vision is simple—a Liberia where government systems enable every young person to access a clear pathway from aspiration to opportunity,” she said.
She identified governance and systems alignment as the foundation of the reform, under which the proposed disaggregation of the ministry falls, followed by architecture and ecosystems to coordinate youth development across government while restructuring sports into a formal development system.
Kruah stressed that youth development must no longer be treated as a supporting function but as the central mandate of government, warning that Liberia’s demographic reality makes the issue urgent.
“With nearly 75 percent of our population under 35, youth development is not only a social issue—it is an economic, governance, and national survival necessity,” she said.
She proposed a Youth Outcome Compact linking key ministries and agencies to align policies, programs, and outcomes for young people nationwide.
Criticizing fragmented interventions, Kruah said Liberia must move from isolated programs to coordinated systems that deliver results.
She pointed to challenges in technical and vocational education and training (TVET), internships, apprenticeships, and digital skills programs, calling for reforms that ensure real completion and employment outcomes.
“At a 50 percent completion rate, we must ask why young people enter these programs and do not finish,” she said.
On sports, Kruah said it must evolve beyond events into a structured pipeline for talent development, national pride, and economic growth.
She said the National County Sports Meet should serve as a tool for reconciliation and talent discovery, while youth civic engagement should be revived through a modern National Service Program that builds skills and citizenship.
Addressing public commentary about her nomination, Kruah said she welcomes scrutiny but urged lawmakers to judge her by performance and results.
“I ask not to be judged by my age or appearance, but by my ideas, decisions, and results,” she said, noting that discipline and competence—not privilege—earned her nomination.
If confirmed, Kruah said she will build on the National Youth Policy and Strategic Plan developed under former minister Cllr. Jeror Cole Bangalu, while pushing for a review of the 1982 law establishing the ministry to reflect modern realities.
“Our challenge is not a lack of youth potential,” she said. “It is the absence of pathways.”
Concluding, Kruah said Liberia must deliberately break cycles of unemployment and instability by building systems that empower young people as productive and ethical citizens.
“This moment demands a ministry that prevents young people from inheriting the past or repeating the present,” she said.
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