Published: April 17, 2026
MONROVIA — Liberia’s county service centers are forcing citizens to travel to Monrovia for routine government documents because local officials lack the authority to process them, the head of a prominent democracy watchdog said Thursday, demanding immediate reforms to the country’s stalled decentralization program.
Eddie D. Jarwolo, executive director of Naymote, said structural failures in implementing the Local Government Act of 2018 have effectively reversed the purpose of the centers, funneling basic administrative work back to the capital and leaving citizens in outlying counties frustrated and underserved.
“County Service Centers across the country are facing significant challenges in delivering efficient and high-quality services,” Jarwolo said, citing limited institutional support and the absence of authorized signing authority at the local level as root causes.
The bottleneck is compounding a broader erosion of public confidence in the government’s decentralization agenda, he said, with key provisions of the 2018 law yet to produce measurable results at the county level.
Jarwolo also called out a recent hike in the cost of traditional marriage certificates, from $50 to $105, as emblematic of a policymaking culture that bypasses the people it affects.
“The recent increase was implemented without consultation with County Service Center officers or awareness to the public,” he said, warning the move has already sparked dissatisfaction among service workers and citizens in multiple counties.
He is calling for decentralized decision-making authority, stronger institutional support structures and mandatory stakeholder engagement before policy changes affecting local services are rolled out.
“There is an urgent need for decentralized decision-making, improved support systems, and inclusive stakeholder engagement,” Jarwolo said.
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