Published: September 14, 2026
MONROVIA — Liberia National Union leader Clarence K. Moniba has challenged lawmakers to cut their pay in half to fund youth training and loans for market women, accusing the ruling Unity Party and opposition Congress for Democratic Change of putting officials’ benefits ahead of public services.
Speaking in a podcast, the 2023 presidential candidate said politicians should be judged by how they spend public money and improve citizens’ lives, rather than by the cash they give individuals for funerals, medical bills and other personal needs.
“If the Legislature was not mean, they would be willing to cut their pay in half so that government could train our young people in computer and business skills and be able to provide more loans to market women,” he said.
Moniba was responding to a public debate over whether Unity Party officials were “mean” to their supporters. He said both the governing party and the CDC bore responsibility for spending priorities that left citizens dependent on personal assistance from politicians.
“Honestly, it is a shame for the two of them to be having this conversation because both of them are guilty,” he said.
He criticized spending on government vehicles, travel, allowances, entertainment, salaries and benefits while hospitals, schools and roads remained inadequate.
“Look at our country. Look at our hospitals. Look at the University of Liberia, which is in such bad shape. Our roads are terrible,” Moniba said. “Look at the limited opportunities available to our young people. Then look at how much government spends on itself every year.”
He also challenged the executive branch to change its budget priorities, saying it continued to propose spending plans that favored government operations over essential services.
“If the executive branch was not mean, they would not keep proposing budgets in which government spends so much on itself while hospitals have no drugs and government schools have no indoor toilets,” he said.
Moniba argued that personal generosity should not be confused with effective leadership. An official’s decision to help a family with medical expenses, he said, did not resolve the weaknesses that forced citizens to seek that help.
“A government minister giving money to a school teacher when their family member is sick does not make that minister a good leader,” he said.
“We have confused small, small giving with leadership. We have lowered our standards for what a leader is supposed to be.”
He described the resulting dependence as a “please help me economy,” in which citizens rely on politicians for immediate assistance rather than on functioning public institutions and opportunities to earn a living.
Moniba said officials should demonstrate their contribution through better services and economic opportunities, rather than publicize individual acts of charity.
“So, for all those talking about showing receipts, keep it to yourselves and show us how our young people can develop the skills they need to earn a living,” he said. “That is transformational leadership and that is why you are in government.”
He rejected the suggestion that the CDC could claim a better record simply because it was now in opposition.
“UP, CDC, both have been and continue to be mean to the people of Liberia,” Moniba said.
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