By Festus Poquie and E.J. Nathaniel Daygbor
In a bombshell exclusive interview with Oracle News Daily, former Foreign Minister and seasoned statesman Gbehnzohngar Milton Findley did not mince words in his evaluation of President Joseph Boakai’s performance in the first 100 days of his administration.
Findley, who also served as President Pro Tempore in the Liberian Senate, pulled no punches, rating Boakai’s initial deliverables at a resounding “zero.” He stated bluntly, “All of the areas targeted for the 100 days fell short. All the commitments, all messages, and all promises that came forth did not happen.”
Drawing on his vast experience in diplomacy and public service, Findley wondered aloud about the quality of advice being provided to the new president.
“I wondered who advised the president in that kind of form. I am an engineer so I know it takes some time on road construction or maintenance. Whoever advised the president on that should have known that it was impossible.”
His critique is in reference to the President’s promise to make Liberia Road network pliable in his first 100 days in office.
Liberia has a total area of 111,370 km² and a road system with a total length of 10,600 km. Of these, only 657 km are paved while 9,943 km are unpaved.
Comparing Boakai’s start to that of former President George Weah, Findley noted that within 100 days, Weah had already attended regional and continental summits, engaged in bilateral talks, and initiated conversations with the private sector – all of which Boakai had failed to accomplish.
Findley was particularly critical of the government’s handling of revenue generation, an area he oversees as head of the Senate’s Subcommittee on Revenue.
“The problem is those responsible for revenue are not collecting the revenue. It is an administrative problem,” he said, pledging to demand accountability and strengthen laws to boost domestic resources.
The veteran lawmaker did not hold back, declaring that Liberia’s current $700 million budget is “insufficient” and that the country should be aiming for a budget of over $1 billion to adequately address pressing needs in education, health, infrastructure, and more.
Findley’s scathing assessment of Boakai’s initial performance sets the stage for heightened scrutiny and heightened expectations as the new administration navigates the complex challenges facing the country. With Findley’s vast experience and influential position, his words are sure to reverberate among policymakers and the public alike.
The Interview:
Roles as Foreign Minister and President Pro Tempore
I was in the Senate from 2006 to 2014 that was under the leadership of President Sirleaf and I took a break for the private sector. Those were different terms and different situations at the time. We had just come from a fractured country, shattered economy, the national budget was like S$80 million United States dollars and I left it at $400 million. I returned to government in 2018 as Foreign Minister and served in that capacity for two and half years. I was basically a messenger for the government and the president to our counterparts. Life was interesting because it was quite different.
The Liberian economy was going down. We had just come from Ebola. Before I left office COVID-19 came in.
My role as Foreign Minister was basically advocating for grants, loans, and aid for our government. Most times, people think is the minister of finance but is a combination of efforts to bring relief to Liberia.
There are lots of important works that are done but not recognized because the president is the chief foreign policy driver. We were able to establish relationships, which provided scholarships, grants, improvement in education. These are some of the things we did.
National Budget and the Economy
The $700 million plus budget is insufficient for the country. The last few years we have had better economic growth, our revenue is not responding to the economic growth of the country. So something is wrong somewhere. We are watching to see and we will be very aggressive on the revenue front as head of the senate’s Sub-Committee on Revenue.
Revenue is essential to the programs and projects of the government. Whether I like it or not, my role is to help in any way to generate revenue.
The problem is those responsible for revenue are not collecting the revenue. It is an administrative problem.
I will ask the necessary questions, recommend laws to strengthen the revenue and make those responsible accountable. For example: people will tell you that State Owned Enterprise will not contribute to the budget. I will demand them. They have money in their accounts. We will instruct them with authority and collect the money.
On the revenue side of the budget, is it not the president to decide or the Executive to decide. Instead, it is for the legislature to decide. We are struggling with a $700 million budget, schools with no benches, the environment is not conducive, health sector, no drugs in our clinic and hospitals, there are volunteer teachers and health workers, our roads are bad, and the $700 million budget just can’t do it.
I think we should be looking at a billion or plus dollars budget in the near future. I always tell people in 1978, Willie Tolbert (former President William R. Tolbert) had a budget of US$800 million. Go do your research and I believe where we are going now we need genuine revenue.
There are a lot of areas we can look into and raise money. There are a lot of natural resources that can raise the necessary revenue and there are laws that tell the government to collect the money.
Boakai’s 100 Days Deliverables:
All of the areas targeted for the 100 days fell short. All the commitments, all messages, and all promises that came forth did not happen.
The 100 days deliverables, the government failed-zero. I wondered who advised the president in that kind of form. I am an engineer so I know it takes some time on road construction or maintenance. Whoever advised the president on that should have known that it was impossible. They should have said, we will do ten kilometers for the 100 days. For example, from here to the southeast cars are struck on the roads. And it is just impossible to assume you make all roads pliable within 100 days. Agriculture nothing, education and health nothing.
The president needs to look at some of his advisors around him and let the advisors around understand when they advised it should be solid advice.
Comparing Weah and Boakai on 100 Days Deliverables
Comparing the Weah’s 100 days to President Boakai’s 100 days, I will speak to the sector I was responsible for. Within 100 days he attended the ECOWAS Summit. He also attended the African Union Summit where some favorable results came for the country and he made statements. Foreign relations start to bring bilateral talks. We had started at the time the private sector talks. Boakai none!
