By Mulbah Morlu (Chairman, Solidarity and Trust for a New Day, STAND)
Five days after we issued a statement titled ‘Boakai’s Empty Promises to Cut Salaries of Officials Who Defied Asset Declaration’, the Executive Mansion announced that President Boakai has suspended, for one month without pay, all officials who ‘failed to declare their assets within the required timeframe.’ The statement then follows with a line that almost everyone knows to be false: ‘The President remains steadfast in his commitment to good governance, integrity, and the rule of law.’ This is a lie.
The reality proves otherwise.
First, President Boakai and his officials have shown zero respect for good governance, integrity, or the rule of law. In fact, Boakai has demonstrated the least respect for the rule of law among all past Liberian presidents; and he fought hard to do so in just one year!
Second, these hundreds of government officials did not merely ‘fail’ to declare their assets, as the government claims. They deliberately and defiantly refused to do so. There is a crucial distinction: failing suggests an attempt was made but was unsuccessful, while refusing is a calculated act of defiance. They openly defied the president. That’s the truth.
With this in mind, suspending these officials for just one month is a meaningless, symbolic gesture—a slap on the wrist that no serious person should take seriously. The public must not fall for this charade. Even if these officials now come forward to declare their assets, what purpose does it serve? The true purpose of asset declaration is to prevent corruption and abuse of power, not to provide a backdoor for looted wealth to appear legitimate.
This entire scheme appears well-orchestrated. These officials took full advantage of the president’s weakness, refusing to declare their assets for an entire year while apparently using that time to loot, hustle, and accumulate wealth from state resources—all while ordinary Liberians suffered and starved.
Now, after one year of unchecked corruption, they can suddenly declare their assets, conveniently including newly acquired homes, businesses, and bank accounts as if they had owned them all along!
The puppet masters and their surrogates acted shrewdly, deliberately refusing to declare their assets while exploiting the president’s weakness. They seemingly used the one-year window to amass wealth and siphon state resources as ordinary Liberians struggled to survive.
Now, they can conveniently declare newly acquired homes and assets from the past year as if they were legitimate properties. Frankly, the President’s puppeteers have been exceptionally generous to their fellow officials, granting them a full year to steal and enrich themselves—likely the reason their refusal to declare was tolerated, despite repeated deadlines passing without consequence.
Now, suspending them after a year of looting is nothing but a grand presidential scam. It’s a farce, one I wouldn’t have expected Boakai to pull off unless, of course, it is the work of the puppeteers controlling Liberia’s puppet presidency.
We should not be surprised that, after a year of questionable wealth accumulation, these officials will now rush to declare their assets. But the public must not be fooled.
That said, let’s watch closely what these 400+ officials list in their declarations. It will be interesting because these people are not from another planet. We know them.
Anyway, the Puppet President’s decline continues as his puppeteers tighten their grip.
Regardless, It’s time for the people to demand comprehensive audits, not mere empty declarations.
Assets Declaration or Asset Legitimization? A Presidential Scam Unfolds-
Food for thought.
