There is one truth in Liberia that needs no debate, no political rally, and no party manifesto to prove, it is written on the faces of market women, in the empty pockets of taxi drivers, and in the weary eyes of parents who go to bed wondering how to feed their children tomorrow. The “hard time” is not just here, it is everywhere. It is not whispering; it is screaming.
When this government took over, many believed the change would bring relief. We hoped for better days. But two years in, the reality is cruel; life has grown harder, not softer. Even President Joseph Boakai admitted it, saying plainly, “Things are hard,” and called on the nation to fast and pray.
Faith is important, without it, a people lose hope. But we must also be honest: God did not design this suffering. As a kehkeh rider told Truth In Ink, “God can send manna, but this hard time? This one is man-made by our leaders.”
Go to the market and you will see it. A cup of rice costs nearly twice what it did last year. Cooking oil feels like buying gold. Transport fares are swallowing the day’s earnings before families even make it home. Inflation keeps eating at the little money people struggle to find. The miracle now is not abundance, it’s survival. Some families celebrate if they can find food for just one meal a day.
A University of Liberia student we spoke to shake his head in frustration: “We read about economic theory in class, but when I leave campus, theory disappears. I’m just thinking about how to get bread and transport money for tomorrow.”
In the countryside, a farmer from Lofa summed it up plainly: “We can grow food, but the tools and fertilizer are too expensive. Government talks about farming, but they don’t walk the road with us.”
Even from within the system, a mid-level government worker admitted to Truth In Ink, “Our salaries come late, and when they come, prices have already gone up again. By the end of the month, we are borrowing to survive.”
And from the lecture hall, a Liberian professor offered this warning, “Economic hardship is not just about hunger, it erodes national stability. When educated young people see no future, the nation is in trouble.”
The government’s duty is not to call on God to feed the nation while leaving the policy table empty. Poverty in Liberia is not a mystery, it is the result of years of economic mismanagement, policy inaction, and priorities that do not match the people’s needs.
This is why Truth In Ink is calling for immediate and decisive action:
- A National Cost-of-Living Relief Plan – Suspend import tariffs on essential goods like rice, fuel, and medicines for at least six months to give households breathing space.
- Rural and Urban Food Security Program – Support small farmers and cooperatives with tools, seeds, and direct subsidies to increase local food production.
- Accountability in Public Spending – Cut wasteful political projects and redirect those funds to welfare programs for struggling families.
Prayer without action is like planting without watering, it will not bring a harvest. If leadership does not rise to meet this moment, the “hard time” will grow into more than an economic crisis, it will become a political one. And when that day comes, history will not be kind to those who stood by while the people went hungry.
Truth In Ink stands with the people of Liberia. Because when leaders sleep, it is the people who stay awake at night, not in comfort, but in hunger.
