Officials aligned with Liberia’s ruling Unity Party are seeking signed receipts from people who receive financial assistance, saying the records will counter accusations that government figures are unwilling to help their communities.
Mohammed Ali, a former secretary-general of the Unity Party, said in a Facebook post Wednesday that recipients of assistance would be asked to sign receipts that could later be published as evidence of support.
“The narrative that we are ‘mean’ cannot simply be dismissed with a quick fix,” Ali wrote.
“From now on, anyone who seeks our help or assistance will sign a receipt, which we will publicly share as proof of the support we’ve provided.”
Ali said the measure would promote transparency and rebut what he called false claims by critics that officials don’t give back to their constituents.
The push for documentation comes as Liberia’s rising cost of living and limited income opportunities put pressure on households.
Government officials say the economy is expanding by 5.4% and inflation remains below 7%, but many families continue to struggle with food costs, unemployment and inadequate access to basic services.
Patrick Honnah, a commissioner at the Liberia Telecommunications Authority, has also publicized his charitable activities on Facebook.
He said he helped fund improvements to a town hall and road in Paynesville’s GSA neighborhood provided $1,000 to the Zinnah Hill community and contributed $500 each for community streetlights and a local football league.
“We do not have the capacity to please everyone,” Hannah wrote. “Someone must be there to spoil your name too.”
The initiative drew criticism from opposition supporters. Moriah Yeakula, a regime critic, said politicians should be held to the same standard when they seek votes.
“When they come beg y’all for votes in 2029, y’all make them sign receipts too,” Yeakula wrote on Facebook. “Create sustainable jobs and an enabling environment for Liberians to thrive and they won’t ask you for help.”
Liberia’s economic growth has yet to translate into broad-based improvements in household welfare, according to recent assessments.
A World Bank survey released in March said the country’s private sector faces slower growth, weak innovation and constraints related to infrastructure and access to financing.
Agriculture accounted for about 33.8% of gross domestic product in 2024 and remains the main source of livelihood for most households.
About 87% of workers are engaged in smallholder farming or unregistered microenterprises, while roughly 14.8% of Liberians aged 15 to 24 are neither in education, employment nor training, according to the Bank’s report.
The US-based Robert Lansing Institute said in August that the Boakai administration could lose the 2029 election to former President George Weah if it fails to turn macroeconomic growth into visible gains in jobs, infrastructure and household incomes.
