Amid the ongoing celebrations by supporters of the ruling Unity Party about gains made in a period of less than two years, Simeon Freeman, political leader of the opposition Movement for Progressive says nothing has changed so far for the betterment of the lives of the Liberia people under the Presidency of Joseph Nyumah Boakai.
Freeman launched the scathing criticism of President Booakai’s administration, asserting that after nearly two years in power and the expenditure of more than $1.5 billion, Liberia remains mired in poor governance, economic stagnation, and institutional decay.
In a strongly worded Facebook post on Friday, Freeman said the Boakai administration has failed to deliver meaningful progress across key sectors, arguing that the government’s actions reflect “pretense and deception embodied in a president.” “This is what we mean when we say nothing has changed,” Freeman wrote, before listing what he called glaring failures under the current administration.
Freeman alleged that Liberia’s education system is collapsing, with “high school dropouts dominating the high school teaching field” and an overall lack of infrastructure improvement. He lamented that teachers with minimal qualifications are instructing students at levels beyond their own academic standing, describing it as a symptom of systemic neglect.
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On health, the opposition leader pointed to the country’s doctor-to-patient ratio–one physician for every 5,000 Liberians as a sign of a broken system. He accused the government of failing to align its health delivery plan with available funding sources, leaving health facilities underfunded and under-equipped.
According to World Bank’s recent reports, Liberia has a doctor-to-patient ratio of approximately 1:15,000, which is far below the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended ratio of 1:1,000. While there are differing figures for the number of doctors, one source states there are just 298 doctors for a population of more than 5 million.
Freeman also criticized Liberia’s continued dependence on imported rice, describing the situation as “heavily dominated by foreigners” and detrimental to local farmers. “No self-sufficiency framework exists,” he said, adding that the importation policy “hurts local farmers and jobs.”
Turning to the power sector, Freeman accused the administration of celebrating dependency on imported electricity instead of investing in domestic generation capacity. “No nation celebrates dependence on imported power unless dummies lead that nation,” he said bluntly. He further condemned the government’s economic management, alleging that the private sector remains “ignored and exploited for tax purposes only,” while most contracts are awarded to foreign companies.
According to Freeman, the high lending rate of about 20% “kills local businesses,” leaving the government as the “largest and only job creation sector.”
The MPC leader also attacked the president’s foreign travel expenses, suggesting that Boakai spends “millions on foreign travel for photo opportunities” instead of investing in infrastructure and economic growth at home.
Freeman accused the administration of misplaced priorities in addressing the drug epidemic, claiming that Boakai “spends $10 million to protect himself but only $3.4 million to fight drugs annually.” He mocked the recent donation of 15 pickups to the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), saying it was presented “as though it’s a significant step to fighting illegal drug use.”
Freeman went further to question the president’s personal integrity, alleging that Boakai “built a $10 million estate in Foya just two years into his presidency,” calling it “the height of deception” while ordinary civil servants continue to suffer under “harmonized salaries.” “The list is endless,” Freeman concluded, promising to “expose more on the pretense and deception embodied in a president.”
President Boakai and the Executive Mansion have not yet responded publicly to Freeman’s allegations. Freeman, a longtime critic of successive Liberian administrations, has frequently used social media to voice his opposition to government policies and to call for greater accountability and reforms in governance.
