-As Key to National Renewal at Chiefs and Governors’ Assembly
GBARNGA, Bong County – In a historic address to the National Assembly of Chiefs and Tribal Governors, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai declared a definitive end to the era of centralized governance, positioning decentralization as the cornerstone of his administration’s plan to rebuild Liberia and empower its people.
The gathering, held on November 20, 2025, in Gbarnga, brought together the nation’s highest leadership with its most foundational traditional authorities. President Boakai framed the event as a fulfillment of his inaugural promise to lead a “people-centered and inclusive government.”
“Governance works best when it grows from the ground up,” President Boakai stated. “Liberia can only be transformed if its people—especially those in the interior, who have historically been marginalized by an overly centralized state—are fully involved in the decision-making process.”
The President delivered a stark assessment of Liberia’s centralized past, calling it a system that has “led to exclusion, marginalization, elite capture, and discontent.” He described its legacy as one of “unequal growth—growth without development—and entrenched the predatory nature of the Liberian state.”
“Decentralization must not be a lofty policy phrase,” he asserted. “It must be and is the key to Liberia’s development.”
To turn this vision into reality, President Boakai revealed a concrete legislative priority: the establishment of a Ministry of Local Government.
