-Slams “Elite” Recovery In Pres. Boakai’s SONA
By: Sampat JMB Kpakimah
The Alternative National Congress-ANC Political Leader Alexander B. Cummings has warned that Liberia’s much-publicized economic recovery means little if women and young people the country’s largest and most vulnerable population remain excluded, unsafe, and unemployed.
Responding to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s 2026 State of the Nation Address- SONA on Tuesday at their headquarters in Congo Town, Cummings said national progress cannot be claimed while market women struggle to access credit, young graduates roam the streets jobless, and communities remain plagued by sexual and gender-based violence.
“Recovery is meaningless if it does not reach women and youth,” Cummings declared, describing them as the backbone of Liberia’s economy and the key to its future. The ANC Standard Bearer highlighted the central role of Liberian women, noting that they own more than 55 percent of small businesses nationwide. Despite this contribution, he said women especially market women are systematically excluded from bank loans and formal financial systems.
According to Cummings, while the government boasts of macroeconomic stability, women who power the informal economy face daily struggles without access to affordable credit, business protection, or social safety nets. He proposed a National Micro-Loan and Credit Guarantee Scheme specifically designed for market women and small Liberian-owned businesses, arguing that empowering women economically would grow Liberia “from the bottom up.”
“When women have access to capital, families eat, children go to school, and communities stabilize,” he said. Cummings warned that women’s insecurity remains a national crisis. He criticized what he described as weak responses to rape and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), stating that justice for victims is often delayed or denied.
“We cannot speak of ‘Women First’ while our daughters live in fear,” Cummings said, calling for urgent reforms to strengthen the judiciary and fast-track SGBV cases. He stressed that a nation incapable of protecting its women and girls cannot credibly claim to be on a path to recovery. Emphasising youth empowerment, Cummings rejected narratives that label young people as lazy, arguing instead that they are blocked by a lack of opportunity.
He criticized temporary job initiatives that offer short-term relief but no long-term career pathways, describing them as inadequate for a generation seeking stability and purpose. Cummings proposed a National Youth Service Program that would deploy graduates as assistant teachers, health workers, and community development aides, providing them with salaries, training, and work experience.
“Our youth do not want hustle; they want careers,” he said. Cummings also called for a nationwide expansion of technical and vocational education and training-TVET, urging county-by-county apprenticeships that would equip young Liberians with practical skills to build roads, power systems, and public infrastructure.
He argued that without a skilled workforce, Liberia would continue to rely on foreign labor while its young people remain unemployed. The ANC political leader further emphasized that decentralization must deliver real benefits to women and youth in rural counties, where poverty and unemployment are most severe.
He called for predictable development financing for counties and stronger county service centers to ensure that women entrepreneurs and young people can access permits, licenses, and public services without traveling to Monrovia.
Cummings warns that failure to invest in women and youth threatens Liberia’s long-term stability, noting that frustration among young people and persistent insecurity for women undermine national development.
“Any recovery that sidelines women and youth is not recovery. It is postponing a crisis,” he said.
At the same time, Cummings said his People’s Alternative offers a clear break from elite-driven governance, placing women’s safety, youth employment, and inclusive economic empowerment at the center of national policy. He praised the resilience of market women who rise before dawn and young people who study by candlelight, describing them as Liberia’s greatest asset. “Liberia’s future will not be saved by speeches or statistics,” Cummings said. “It will be saved by investing in women and giving our youth a real chance.”
