Washington DC-President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has knowledgeable Liberians that branding Liberia and reworking the society can’t be executed by authorities alone.
The Liberian chief famous that this requires the lively, sustained and intentional involvement of Liberians within the Diaspora. He known as on them to place their cash the place their mouths are by investing in their very own nation.
Talking on the two-day Diaspora Annual Convention 2025 in the USA held beneath the theme, “Construct the Future Collectively: Reconciliation, Nationwide Therapeutic, Progress and Prosperity, President Boakai assured Liberians within the Diaspora that them is not going to be handled as observers however as full stakeholders within the rebuilding means of the nation.
President Boakai handle the Diaspora Convention
The convention introduced collectively Liberians from the USA, Europe, Australia and Canada.
He urged Liberians overseas to maneuver from sentiment to motion, encouraging them to contribute capital, share expertise, and collaborate together with his authorities on a reform agenda aimed toward rebuilding establishments, decentralizing energy, and increasing alternatives after years of stagnation.
“We could construct infrastructure and superstructures, however with out true reconciliation and therapeutic, all these will come crashing down,” he mentioned. He requested Liberians overseas to “lend their voices to reconciliation and nationwide therapeutic. Lots of our fellow Liberians have carried their ache in silence with little area for dialogue or closure,” President Boakai famous.
The president tied governance reform to financial inclusion, arguing that Liberia’s lengthy reliance on extractive concessions “supported progress with out growth” as a result of income weren’t reinvested in well being, training, roads and jobs.
“We should exchange progress with growth, progress that delivers growth,” Boakai mentioned. He promised to “rethink the concession regime,” promote native possession and increase agriculture, the place “the vast majority of our folks, particularly girls and youth, will be engaged.”
Delegates on the Diaspora Liberians convention
Boakai mentioned his administration “inherited a rustic dealing with much more issues than we might resolve in a single day”, from a faltering economic system to weakened rule of regulation, however insisted early steps are taking maintain. He pointed to a brand new efficiency administration and compliance system for ministries and companies, anti-corruption efforts, and a push to align budgets and repair supply together with his ARREST agenda, which prioritizes agriculture, roads, rule of regulation, training, sanitation and tourism.
The Liberian President reminded delegates on the convention that, good governance requires accountability, transparency and respect for the need of the folks including that coming constitutional reforms will pursue decentralization and stronger native authorities. He added, “Our economic system should be inclusive and work for everybody.”
Serving as Keynote Speaker, the previous Overseas Minister of Rwanda and ex-ambassador to Japan, Professor Charles Murigande, supplied a blunt roadmap from post-conflict restoration to nationwide renewal, drawing on Rwanda’s expertise after the 1994 genocide.
He knowledgeable the convention that when a nation builds its politics on division, discrimination and exclusion, the consequence isn’t just inequality. “It could escalate into catastrophic violence,” Murigande mentioned.
He mentioned Rwanda’s restoration flowed from three deliberate selections including, “We selected to remain collectively” beneath a authorities of nationwide unity that punished revenge killings; “we selected accountable and clear governance” that decentralized energy and fought corruption; and “we selected to suppose huge,” investing in well being, training, expertise and infrastructure beneath long-term nationwide visions.
He famous, “Liberia wants you now. He shared how he left a snug analysis put up overseas to return residence on a fraction of the pay. “If Rwanda might rise from genocide to international respect, absolutely Liberia-with its proud historical past, wealthy sources, resilient folks and vibrant diaspora-can construct a way forward for unity, justice and prosperity.”
All through this system, diaspora leaders pressed for sensible fixes that will make engagement simpler: the opening of consulates to serve rising Liberian communities in Australia and throughout Nordic Europe, quicker entry to passports and civil paperwork in Canada and Europe, and streamlined funding channels.
