Former 2023 presidential candidate Dr. Clarence K. Moniba is calling on President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to immediately recall the draft 2026 national budget and introduce sweeping reforms that would drastically reduce the size of government and raise civil servants' minimum take-home pay to US$500.
Dr. Moniba says the fiscal space already exists if President Boakai demonstrates "the political will" to downsize what he describes as a bloated, wasteful, and unsustainable government structure.
He stated that Liberia does not need 104 ministries, agencies, and commissions, insisting that cutting government to no more than 50 institutions would free between US$300 million and US$400 million currently being spent on goods, services, and administrative overhead.
"Mr. President, the transformation of the lives of our people requires you as the leader to think of tomorrow," Moniba said in a strong statement issued over the weekend.
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He added that it is unacceptable that in 2025, more than 40,000 civil servants still earn below US$200.
According to him, this violates the democratic principle of a government for the people and instead reflects a system where political appointees and lawmakers "eat first, second, and third while civil servants and citizens suffer."
Moniba stressed that Liberia's democratic foundation should never be one where the government survives on the sweat and blood of ordinary people in order to maintain inflated salaries for high-ranking officials.
He warned that hospitals remain without medicines, schools continue to lack essential materials, and communities suffer limited public services partly because too much of the national budget goes toward maintaining an oversized government.
He pointed to the 2026 draft budget as evidence of the imbalance. Out of the US$1.2 billion draft budget, he noted that US$929.6 million is tied to recurrent expenditure alone. Nearly US$200 million goes toward goods and services across 104 institutions, while employee compensation totals US$329 million.
He emphasized that the compensation structure is heavily skewed, with 70 percent of it going to high-ranking ministers, deputies, commissioners, heads of agencies, and advisers, while more than 60 percent of civil servants earn less than US$200 per month.
"So, I again speak directly to President Boakai: when government operations consume so much of the national budget, the government is simply too big to succeed," he said.
Dr. Moniba outlined major structural reforms he believes are critical to repositioning the Liberian economy. One of his key proposals is the creation of a Ministry of Natural Resources that would merge the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the National Oil Company, the Forestry Development Authority, and the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
He says such a merger would eliminate overlapping functions, improve oversight, and save between US$40 million and US$50 million annually.
He also recommends transforming the Ministry of Agriculture into a Ministry of Food Security that would consolidate agencies such as CARI, the Produce Marketing Corporation, the Fisheries Authority, the Cooperative Development Agency, national seed programs, and food safety units.
According to him, this reorganization would significantly strengthen agricultural production, promote value addition, reduce food imports, and help Liberia feed itself.
Another major recommendation is the complete abolition of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Moniba proposes that its local government functions be transferred to a newly established Commission on Local Government, which would focus solely on implementing the Local Government Act and bringing decision-making power closer to counties and districts.
He further suggested dissolving the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications as well as the Liberia Telecommunications Corporation and replacing them with a National Digital Service Commission responsible for cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and a unified e-government platform.
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According to Moniba, such a body would eliminate fragmentation and modernize government service delivery. "These are just three of many examples of cost-cutting measures that could change the fate of our nation," he said.
Moniba concluded by stressing that Liberia cannot make progress unless the government restructures itself into an efficient, affordable, and accountable system. He said a smaller government will free millions for higher civil servant wages, better healthcare, stronger education, improved infrastructure, and greater social impact.
"No government can succeed when it consumes the very resources meant for its own people. Reduce the size, raise the wages, and Liberia will be allowed to move forward," he said.
