She bent over the desk, glued to her phone on a call that lasted more or less ten minutes. As the newly minted Minister of Youth and Sports, Atty. Cornelia W. Kruah giggles between calls and meetings, all geared towards improving the lives and well-being of Liberian youth who are below the age of 35.
Herself, a 35-year-old mother of a soon-to-be 16-year-old son, has barely spent a month in this role. She was nominated for this post by President Joseph Boakai in January and confirmed in February, succeeding Cllr. J. Cole Bangalu.
"If you speak to young people involved in sports, they will tell you there is an issue of empowerment and capacity development. If you speak to young people involved in academia, they will tell you the same thing--their challenges," she said during an interview in her office at the Samuel K. Doe Sports Stadium in Paynesville.
Despite constituting nearly half of the Liberian workforce, Liberian youth are exposed to high unemployment, underemployment, and vulnerable employment rates.
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Atty. Kruah, who worked as a program assistant at the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs in the President's Delivery Unit under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, now has a task to address increasing youth in the workforce and these concerns raised by young people.
And the one way she intends to solve this is via partnerships and collaborations with government ministries, agencies, and public and private organizations.
"I believe that the Ministry of Youth and Sport should serve as the liaison between all of the different ministries and agencies in government dealing with youth issues," said Atty. Kruah.
An analytical report of the 2022 Liberia Housing and Population Census on Children, Youth, and Adolescents stated that young people make up about 74 percent of the total population of Liberia.
"If you decide to talk about environmental protection as livelihood for young people, then the Ministry of Youth and Sports should be the one that connects all of these different ministries and agencies around the youth agenda to ensure that there is not just a clear agenda but the limited resources that we have are invested to avoid duplication, to avoid waste, and to ensure that we maximize all of our individuals' talents and capacities as government agencies to achieve this one goal that is highlighted in the AAAID."
Atty. Kruah said she intends to transform the Ministry into a hub that gives people easy access to data on young people. A specialized research team will be established to collect these data.
This data collection will not only focus on Monrovia. The minister says all 15 counties in Liberia will be visited as part of a decentralization effort and to advance her involvement with youth.
Beyond the data and decentralization, she intends to leverage the National Youth Policy and Action Plan-2025-2029, the National Action Plan on Youth, Peace, and Security-2025-2030, and the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), a national development plan launched on January 15, 2025, by President Boakai, which aims to transform the economy, enhance human capital, and promote sustainable development through pillars like infrastructure, governance, and agricultural productivity.
Currently, the youthful Minister serves as the National Vice Chair for Inter-Party Relations and Assistant Secretary General for Press and Publicity in the Unity Party, a political party she has been supporting since 2005. Before her current role, Atty. Kruah worked at the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs as deputy minister for administration.
Liberian youth often face hurdles to access the job market; experts believe improving and working on Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) can help to lessen this burden and create spaces for youth to gain access into the labor market. Developmental partners, including the Swedish embassy, have also taken steps to support TVET institutions in Liberia, including Booker Washington Institute and Voinjama Multilateral High School.
Atty. Kruah highlighted that she believes the Monrovia Vocational Training Center (MVTC) and other vocational schools offer a lot of prospects and opportunities for young people but would need massive funding to be sustainable. "We have a study that shows that we are only able to retain 50 percent of those who enroll on average, which we feel is low."
According to her, one of the reasons for the low retention is the inability of students to pay for their materials for practical (theory), so after registration, they are excited for the first one or two months they can afford, and by the time they can't afford them, they drop out of the programs.
"We also discovered the issue of transportation. Some of them who can afford to pay for materials are not able to transport themselves on a daily basis, and the way the circles are run, by the time you have missed two to three circles, your friends have gone ahead, and most times they tend to drop because you have missed so much because you didn't have money to come to school."
A comprehensive labor survey is underway to discover job demand for youth to help the ministry tailor its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to the labor demands. This will be backed by the integration of the cadets' programs.
"We also want to integrate our cadets and vocational job programs, the TVET component, the same way we place those who do accounting, management, and biology to private and public institutions to serve there as interns or apprentices for three or six months. We want to be able to do the same for vocational students they should be able to go to some of the concession companies or some of the private entities who need people doing these particular vocations to serve or be a cadet program to get absorb as we have been seeing in the past with other cadets so those are some of the things that we want to do with the NVTC."
The minister wants to remove the stigma that vocational school is a "lesser" path by ensuring a job at the end.
"We have to make the TVET sector more attractive and appealing. A young person needs to know that if they go to the MVTC to learn heavy-duty mechanics, they are certain to find a job.
In a significant policy shift, the minister wants to give plumbers and electricians the same internship opportunities as accountants.
The minister said she is shifting the narrative from "addict" to "agripreneur" by using specialized training centers.
"For this graduating class, our focus is moving toward the agricultural sector. We have a dedicated TVET center in Bentol, Montserrado County, and in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, we are launching a massive cassava farming initiative. These rehabilitated youth won't just learn to plant; they will be taught the entire value chain--from growing to processing cassava into products like gari and fufu for local consumption and potential export."
In a major policy shift, the minister aims to make rehabilitation affordable for average families by providing subsidies to private organizations, thereby helping toreduce the cost of rehabilitation.
"So that more families can send their children to these private entities, so you don't have to wait for the government to take a circle."
Politics is not safe for women.
Atty. Kruah began her career in 2011 as the Youth Program Officer at the Angie Brooks International Centre for Women's Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace, and Security (ABIC). There, she played a key role in programs such as the Women's Situation Room (WSR) and the UN High-Level Panel in Monrovia.
In 2017, she founded the Young Women's Empowerment Network (YOWENET), an organization focused on building a network of women excelling in various fields, with a particular emphasis on empowering women to enter politics. Her passion for public service inspired her to run for representative of District 13, Montserrado County, in the 2018 bi-election, where she placed third out of 11 candidates. She ran again in the 2023 elections, where she secured second place, underscoring her growing influence in Liberia's political landscape. She lost both elections.
"Politics is not safe for women generally because that is not the default space for women in Africa in the world, women are not known; society does not easily accept women as politicians. They will easily accept you as a mother, as a wife, as a caregiver, which will lead them more to seeing women as their nurses and teachers than politicians, which is considered like a boys' club."
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Minister Kruah's message to Liberian women is one of unapologetic authenticity. She believes a woman's power lies in her refusal to shrink herself.
"There is something uniquely special about the Liberian woman, and we must embrace it. My message for International Women's Day is simple: Never dim your light or shrink yourself to fit into society's narrow boxes. Once you accept yourself--accepting that you are feminine and that you don't have to act like a man to command a room--you begin to project your true potential. You can be feminine and still be an extraordinary leader."
The Minister advocates for a balanced approach to ambition, using a personal parable to emphasize the importance of mental well-being.
"I often use a parable: 'When we fall, we will rest.' It's a reminder that while you should be serious about your dreams and aspirations, you must also find time to relax and be yourself. To the young girls of Liberia: prioritize making your mark on the world, but don't try to outgrow yourself too fast. Enjoy your youth. You have plenty of time to be 70; for now, balance your drive with the joy of living life to its fullest."
As one of the youngest cabinet members, she credits her success to her ability to "code-switch" and remain relatable to the youth she serves.
"I strive to be an example of balance. If you put me in a legal space, I can discuss the law fully; in a political or academic space, I will survive and thrive. But if you put me in a social space, I am just as present. I don't believe you have to be 'extra serious' or 'extra playful' to succeed--you just need to find the balance you are comfortable with.
"People relate to me because I am real. They might see me at the beach in swimwear rather than a formal buba, and that relatability is why I can lead the Ministry of Youth and Sports effectively. I can fit into any youthful space at any time without looking over my shoulder, because I know I belong there."
