May C. W. Kruah Keep Youth and Sports above Party Lines

ATTORNEY CORNELIA W. KRUAH’S nomination and ongoing confirmation hearing before the Liberian Senate to head the Ministry of Youth and Sports arrives at a moment of deep anxiety—and deep expectation—among Liberia’s young people. It is precisely because the ministry matters so much to everyday survival, aspiration, and dignity that the appointment deserves scrutiny beyond credentials and résumé lines.

THE CONCERN BEING raised in public discourse is not primarily about Kruah’s education or administrative experience. Those are evident and legitimate. Rather, it is about posture and perception. Thus far, she has projected herself as a party loyalist—energetic, visible, and committed to the ruling political cause. That may serve well in partisan mobilization. It does not automatically translate into suitability for leading one of the few ministries that must, by its very nature, stand above party, faction, and ideology.

THE MINISTRY OF Youth and Sports cannot afford to be partisanized.

LIBERIAN YOUTH ARE not a voting bloc to be activated once every six years; they are citizens struggling daily with unemployment, underemployment, drug abuse, lack of skills, broken school-to-work pipelines, and decaying sports infrastructure. They come from different political persuasions, ethnic backgrounds, religions, counties, and social classes. Many belong to no party at all. What unites them is not politics, but survival.

FOR THOUSANDS OF young Liberians, the Ministry of Youth and Sports is not symbolic. It is practical. It is where hope for skills training should be turned into employability, where sports should open pathways to discipline, health, income, and international exposure, and where youth policy should translate into livelihoods. As the Liberian saying goes, this is the ministry young people look to “butter their bread and succor their tea.”

THAT REALITY DEMANDS leadership with a non-partisan temperament—someone who speaks to youth as citizens, not as party foot soldiers; as partners in development, not instruments of political messaging.

History offers sobering lessons. Whenever youth institutions become extensions of party machinery, the result is exclusion, mistrust, and lost opportunity. Youth programs become reward systems. Sports federations fracture along political lines. Those without the “right” colors are quietly sidelined. The ministry loses credibility, and young people lose faith.

THIS IS WHY the Senate’s role in this confirmation process is critical. Senators must look beyond applause lines and loyalty signals and interrogate one fundamental question: can Cornelia Kruah mentally and operationally separate party from portfolio?

CAN SHE GUARANTEE that access to training programs, sports facilities, scholarships, and partnerships will not be filtered through partisan lenses? Can she assure young Liberians that criticism will not be interpreted as opposition, and independence will not be punished as disloyalty?

TO BE CLEAR, political background alone should not disqualify any nominee. But once confirmed, political restraint becomes a duty. Leadership of Youth and Sports is not about advancing party narratives; it is about expanding opportunity.

IF CONFIRMED, KRUAH must quickly recalibrate. She must speak less as a party defender and more as a national convener. She must build trust with youth groups across the spectrum, professionalize sports administration, and anchor her tenure in measurable outcomes—jobs, skills, facilities, and pathways.

LIBERIA’S YOUTH ARE tired of symbolism. They need substance. They need a ministry that works for all, not a few.

THE SENATE SHOULD confirm only if it is convinced that the Ministry of Youth and Sports will remain a national institution—not a partisan outpost.