MONROVIA – Economic policy achieves meaning only when its benefits are felt at the level of households, markets, and daily survival. In Liberia, where food prices, transport fares, and basic commodities define the rhythm of hardship for millions, announced relief measures raise expectations that are quickly tested by reality. The persistence of high prices despite government-ordered reductions has exposed a widening gap between policy intent and market behavior, fueling public frustration and renewed debate about enforcement capacity. As citizens question whether relief exists beyond official pronouncements, attention is shifting from tax cuts and price announcements to the mechanisms needed to ensure compliance. It is within this context that a senior government communications official is calling for a more coordinated, forceful national response. THE ANALYST reports.
Despite recent government-announced reductions in the prices of major essential commodities, ordinary Liberians continue to face largely unchanged market prices, prompting renewed calls for stronger enforcement and accountability mechanisms.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, P. Oxford Brown, Head of Communications at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, expressed concern that the intended benefits of the government’s price reduction policy are not reaching citizens. He described the challenge as one of implementation, enforcement, and public trust rather than policy design.
Brown’s remarks come amid growing frustration over the persistent high cost of living, even after the Government of Liberia reduced wholesale and input taxes on essential commodities such as gasoline, rice, and flour in an effort to ease pressure on households.
According to Brown, the government has taken deliberate steps to address bread-and-butter issues affecting ordinary citizens, but the market has largely failed to reflect those reductions.
“The problem now is no longer policy,” Brown told journalists. “It is implementation, enforcement, and trust.”
He said many business operators and service providers have either failed or outright refused to adjust prices, denying consumers the relief intended by government action and deepening hardship for already struggling families.
Citing President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), Brown recalled that a 25-kilogram bag of rice was reported to be selling for US$14.05. However, he stressed that retail prices in markets across the country remain high, forcing families to reduce meals and portion sizes.
Transportation costs, he added, remain another major burden. Despite reductions in fuel prices, fares charged by taxis, kekehs, and motorbikes have not declined, making daily movement difficult for workers, students, and petty traders.
Brown further noted that although the price of a 100-pound bag of flour has reportedly dropped to US$35, the cost of bread and local pastries remains high—affecting schoolchildren, low-income households, and hospitals.
Cooking oil prices, he said, are still excessively high, compelling market women to sell in smaller quantities and families to limit food preparation. Charcoal and firewood prices also remain elevated, largely due to transportation costs.
Even locally produced goods such as cassava, pepper, bitter ball, and vegetables are becoming increasingly unaffordable. Brown attributed this trend to high transport expenses and what he described as “middlemen exploitation.”
Describing the situation as unacceptable, Brown warned that national-level price reductions must translate into fair market prices.
“Any deliberate refusal to pass on these reductions amounts to economic exploitation and undermines national efforts to stabilize the economy and protect the welfare of the people,” he said.
Referencing President Boakai’s warning in the SONA that exploitative businesses would be held accountable, Brown formally called for the establishment of a National Price Stabilization Task Force.
He proposed that the task force include representatives from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Transport, Liberia Petroleum Refining Company, Liberia Revenue Authority, relevant security agencies, and consumer protection groups.
According to Brown, the task force should be mandated to monitor prices nationwide, publish official reference prices for essential commodities, investigate price gouging and cartel behavior, and enforce compliance across the country.
He also urged business owners, wholesalers, and importers to act responsibly and patriotically by adjusting prices in line with government reductions, and called on transportation unions to immediately review fares.
Appealing to regulatory institutions, Brown stressed the need to strengthen market surveillance while protecting small market women and low-income traders.
“Liberia’s economic recovery cannot be achieved when relief granted by the government is blocked before it reaches ordinary citizens,” Brown said.
“The suffering of the people must not become a profit opportunity for a few.”
He concluded with a call for fairness, accountability, and national solidarity, insisting that Liberians deserve relief—not excuses.
“Put Liberia first for fair prices and fair living,” Brown declared.