MONROVIA – Liberia’s peace remains vulnerable whenever public officials inject ethnic grievance into court proceedings already charged with political emotion. Information Minister Jerolinmek Matthew Piah’s warning reaches beyond one controversy: it tests the discipline expected from those holding authority. His appeal draws force from Liberia’s civil-war history, when identity politics helped turn suspicion into national catastrophe. Yet the briefing also exposed the government’s governing burden. While defending institutional restraint, officials outlined medical deliveries, parliamentary engagement, agricultural training, curriculum reform and renewable-energy measures. Together, the announcements present peace, justice and development as connected tests of public responsibility. As THE ANALYST reports, pundits posit that citizens will judge that responsibility by both the language leaders use and the results their institutions deliver daily.
Information Minister Jerolinmek Matthew Piah has issued a strong warning to public officials against what he described as reckless and irresponsible statements capable of inflaming ethnic tensions, inciting violence and undermining Liberia’s hard-won peace. Piah made the remarks Tuesday during the Ministry of Information’s regular press briefing in Monrovia, where he stressed that public officials have a greater responsibility to promote peace, stability and respect for the rule of law.
Rhetoric Risks Liberia’s Peace
According to Piah, government officials and other public figures must exercise restraint in their public pronouncements, particularly when commenting on ongoing judicial proceedings. “We have to at all times shy away from being reckless, because that is not what public officials do,” Piah cautioned, adding that officials should work “around the clock” to ensure that the country remains peaceful.
He warned against statements that could encourage or incite people to violence, particularly when such statements attempt to give political, tribal or regional interpretations to legal proceedings. The information minister appeared to be responding to recent public commentary surrounding an ongoing case involving a former vice president. He criticized remarks attributed to a public official suggesting that the prosecution was connected to the former vice president’s ethnic identity and that the legal proceedings amounted to an attack on an entire group of people.
Piah rejected such a characterization, insisting that legal proceedings should not be transformed into ethnic or tribal disputes. He argued that Liberia’s painful history should serve as a reminder to public officials and political actors about the consequences of irresponsible rhetoric.
Piah recalled that Liberia’s prolonged civil conflict claimed an estimated 250,000 lives and was fueled, among other factors, by tribalism and divisions in which innocent people were targeted simply because of their ethnic identities. “Maybe somebody like him has forgotten that this country for decades fought two hundred and fifty thousand souls,” Piah stated, stressing that the country cannot afford to return to the divisive rhetoric that contributed to its violent past.
The minister specifically objected to attempts to portray judicial proceedings involving individuals from particular counties as attacks on the people of those counties. He referenced a recent case involving a former chief justice from Maryland County who, according to Piah’s remarks, had faced legal proceedings concerning her daughter.
Piah noted that the former chief justice went through the legal process and argued that nobody should interpret such proceedings as persecution of the people of Maryland County. He similarly rejected attempts to characterize the ongoing prosecution of individuals as attacks on particular counties or ethnic communities.
“The people who are there are not there because they belong to a tribe or because they are from a county,” he emphasized, maintaining that individuals involved in such cases are before the courts because they are alleged to have acted contrary to the law. According to Piah, the courts—not ethnic, tribal or political considerations—should determine the outcome of legal cases.
He therefore called on public officials to desist from making statements that could undermine confidence in the judiciary or provoke communities against one another. Piah also warned against comparisons suggesting that certain groups or nationalities are inherently violent, saying such rhetoric is dangerous and irresponsible.
He maintained that the legal process must be allowed to proceed without interference, while citizens and public officials should respect the institutions established to administer justice. The information minister’s comments come amid heightened public discussion over politically sensitive legal matters, with his warning underscoring the government’s position that Liberia’s peace should not be compromised by irresponsible public statements.
He urged public officials to remember the country’s history and the responsibility that comes with occupying positions of authority. “These reckless and irresponsible conducts on the part of public officials must stop now,” Piah declared.
Health Supplies Reach Counties
Continuing the briefing, Deputy Information Minister for Press and Public Affairs Daniel O. Sando provided a series of updates from various government ministries and institutions, beginning with the Ministry of Health’s nationwide distribution of essential medicines and medical supplies. Sando announced that the Ministry of Health has commenced an additional distribution exercise targeting more than 600 health facilities across all 15 counties.
He said the exercise forms part of the government’s ongoing effort to strengthen healthcare delivery and maintain an uninterrupted supply of critical medicines and medical commodities. According to Sando, the latest supply-chain operation began after requests were submitted by specialized health programs within the Ministry of Health and subsequently processed, packaged and dispatched through the Central Medical Store.
The nationwide quarterly distribution is being carried out in phases, covering health facilities ranging from primary healthcare clinics to major hospitals. Sando said distribution has already been completed in several counties, while additional deliveries are underway in other parts of the country.
He explained that delivery trucks are being deployed to transport medical commodities to county depots, from where the supplies will subsequently be distributed to health facilities within the respective counties. The next phases of the distribution are scheduled to commence next week and will continue progressively over the following weeks, covering counties including Rivercess, Grand Bassa, Grand Kru, Montserrado, Bong, Margibi and others. Sando said the nationwide exercise demonstrates the Ministry of Health’s commitment to maintaining a reliable supply of lifesaving commodities for healthcare providers and patients throughout Liberia.
Parliamentary and Agricultural Updates
Sando also announced that the Government of Liberia has received communication regarding the participation of the House of Representatives in the Fourth General Assembly of the Conference of Speakers and Heads of African Parliaments, scheduled to take place in Morocco from December 9 to 11, 2026. He said the communication was transmitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives through the appropriate parliamentary channels, following approval for Liberia’s participation.
The conference is expected to provide an avenue for African parliamentary leaders to deliberate on issues including intra-African trade and investment, leadership and cooperation among African legislative institutions. Sando said preparations are expected to begin ahead of the high-level parliamentary gathering.
Sando further disclosed that employees of the Ministry of Agriculture have departed Liberia to participate in specialized training on agricultural development planning in the People’s Republic of China. He said the initiative reflects the Ministry of Agriculture’s commitment to strengthening the capacity of its employees by exposing them to international experiences, technical skills and best practices that can contribute to improved service delivery and agricultural transformation in Liberia.
Participants are drawn from various departments and technical areas of the Ministry of Agriculture and are expected to gain practical exposure to international approaches to agricultural development planning. Upon their return, Sando said, the participants are expected to share and apply the knowledge acquired during the training. He said the initiative forms part of the ministry’s broader capacity-building efforts aimed at developing a more technically equipped workforce capable of better serving farmers and supporting Liberia’s agricultural sector.
Primary Curriculum Reviewed
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education, through the Excellence in Learning in Liberia Project, has completed a stakeholder review and validation of a revised academic curriculum for primary schools under the Foundation Learning Programme. Sando said the day-long exercise brought together technical teams from the Ministry of Education, county education officers, representatives of public and private schools, development partners and project staff.
The participants reviewed the proposed curriculum to ensure that it responds to the practical needs of schools and adequately supports teaching and learning. According to Sando, stakeholders examined key academic areas, assessment requirements, examination-related activities and proposed timetables, while identifying areas requiring adjustment before the curriculum is finalized.
Following the validation exercise, the curriculum will move toward finalization, publication and nationwide adoption. Once implemented, Sando said, the revised curriculum is expected to guide academic activities and school operations over the next three years, providing greater consistency and predictability in the organization of teaching and learning.
Renewable Tariff Relief Ordered
A major policy update announced at the briefing concerned President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s issuance of Executive Order No. 136, providing for the suspension of applicable tariffs on qualifying imports of solar and other renewable-energy products, equipment, components and appliances. Sando said the measure forms part of the government’s broader effort to expand access to reliable, affordable and sustainable energy, particularly in underserved communities that remain outside, or have limited access to, the national electricity grid.
The tariff suspension is intended to reduce the cost of importing qualifying renewable-energy products, stimulate private-sector investment in clean energy and support productive economic activities across Liberia. However, Sando stressed that the suspension does not apply automatically to every renewable-energy-related import.
He said the executive order applies only to qualifying products expressly identified in its accompanying schedule and properly classified under the applicable Harmonized System codes. The covered products include energy equipment and components considered essential to rural electrification and the productive use of renewable energy.
According to Sando, the president’s decision recognizes that the high cost of importing renewable-energy equipment and components can constitute a major barrier to investment and consumer access to clean and affordable electricity. The executive order, he explained, establishes safeguards intended to ensure that the tariff suspension is applied transparently and only to qualifying products and eligible beneficiaries.
Eligibility and Compliance Safeguards
Eligible entities must be registered with the Liberia Business Registry and must be actively engaged in the renewable-energy sector or activities directly related to the deployment, distribution, installation or productive use of qualifying renewable-energy products. Where required by law or regulation, beneficiaries must also be registered with the Rural Renewable Energy Agency and comply with applicable licensing requirements.
Sando said beneficiaries will also be required to comply with customs inspection, shipment verification, commodity assessment, customs declarations and documentation requirements. Imported products must meet applicable technical, quality, health, safety and environmental standards prescribed or recognized by the competent national authorities.
The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) has been mandated to implement the tariff suspension and issue the necessary administrative instructions to ensure uniform and transparent application at all ports of entry. The Rural Renewable Energy Agency will maintain and update a registry of eligible beneficiaries and provide relevant information to the LRA and other government institutions to facilitate implementation.
The national standards authority will also be responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable technical standards and regulations. Sando emphasized that the tariff suspension does not automatically exempt eligible imports from other applicable taxes, fees or statutory requirements.
Goods may remain subject to GST or VAT, customs user fees, levies and other regulatory inspection or statutory charges unless such charges are expressly suspended by the executive order. He warned that the government has put measures in place to prevent abuse of the tariff suspension.
Entities that knowingly misclassify goods, submit false documentation, import non-qualified products, inflate prices or otherwise abuse the arrangement could face applicable customs, administrative, civil or criminal penalties. The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Liberia Revenue Authority, the national standards authority and other relevant institutions, will monitor implementation and assess the economic, social, climate and environmental impacts of the tariff suspension.
The government is expected to periodically evaluate whether the measure is helping to increase renewable-energy investment, reduce energy costs, expand rural electrification and promote productive use of energy. The tariff suspension will remain in force for one year from August 31, 2026, unless subsequently modified, suspended or revoked by another executive order or otherwise affected by applicable law.
Solar Project Land Assessment
Sando also disclosed that Liberia has begun the initial phase of a land assessment exercise connected to a World Bank-supported solar-energy project. He said the exercise began on August 26 and is intended to establish and verify land ownership interests while collecting accurate land information required for planning the proposed solar-energy project.
As part of the exercise, an initial one-day engagement was held with county authorities, local stakeholders and traditional leaders. The engagement provided an opportunity to explain the objectives and importance of the project while allowing authorities and community representatives to raise concerns and provide relevant information.
According to Sando, the county superintendent welcomed the initiative and expressed a commitment to working with the project team. The responsible authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that land-related processes associated with the solar project are conducted in an inclusive, transparent, accountable and professionally managed manner consistent with Liberia’s land-governance framework and national development priorities.
Sando said accurate land information, responsible land administration and meaningful stakeholder engagement will remain essential to the successful implementation of the project. He added that the initiative forms part of Liberia’s broader efforts to expand renewable energy and attract investment into the energy sector, particularly as the government seeks to improve access to reliable and sustainable electricity across the country.