By Anthony Q. Jiffan, Jr.
MONROVIA – Former Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor has criticized the Unity Party-led government under President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, stating that the UP victory in the 2023 general elections to promises and “stories” or propagandas they told the Liberian people.
She made the statement in an exclusive interview with The Analyst newspaper on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
Madam Howard Taylor, political leader of the former ruling National Patriotic Party, reflected on the political narrative constructed by the Unity Party while in opposition. She noted that the party had promised solutions to the country’s numerous challenges, but since taking office, it has struggled to fulfill those promises.
“They won the election with stories and promises they couldn’t fully deliver on,” Howard Taylor said. “They portrayed that solutions to the nation’s problems would come quickly once they took power.”
She specifically highlighted the difficulties the Unity Party has faced in addressing promises related to the country’s health sector.
“When the CDC government came to power in 2018, we inherited a large number of volunteer health workers who needed to be formally employed. One of the challenges we faced was ensuring their salaries aligned with their qualifications,” she explained.
She emphasized that this wasn’t just about raising salaries but about conducting a nationwide survey to better understand the scope of the issue and align it with the national budget.
Madam Howard Taylor also criticized the Unity Party’s handling of public sector employment, particularly considering their pledge not to lay off government workers. “When President George Weah took office, he issued a directive against layoffs in the public sector, and we adhered to that mandate,” she said.
However, she pointed out that once the Unity Party came to power, they began laying off government workers, contradicting their earlier promises.
Reflecting on the political narrative that led many Liberians to vote for the Unity Party, Howard Taylor remarked, “Many Liberians were carried away by the stories they heard from the Unity Party in opposition. But now that they are in power, it’s clear that things are not as easy as they made it sound.”
She called on the Boakai-led government to come back to the Liberian people and offer a more honest account of their governance challenges and efforts.
“They should come to the people and be truthful about the difficulties they are facing,” the emphasized.
Madam Taylor stressed the importance for the Unity Party government to fully implement the rescue mission, adding that they promised the Liberian people a rescue mission which in the real term means to change the condition of the people for the better, but noted that the rescue mission is just a slogan.
On the recent student protests in Monrovia, Howard Taylor expressed concern over the government’s heavy-handed response to peaceful demonstrators.
On Wednesday, March 25, 2025, students from the Monrovia Consolidated School System (MCSS) staged a protest calling for better education and improved salaries for MCSS teachers. The demonstration was met with tear gas and harassment by the Liberia National Police.
“This incident is deeply troubling, especially considering Liberia’s history of student protests that have sparked significant political change,” Howard Taylor further asserted.
She emphasized that the students’ demands were legitimate, seeking better education, improved living conditions, and a brighter future.
She urged the government to engage in meaningful dialogue with the students, rather than resorting to violence.
The former Vice President’s comments serve as a sharp critique of the Unity Party’s time in power, calling for greater transparency, honesty, and engagement with the Liberian people as the country grapples with growing challenges in education, healthcare, and governance.
Commenting on the Legislative impasse at the House of Representatives, the former President of the Liberian Senate stated that the law calls for the removal of a speaker but says it doesn’t call for a majority to divide the first branch of government in the name of removing the speaker.
She condemned the action by majority members of the House of Representatives who, according to her, are illegally holding on to the leadership of the House and passing laws against the constitution of the country.
“The majority bloc is doing business in the name of the House of Representatives, passing laws and even the national budget. What happens to the budget they have passed which is signed by someone who is illegally occupying the speaker position?” she wondered.
The former President of the Liberian Senate indicated that to avoid the prolonged conflict as to who is the legitimate speaker of the Liberian Legislature, she as a former member of the National Legislature (Senate) with vast experience in legislative politics has urged her former colleagues to follow the law by raising the required signatures if they desire to remove speaker Koffa.
Madam Taylor stressed the importance for the Supreme Court of Liberia to ensure a speedy intervention into the ongoing legislative impasse to bring the confusion to an end while expressing confidence in the court’s ability to rule in the interest of law.
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