Liberia inaugurates Joseph Bokai its next president
Joseph Bokai will be inaugurated President of Liberia today.
Bokai, who narrowly won election against incumbent George Weah, served for 12 years as Vice President under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Many in Liberia sought new leadership after Weah’s tenure which initially brought hope to the presidency but was soon beset by administrative struggles and corruption. While Liberia’s economy saw 4.8% growth in 2022 driven by increased rice production, supported by foreign investment and gold production, more than 80% of the country’s population of five million face food insecurity due to high costs. Additionally, electrification, transport infrastructure and unemployment remain major concerns.
Bokai’s presidency is expected to first address issues such as corruption and high food costs. Expect the newly-inaugurated president to focus on boosting agricultural production, drawing on his experience as agriculture minister in the 1980s where he was responsible for a flagship project that decentralized agriculture in support of regional hubs for subsistence farmers. Additionally, Bokai has made it a point to address infrastructural concerns in the West African country like poor roads and highways. In the long term, Bokai’s administration will work towards delivering justice to the victims of Liberia’s civil wars (in 1989-1997 and 1999-2003), an objective that his predecessors were unable to achieve during their terms.
