By Pewu Y. Sumo
MONROVIA – In a move to de-escalate the rising political tug-of-war over national development, Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has quashed the “irrelevant” debate regarding which administration should receive credit for infrastructure projects. Ngafuan asserts that development initiatives belong to the people, not the specific political institution steering the affairs of the state at the time.
Speaking Wednesday, January 28, during a media engagement in Monrovia, Minister Ngafuan rejected the narrative that projects are the property of either the former ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) or the current Unity Party (UP) administration. Instead, he emphasized that they are projects of the Government of Liberia. He noted that regardless of which administration initiates or completes a project, the ultimate “owners” are the Liberian citizens whose taxes and national resources fund them.
“Projects that are being implemented are not the projects of President Boakai or Minister Ngafuan. They are projects for the Liberian people,” he stated.
Ngafuan further explained that the expansion of the road network is for the benefit of all citizens. “It is not a matter of who did what,” the Finance and Development Planning Minister intoned.
He argued that the debate should not center on taking credit, noting that if that were the case, the UP-led government under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf would deserve more credit than any other administration.
“Because we paved the road from Monrovia to Ganta, our successors didn’t have to be bothered with doing it again. We also signed the Fish Town to Harper road project before 2017 when I was previously here [at the Finance Ministry],” Ngafuan said.
According to the Finance Minister, the debate over credit is unnecessary, citing the projects completed during his previous tenure under President Sirleaf. “Those projects were not EJS projects or Ngafuan projects,” he added.
Transcending the Political Divide
The Minister’s comments come in response to critics lashing out at the current UP administration for completing projects initiated by the former CDC government. Critics have accused the current administration of failing to undertake its own original projects since taking office in January 2024.
Ngafuan’s stance highlights a “One-Government” philosophy, suggesting that development is a relay race where one administration may start a project and another may finish it, but the goal remains national progress.
Minister Ngafuan reiterated that the government’s current ARREST Agenda (Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation, and Tourism) is designed to serve the collective interest. He noted that Liberia is progressing as the government continues to address “bread and butter” issues.
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