Boakai Vetoes 11 Bills

Monrovia-October 14, 2024: President Joseph Boakai has rejected eleven bills and returned them to the House of Representatives for reconsideration after a detailed review by the Executive.

In a communication to House Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon, President Boakai said nine of the bills seek to establish new townships in Nimba County, while two others propose the creation of new districts-one in Nimba and another in Lofa County.

The President explained that the nine township bills do not meet the legal standards set out in Section 2.16(e) of the Local Government Act of 2018. That law requires, among other things, a population of at least 5,000 people, access to schools and clinics, proper waste management, transportation and communication systems, and defined boundaries.

President Boakai noted that the absence of these basic requirements makes the proposals inconsistent with existing law, especially given Liberia’s current infrastructural and economic challenges.

He also stated that the two district bills fail to comply with Section 2.15 of the same Act, which outlines conditions for creating new sub-county governments. The law mandates that all existing statutory districts be dissolved by November 23, 2025, after the retirement of employees in those districts.

The President said the proposed district bills do not clarify whether the new districts are statutory or administrative, which makes their creation legally impractical.