CSOs Want House Withdraws Proposal to Amend Local Government Act

June 25, 2025

Monrovia: Four Civil Society organizations have expressed deep concern about the introduction of a bill to amend the Local Government Act of 2018 which they believed could undermined the viability of County Councils.  

The four Civil Society Organizations are Naymote Partners for Democratic Development, Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), Women NGO Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL) and the Center for Democratic Governance (CDG)

Liberia’s governance system has been largely centralized, with local people having little or no say in decisions that affect their livelihoods. This realization led to the timely passage of the Local Government Act (LGA) into law in 2018 under the administration of former President George M. Weah.

The law represents an important attempt at decentralization by re-configuring local government structures and providing them with powers hitherto not granted. Of worthy mention is the County Council, whose makeup includes representatives of women, youth, and people living with disabilities, chiefs, elders, and civil society.

Amongst others, the County Council has the power to approve county development plans, budgets, reports, as well as pass ordinances for the county. This inclusive structure is essential for gender equity, as it ensures that everyone, most specially women and persons with disabilities have voices in decision-making processes at the local level, an important step in addressing the historical marginalization of women in governance.

 Despite the passage of the LGA in 2018 amidst loud applause, no meaningful efforts were applied by the then government to make the law operational. It would take five years to see movements around implementing the law in 2023, an indication of limited political will to truly give citizens greater roles in local governance.

Recently, the House of Representatives received a bill to amend Section 2.2 (e) & (f) of the LGA. The progenitor of the bill, Grand Gedeh County District 1 Representative, Hon. Jeremiah Sokan, argues that sections of the law including 2.2 (e) which give authority to the members of the county councils to approve the annual county budget and 2.2 (f) which authorizes the council to approve development plans, and its implementation interferes with legislative oversight powers and must be repealed.

The bill has since been forwarded to the House’s Committees on Good Governance, Ways Means and Finance, Internal Affairs and Judiciary for review. In a press statement Tuesday, the Civil Society Actors said, while there are some shortcomings of some members of the council councils, including lack of adequate capacity to thoroughly query different budget line items, but reinstating the Legislative caucus in playing controlling roles local development affairs cannot be a viable alternative. They argued that the Legislature is not excluded from local government affairs as claimed by Rep. Sokan.

In their statement, the CSOs noted that the Legislature is the sole body responsible for the drafting and allocation of the National Budget which County Social Development Funds are derived from. CSOs feared that Local Counties Leadership Would lack independence to function if the act was amended.

“The foregoing provides ample reasons why the LGA must be left undisturbed. Attention must be placed on the full implementation of the law, including through capacity building initiatives and broad-based citizen engagement.

Anything to the contrary would render the LGA meaningless, frustrate years of efforts spent in promoting decentralization, and reverse progress made so far.” The body mentioned that giving lawmakers oversight of budget and development approval as recommended could lead to centralized control, political interference, or misalignment with community needs.

It could weaken transparency and grassroots participation in local governance processes, sideline local voices and priorities thus making average Liberian, especially those in rural communities, to have less influence over how development funds are allocated in their own county.

Meanwhile, the Civil Society Actors have called for efforts to implement the law. “It is, therefore, prudent that we all rally our support for full implementation of the LGA in its current form. Indeed, it would be unfair to draw conclusions about the suitability of the current arrangement when deliberate efforts to get the law operational are hard to come by”

“Government, civil society, donor partners, and citizens themselves must stand up if decentralization must become a reality in Liberia.  From a gender lens, any attempt to alter the existing framework risks dismantling hard-won spaces for women’s leadership and community participation.

We urge all stakeholders to recognize that decentralization is not only about efficient governance, but also about ensuring that women’s voices are not silenced at the grassroots level”.