Misleading, Gray Interpretation of Boakai's SONA Statement on Policy Continuity
Claim: "President Boakai in his SONA of 2025, admits of being ‘a vision and project rogue.’
Source: Acarous M. Gray
Verdict: Misleading
Full Text: On May 7, 2025, Acarous M. Gray claimed that President Joseph Boakai admitted in his 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA) that his ARREST Agenda "is built on the development for the Pro-Poor Agenda of Prosperity for Development and the Agenda for Transformation.
Gray referred to said statement as admittance and characterized it as "a vision and project rogue."
This post attracted 131 reactions, 132 comments, 125 shares and 9.2K views as of the time of the check.
Continuity refers to the consistent and ongoing existence or operation of certain governmental functions and policies over time.
According to the Vocab dictionary, a national agenda refers to the prioritized list of issues that a government or nation aims to address, typically reflecting the interests and concerns of its citizens.
Verification: Upon reviewing President Boakai's 2025 State of the Nation Address delivered to the Legislature on January 27, 2025, we found that the President did acknowledge previous national development frameworks.
He emphasized that his administration immediately began to form a new national development plan and county development agendas for the next five years.
“I am pleased to report that the plan and fifteen county agendas have been meticulously developed and validated by stakeholders across the country. They received strong endorsement from the Cabinet, the National Steering Committee, and our international partners, leading to a successful launch on January 15, 2025,” Boakai.
Boakai stated that “the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID) is built on the foundations of previous national development frameworks, specifically the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development and the Agenda for Transformation. The AAID is set to cap Vision 2030, Liberia’s ambitious goal of becoming a more capable and developmental state, ultimately achieving lower-middle-income status.”
The ARREST Agenda recognizes the importance of policy continuity in national development.
It builds upon the foundations laid by previous frameworks, including elements of the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development and the Agenda for Transformation, while introducing critical innovations to address current challenges and future aspirations.
Murr Murphy is one of those commenters under Gray's post. He said, "The pro-poor agenda and the agenda for transformation are all national documents. Any good planner will reference such documents to craft a new plan.
"Liberia has always been having good plans. What matters most is the implementation, accountability, and effectiveness. CDC took more than six years and could not complete the Ganta-Saclepea road, the ELWA-RIA road. And the removal of the CDC was not just about Pres. Weah. Some of you guys caused the downfall of the regime. Your behavior."
We contacted Gray via WhatsApp but he did not respond. When he does we will update this article.
Conclusion: The claim by Gray misrepresents Boakai's statement from his 2025 SONA. The president's acknowledgment of building upon previous development frameworks represents standard governance practice rather than an admission of a lack of vision or "stealing" projects, as implied by Gray's characterization.
The claim uses partial information and misinterpretation to create a misleading narrative about the president's development agenda.
