Was The IRISE Project Secured Under Former President Sirleaf?

Claim: “It was President Weah who started the Project after Madam Sirleaf and President Boakai secured the project.”   
Source: Jeremiah Koung , Vice President of Liberia

Verdict: Misleading

Full Text: On July 21, 2025, the Government of Liberia officially dedicated two World Bank-funded Improving Results in Secondary Education- IRISE project schools in Bong and Nimba counties, respectively. However, there arose mixed reactions hours and days after.

Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung attributed the securing of the project to former President Sirleaf's administration. 

In his remark, the Vice President's statement, which can be found here, claimed that “it was President Weah who started the Project after Madam Sirleaf and President Boakai secured the project.”

The claim, which can also be found here, here, and here, received mixed reactions, with many, including former government officials, questioning the honesty of the Vice President regarding his statement. 

These modern secondary schools were a result of the World Bank-funded Improving Results in Secondary Education project in both Bong and Nimba Counties. 

In the VP’s remark, he said, “In the middle of the project, President Weah's term came to an end, and then President Boakai came in, and under the able leadership of Minister Jarso, this project was completed today. Out of that 50 million, the government was able to present a project of 47 million. Out of 47 million, 4.8 million was used. 

 

Verification: Our fact-checker reviewed official project documentation from the World Bank’s official website and Government of Liberia press releases and announcements, and these are what we found:

1. The Project Approval Date

2. Official Project Timeline Shows Weah-Era Development  

3.  Financing Agreement Signed Under Weah Administration  

4. Construction Timeline Confirms Weah-Era Implementation  

5.  Groundbreaking Ceremony During Weah Administration  

 
On July 19, 2019—17 days after the IRISE project approval announcement—the World Bank and the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, announced the signing of the financing agreement for the project.

 "The Government of Liberia represented by Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr., and the World Bank, through its Liberia Country Director, Pierre Laporte, on Friday, July 19, 2019, signed a grant financing agreement for the Improving Results in Secondary Education (IRISE) Project," the release noted.

 

The Ministry of Education posted on Facebook on February 6, 2021, announcing that construction of three model schools would begin soon.

"The government of Liberia, through the World Bank (IRISE Project) grant, is about to undertake the building of three model schools in Bong, Nimba, and Margibi. The procurement process is set to begin soon, with construction works slated to commence around June of this year. It's just a matter of time for the Liberian education sector to reach new heights," the Ministry stated.

On March 3, 2022, the Ministry of Education, led by Minister Ansu Sonii, shared news about the groundbreaking of one of the IRISE schools in Margibi County—further confirming the project's implementation under the Weah government.

 

A review of the Liberian Project dashboard showed that the project kicked off in 2018/19 with an overall purpose to improve learning outcomes at the senior secondary education level. 

According to the World Bank, there are six stages, which include the process from identification to approval.

 

 We contacted the World Bank-Liberia,  External Affairs Officer for Western and Central Africa Michael Sahr, who shared the country manager speech titled "World Bank CM Remarks: Commissioning of Secondary Schools in Gbarnga and Ganta Cities, July 21, 2025."

A review of the speech showed that the project began in 2019, "Today marks the culmination of deep commitment and effort over time.  The GOL partnered with the World Bank to finance the Improving Results in Secondary Education IRISE project, which began in July 2019 -- the year before the world was plunged into the COVID-19 pandemic.   The $47 million investment had a simple but ambitious aim: to improve equitable access and equality of secondary education and to provide a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  It aimed to impact all public and community senior secondary schools and reach secondary school-age students nationwide along with their teachers."

 

Sahr says the funding allocation and implementation of the project is the date the bank record.

Ironically, in the circulated video recording where VP Koung made the contested claim (particularly from 3:08 to 3:26), he also stated: "Under the leadership of Minister Sonii of the ten government, they decided to continue with the project. They started the project in 2019, and Minister Samuel Tweah signed finally after the project was developed."

The statement directly contradicts Koon's claim that the project was secured under President Sirleaf, as it acknowledges that the project started in 2019, well into President Weah's tenure.

Conclusion:  The claim that the IRISE project was secured under the Sirleaf administration is False. Official World Bank and Government of Liberia documents confirmed the project was approved on July 2, 2019, and signed on July 19, 2019, both dates falling more than a year after the Sirleaf-Boakai administration ended in January 2018. The project was negotiated, approved, and implemented entirely under President Weah and completed under President Boakai.