The Oracle - Authority

Poverty arrests Liberia as ARREST remains a Slogan.

By: Benedict Kolubah

Fellow Liberians, you remember very well the Rescue Mission’s slogan “ARREST,” which promised a decisive step to stop Liberia’s dependence on the importation of rice and to revive agriculture as the backbone of the economy. Yet, despite three years of promises, the reality is that rice imports continue to rise each month, poverty levels remain high, and the market system struggles to function.

Today, according to the Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index-BTI 2026 report, about 60.6% of Liberians live in poverty, translating to about 3.4 million of the 5.6 million people, compared to 3.2 million and 3.2 million in 2024 and 2023, respectively. This trend shows that instead of arresting poverty, the country is sliding deeper into economic distress, with agriculture unable to deliver the promised relief. Instead of ARREST arresting poverty, poverty has arrested ARREST.

Fellow Liberians, while the Minister of Agriculture repeatedly emphasizes reducing imports, Liberia’s dependence on foreign rice continues to increase, thereby leaving the economy “hospitalized on oxygen.” The ARREST slogan has not yet translated into tangible results for ordinary Liberians, who face rising poverty and a fragile market system. This huge contradiction between rhetoric and reality- Liberians are wondering when will this ARREST arrest the hardship in the country.

Poverty arrests ARREST

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