22/01/2026
Garmondyu Boyblue Zogar writes ✍🏽✍🏽
W E L L D O N E !
I extend my sincere congratulations to the Government of Liberia, H. E Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr and the Ministry of Public Works under the leadership of Minister R Layfette Giddings for successfully hosting the first ever National Infrastructure Conference. To the progenitor of this vision, Engineer Muniru Nyei, thank you for the courage of whispering this idea to the President who lifted this during his Inaugural Address. This convening represents a monumental and timely commitment to addressing the foundational drivers of our national development.
I am particularly grateful to the Ministry of Public Works for the honor of being formally invited and considered as a panelist and stakeholder in this important national conversation. That recognition is deeply appreciated. Although I was unable to attend due to the rescheduling of the conference coinciding with my Law School examinations, the invitation itself reflects an encouraging openness to inclusive, professional engagement, and I do not take it lightly. I followed the conference closely and commend the leadership, coordination, and intent behind convening such a high-level forum.
One point that deserves continued emphasis is that infrastructure is far more than roads and buildings. True national infrastructure includes transportation networks, water and sanitation systems, electricity generation and distribution, telecommunications, internet and digital connectivity, ports, logistics corridors, and critically, the institutional systems that allow these services to function together.
Current data reinforces why this integrated view matters. According to the World Bank, national electricity access in Liberia remains below 40%, with rural access significantly lower, while the African Development Bank continues to highlight gaps in rural road connectivity, broadband pe*******on, and coordinated urban service delivery challenges closely linked to unplanned urban growth and weak spatial governance.
I was particularly drawn to the sessions on SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT, because spatial planning frames every other infrastructure investment. Without proper land-use planning and zoning, infrastructure services operate in a disconnected vacuum. Roads cut through informal settlements, utilities conflict with private developments, flood risks are ignored, and public investments lose long-term value. Spatial development is therefore not secondary infrastructure. It is the platform upon which all other infrastructure systems depend.
This conference could not have been more strategically timed. It occurs as Liberia advances a potential second Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact, a five-year investment reportedly valued at up to $500 million, building upon the recent MCC-Liberia Threshold Program focused on road maintenance and land governance. This process aligns directly with the Ministry of Public Works' finalized Five-Year Strategic Plan and the ongoing, critical review to modernize and adopt a new Zoning Law for Liberia. This convergence is not coincidental;
together, they create a genuine opportunity for strategic action to better align spatial planning, infrastructure investment, and Liberia’s broader national development agenda. It is my hope that the discussions and outcomes from this conference will meaningfully inform and strengthen these critical undertakings.
In preparation for the conference, I had developed talking points around what I describe as the seven gridlocks impeding spatial planning in Liberia, along with three high-impact infrastructure investment projects that if properly sequenced and governed, could significantly reshape the landscape of Monrovia.
I look forward to sharing these contributions through separate articles and policy commentaries, including planned publications.
Liberia is moving. The conversations are becoming more thoughtful and systems-oriented. I remain thankful for the recognition extended to me as a stakeholder in this important national dialogue, and I remain committed, professionally and personallyto contributing to a more planned, connected, and resilient Liberia.
