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Claim: A Facebook user alleged that Liberian President Joseph Boakai announced the arrival of 15 aeroplanes and 15 ships to ease transportation challenges in Liberia.
Verdict: False! DUBAWA’s checks have no evidence to support the claim that Mr Boakai has announced the arrival of 15 aeroplanes and 15 ships.
Full Text
Liberian roads are known for not being motorable, especially during the rainy season, which hampers the people’s movement in the country.
Road rehabilitation has been a key priority of President Joseph Boakai’s government since he launched the ‘Arrest Agenda’ to address transportation challenges in the West African country.
During his inaugural address, President Boakai told Liberians:
“The poor state of our roads has undermined development and reduced citizens’ quality of life. This is indeed a major contributor to rural neglect in the country. This is why we view the building of good roads as a critical intervention in infrastructure improvement for economic growth and national development.”
As part of a concerted effort to revamp the transport sector in Liberia, Minister of State without Portfolio Mamaka Bility said that about 285 pieces of earthmoving equipment are expected in Liberia “shortly” to construct and rehabilitate roads.
“Those earth-moving equipment will be divided across the 15 counties, each receiving 19 pieces. The government will also reactivate maintenance zones across the country. We are working, and our plan to ensure that no car will be stuck in the mud is gradually being rolled out, and we will increase our work and visibility,” Madame Bility said.
However, on June 24, 2024, The Daily News alleged on Facebook that President Joseph Boakai had announced the arrival of 15 aeroplanes and ships in the country.
“The Rescue Government, led by President Joseph Boakai, has made a groundbreaking move to alleviate transportation challenges across Liberia. Today, President Boakai announced the arrival of 15 yellow aeroplanes and 15 yellow ships, a significant addition to easing the nation’s transportation stress,” the platform wrote.
Reacting to the claim, another Facebook user, Harris Bravo Korheina, wrote:
“Can we have pictorial evidence of the pronouncement by the President?”
For Monger Zarwea Gabriel, “If and when the president of Liberia makes such pronouncement, it will be on the Executive Mansion website.”
DUBAWA decided to investigate the claim as part of its campaign against misinformation and disinformation in Liberia.
Verification
DUBAWA first contacted The Daily News for evidence of the claim but to no avail. A further search on the Liberian president’s news portal, the Executive Mansion, revealed no publication about President Boaki’s announcement.
We later conducted a Google Keyword search to discover whether any of the country’s prominent and reliable media outlets had published a news article about the president’s purported pronouncement about the arrival of the ships and aeroplanes.
However, the search revealed no online data to support the allegation.
However, DUBAWA could confirm only the arrival of some earth-moving machines, which Liberia’s Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah disclosed on June 27, 2024.
Mr Piah reportedly said it is terrible that a country has existed for 177 years and still does not have good roads, while the surrounding countries that gained independence in the 1960s have better roads. Also, Madame Bility led various government officials to unveil the first batch of 285 earth-moving machines and dump trucks to the public.
DUBAWA also contacted Deputy Information Minister for Press and Public Affairs Daniel Sando via WhatsApp, and the minister described the claim as “Fake.”
Conclusion
Based on DUBAWA’s findings, President Boakai did not announce the arrival of aeroplanes and ships in Liberia as claimed. Through the Ministry of Information, the government has only confirmed the arrival of some earthmoving equipment to help with road rehabilitation.
The researcher produced this fact-check under the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame KariKari Fellowship, in partnership with Prime FM 105.5 Liberia, to spread accurate and factual information.
