Liberia: President Boakai Issues Cabinet Directive on Excessive Foreign Trips, Orders Restrictions on Officials’ Travel

Monrovia – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has issued a cabinet directive significantly restricting official foreign travel by Cabinet Ministers and senior government officials, citing growing concerns over the need for a stronger focus on mounting national priorities.

The directive immediately imposes stringent conditions on all foreign trips undertaken by ministers, heads of agencies and commissions, ambassadors, and other senior officials. 

Issuing the “Cabinet Directive” at a cabinet meeting this afternoon, President Boakai asserted that some of the travels have negatively affected Cabinet participation and disrupted key government operations, depriving the Administration of critical policy input and leadership at important decision-making levels. 

The President in the directive further noted that repeated international trips impose financial burdens on the Government at a time when resources are needed for urgent national development priorities.

According to the directive, no government official will be allowed to embark on official foreign travel without expressed prior approval from the President. 

Meanwhile, the Liberian Leader has also introduced a “Virtual Participation First Policy,” directing Ministries, Agencies, and Commissions to prioritize participation in international meetings through platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams whenever practical. 

The Chief Executive and Chair of the Cabinet further mandates that all travel requests must now provide detailed justification, including the strategic relevance of the trip to Liberia, estimated costs, funding sources, delegation composition, and explanations as to why virtual participation would not be sufficient.

President Boakai in the directive stressed that physical attendance at conferences and international engagements will only be approved where it is “demonstrably necessary” and clearly in Liberia’s national interest.

The President ordered that, except under extraordinary circumstances, no Cabinet Minister or senior official should undertake more than one official foreign trip per quarter unless expressly authorized by him. 

Additionally, travel requests will be denied if the absence of the official is likely to affect Cabinet deliberations, institutional leadership, urgent decision-making, or critical government functions.

The directive also reinforces strict compliance with government travel regulations, including limitations on class of travel, per diem allowances, accommodations, and related expenditures. 

Implementation and monitoring of the directive will be jointly supervised by the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs and the Cabinet Office, while reserving the right to grant exceptions in cases involving compelling national interests.

The President cautioned that all officials are expected to fully comply with the new policy in the interest of responsible governance, operational efficiency, and prudent management of public resources.