Every rainy season, Monrovia drowns. Streets turn into rivers, homes are washed out, families are displaced, and livelihoods are destroyed. Yet, as predictable as the floods are, so too is the silence, inaction, and half-hearted response from those in power.
The latest flooding on September 24, 2025, which devastated communities from Paynesville to Johnsonville, is not just a natural disaster. It is the cumulative result of decades of failed governance, poor urban planning, and reckless disregard for citizens’ welfare.
For years, experts have warned about the dangers of unregulated construction, clogged drainage systems, and the lack of investment in resilient infrastructure. Civil society has sounded the alarm. Communities themselves have repeatedly dug their own trenches and cleared their own gutters to protect their homes. And still, nothing changes.
What makes the situation worse is the hypocrisy of government officials who themselves live in flood-prone neighborhoods, yet respond to each year’s disaster with little more than press statements and empty promises. The people deserve more than token relief bags of rice and mattresses. They deserve a government that plans, invests, and protects.
In Liberia, we say, “No food for a lazy man.” Ordinary citizens embody this truth every day as they work with buckets, shovels, and bare hands to clear drains and salvage their belongings from rising waters. But what happens when the “lazy man” is not the people, but the state? When the very institutions tasked with safeguarding lives sit idle, waiting for donor-driven rescue?
The time for excuses is over. The National Disaster Management Agency, the Ministry of Public Works, and municipal authorities must stop treating floods as seasonal inconveniences and start addressing them as national emergencies tied to urban planning, environmental protection, and public health.
Liberia cannot continue down this path of reactive governance. Flooding is not just about rain; it is about leadership. Until our leaders find the courage to prioritize infrastructure over personal perks, to plan for tomorrow instead of politicking today, Monrovia will keep drowning — not just in water, but in neglect.
