MONROVIA, Liberia — Outgoing Mines and Energy Minister Wilmot Paye delivered an emotional farewell to staff a day following his Oct. 27, 2025 dismissal, praising career technocrats, detailing training and reform programs he said were gaining traction, and urging an orderly handover as public speculation mounted over the reasons for his removal.
“We disagreed, we quizzed each other, we challenged each other, but… we did all of those for one good: to improve this system,” Paye told the ministry’s general staff. He thanked employees for “the working environment [and] team spirit,” and emphasized that titles in public service are “borrowed coats.”
“When you are wearing a borrowed coat… the one lending it to you determines when he or she can request it,” he said to laughter. “By the time they say, ‘please give my coat’—here it is—and you can go.”
Programs he says should continue Paye highlighted workforce-development measures he said the ministry revived or launched in the last year:
- Secondment placements: He said 114 young geologists and mining engineers have been seconded to companies, with the aim of turning placements into sustained pipelines. “The results we are getting are encouraging,” he said.
- Technical student program: A new pathway targets University of Liberia juniors in geology and mining engineering who meet GPA thresholds, with the goal of transitioning successful trainees into ministry roles after graduation.
- Vacation school and internships: The ministry developed additional internship and vacation-school tracks to build skills earlier in students’ careers.
- Pay harmonization push: Paye said he had advocated for the next national budget to align salaries across ministries by role, so “a director in [Mines and Energy] and a director in any other ministry can receive the same salary,” with similar parity for engineers and assistant directors.
Orderly Transition
Paye said senior managers met to agree steps for a comprehensive handover: written transition notes; inventories of vehicles, equipment and other assets; a statement of the ministry’s financial position (appropriations, allotments, disbursements and procurement status); and updated personnel rosters and gaps. “The new team will come and know where to begin from,” he said.
He thanked President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. “for the privilege to serve,” cited sector coordination mechanisms created under his watch—the Mineral Sector Working Group and Energy Sector Working Group—and pointed to a memorandum of understanding with the University of Liberia’s College of Engineering. He also acknowledged large- and medium-scale miners, Class B operators, exploration license holders, artisanal and small-scale miners, LEITI stakeholders, the Chamber of Mines, the Chamber of Commerce, students’ associations and the media.
“Transformation is possible,” he said. “A country so endowed by God with super abundance of mineral resources cannot be a poor country, begging all over the world… The world does not owe Liberia a living. Each generation of Liberians owes a living and must prepare the next generation.”
Speculation and a “Coded” Post
The Executive Mansion announced Paye’s removal on Oct. 27 along with two other senior officials: Carlos Edison Tingban and Oliver S. Gbegbe. No official reason was given for the removal. In the aftermath, social media commentary intensified after a public message by Paye’s wife praised him for “choosing integrity over wealth,” a post widely read as a veiled defense of his tenure.
“Thank you for making me a very proud wife! Your children are equally very proud of you. Of course, your God is happy to have a child like you. Choosing integrity over wealth is the best choice any true Christian can make. You are a great statesman so posterity will judge you kindly. Thank you for job well done Honey!” she wrote.
Local chatter has variously suggested internal policy disagreements or politics may have played a role in the shake-up. The government has not attributed the dismissals to any specific cause, and The Liberian Post could not independently verify the claims circulating online. Observers suggest that the wife’s message hints at internal policy tensions rather than poor performance. Some analysts argue that Paye’s dismissal may have been linked to disagreements over the controversial High Power Exploration Corporation (HPX) deal, which he reportedly resisted.
One of the officials initially removed— Gbegbe—has since been reappointed as Assistant Minister for Energy within the same ministry, the presidency said. So, Minister Paye and Tingban are the two who are now without jobs.
Vision Beyond the Handover
Paye urged the ministry to push ahead with long-discussed upgrades: establishing full-fledged regional complexes so “when somebody goes to Maryland County, they know that there is a Ministry of Mines and Energy,” digitizing services for small-scale miners, and building a merit-based career ladder for engineers and geoscientists.
“Pioneers open the way for those who will come after them,” he said. “Let each movement of action contribute to the realization of this vision.” He closed by wishing colleagues well and reaffirming his commitment to the sector from outside government. “We are leaving the ministry, but we are in the Republic of Liberia,” he said. “Wherever life will take us… it will be our desire to see this ministry continue to soar, to fly, to shine.”
