By 
The recent NEKOTECH loan scheme debacle serves as a stark reminder of Liberia’s ongoing vulnerability to exploitation—especially in the education sector. Initially presented as a revolutionary opportunity for students to pursue higher education in the United States and Canada without collateral, the program has devolved into a scam that has left many hopeful students devastated and disillusioned.
What was marketed as a golden opportunity quickly unraveled under the weight of unattainable conditions, such as requiring students to provide bank guarantees of up to $40,000—an amount that would be out of reach for most Liberians. These conditions were never disclosed upfront and, instead, were revealed only after many students had already invested their time, energy, and hopes into the program. The disappointment was compounded during a recent Town Hall meeting at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (EJS) Ministerial Complex, where government officials failed to adequately address the mounting concerns of the public. Instead, they offered vague responses, fueling suspicions that the entire initiative was nothing more than a fraudulent scheme.
What makes this scandal even more egregious is the involvement of high-ranking government officials, who endorsed the program without conducting the necessary due diligence. Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gabriel H. Salee, lauded the program as a “medium” for creating opportunities, despite its clear flaws. This endorsement came without scrutiny and in the face of growing evidence that the program was little more than a house of cards built on deception.
However, the most troubling revelation in this sordid affair involves Liberia’s Foreign Minister, Sara Beysolow Nyanti. Despite being entrusted with overseeing the program, Minister Nyanti failed to engage meaningfully with the Nekotech Center of Excellence, instead outsourcing the oversight responsibilities to a consultant, Chris Moore, whose qualifications and motivations remain unclear. Worse, Nyanti reportedly avoided a meeting with the organization to escape public scrutiny—this move signals a disturbing pattern of avoidance and negligence by high-ranking officials who are meant to safeguard the welfare of the public. Her inaction raises serious questions about her commitment to transparency and accountability.
Assistant Information Minister Matthew Nyanplu’s recent public condemnation of the program exposed the full scale of the deception at play, but rather than taking responsibility for failing to detect the issue earlier, the government moved swiftly to suspend him. The suspension, while framed as a disciplinary action for breaching internal protocols, ultimately reflects a deeper systemic problem within the administration: a culture of evasion and scapegoating rather than one of accountability and reform.
The NEKOTECH scandal is not just a failure of one government program—it is a symptom of a broader systemic issue. It highlights the government’s inability to properly vet initiatives, protect its citizens from exploitation, and ensure that the resources meant to benefit the public do not fall into the hands of opportunistic scammers. The government’s rush to endorse the program without proper scrutiny is an indictment of its lack of oversight and its tendency to prioritize political expediency over the well-being of the population.
In the aftermath of this scandal, there is a growing need for the government to implement urgent reforms. Officials must be held accountable for their roles in perpetuating this fraudulent scheme, and comprehensive measures must be put in place to ensure that such vulnerabilities are not exposed again.
As Liberia continues to grapple with its educational challenges, it is imperative that the government adopts a more rigorous, transparent, and responsible approach to protecting its citizens—especially its most vulnerable students—from exploitation. The government must take immediate steps to investigate the full extent of the NEKOTECH debacle, restore trust, and implement safeguards to prevent future frauds that threaten the future of Liberia’s youth.
In the end, the failure of the NEKOTECH loan scheme is not just a failure of one program; it is a failure of governance. The Liberian government must rise to the occasion and show that it is truly committed to serving the needs of its citizens, not exploiting their aspirations for political gain. If not, Liberia will remain vulnerable to further manipulation and abuse, with devastating consequences for its people.
