Monrovia, Liberia–Investigation conducted by Verity News has revealed that Labour Minister Cllr. Cooper W. Kruah is once again entangled in allegations of corruption.
Documents obtained by this paper reveal that Minister Kruah deliberately extended the duration of an official trip abroad to accommodate his wife, at the expense of taxpayers.
According to internal Ministry memos and corroborated information from credible sources, Minister Kruah manipulated the travel dates for the recently held Global Government Summit in Luxembourg to span April 6–27, 2025, even though the summit officially ran from April 9–11, 2025, a mere three days.
What raises further suspicion is the Minister’s claim that the summit was hosted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), when in fact it was an event organized solely by the Government of Luxembourg.
The misrepresentation reportedly enabled the Minister to access excess funding and logistical support under the pretense of attending an ILO-endorsed event.
Family Vacation on Government Dime?
Sources close to the Ministry confirmed that the Minister’s deliberate inflation of the travel timeline was aimed at enabling his wife to accompany him under government funding.
The move, insiders say, allowed him to draw Daily Sustenance Allowance (DSA) and travel benefits for 21 days, far exceeding the actual length of the summit and legitimate travel time.
The estimated cost to the Liberian government for what should have been a five-day trip (two days’ travel, three days’ summit) was around US$2,325.
However, due to the Minister’s extended travel timeline, the government was potentially charged nearly four times that amount, raising serious concerns about misuse of public funds.
Spotted in Monrovia Before Trip’s End
Adding fuel to the controversy, Minister Kruah reportedly returned to Liberia on Thursday, April 24, three days before the falsely declared trip end date.
Just two days later, on Saturday, April 26, he was spotted at the Terra Cotta Restaurant in Monrovia, attending the signing of a Collective Bargaining Agreement between Bea Mountain Mining Company and the Gold and Diamond Workers Union.
His public appearance at a high-profile labor event further undermines his claim of being abroad until April 27 and raises critical questions: Why was the Minister drawing DSA and lodging fees for days he was already back in the country?
Minister Kruah, who has been implicated in lots of audit reports and corruption allegations, is once again caught in the web.
These latest revelations might spark outrage among civil society groups, transparency advocates, and political commentators, many of whom are calling for transparency and accountability within the governance system of the country.
A source to the Ministry of Labor asserted that the alleged acts of the Minister are not just unethical, but it’s criminal.
The anonymous source informed Verity News that the Minister must be held accountable for falsifying information and potentially siphoning public funds for personal benefit.
President Joseph Boakai has continued to stress his administration’s zero tolerance for corruption and mismanagement.
This incident is likely to become a litmus test for the Boakai-Koung administration’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
With the Liberian public already grappling with high unemployment and economic uncertainty, this latest travel scandal risks further eroding public trust in government institutions.
