Businessman and politician Simeon Freeman, owner of DStv Liberia and leader of the Movement for Progressive Change (MPC), has come under fire after releasing a scathing statement accusing President Joseph N. Boakai’s administration of wasting over US$1.5 billion with little visible impact.
In his lengthy post titled “This Is What We Mean When We Say Nothing Has Changed,” Freeman outlined what he described as the government’s persistent failures across key sectors, including education, health, power, agriculture, and job creation.
According to him, “high school dropouts dominate the teaching field,” Liberia still has “one doctor to every 5,000 patients,” and the country remains overly dependent on imported rice and electricity. Freeman further accused the Boakai administration of prioritizing “foreign travel and photo opportunities” while neglecting local development needs.
He also alleged corruption at the highest level, claiming that President Boakai has “built a $10 million estate in Foya just two years into his presidency,” which he described as “the height of deception.”
However, Freeman’s critique has sparked a strong public backlash, particularly over what many see as hypocrisy given his own company’s controversial operations. Critics argue that DStv Liberia, under Freeman’s leadership, has long been exploiting Liberian consumers through high subscription fees, limited local content, and poor service quality, while offering little reinvestment into the local entertainment sector.
One critic remarked:
“It’s ironic to hear Mr. Freeman talk about accountability when DStv Liberia continues to charge some of the highest rates in the region with almost no local value. You can’t condemn government exploitation while doing the same to your customers. Change starts at home.”
Many Liberians echoed this sentiment online, arguing that while Freeman’s points about governance may hold some truth, his moral standing to criticize is undermined by the monopolistic and unaffordable nature of DStv’s operations in Liberia.
The debate has reignited public discourse around business ethics and social responsibility, with citizens calling on both the government and private sector to be held equally accountable for the country’s underdevelopment.
As one observer put it, “Liberia’s problem isn’t just bad leadership, it’s also the hypocrisy of those who profit from the system while pretending to fight it.”
