Since his appointment, confirmation, and commissioning by the President of Liberia, Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai, the Youth and Sports Minister Cllr. Jeror Cole Bangalu has been the only person steering the affairs of the Ministry of Youth and Sports for the past weeks.

However, after the successful confirmation of the Deputies and Assistants Minister by the Liberian Senate, on Monday, March 11, 2024, the Minister of Youth and Sports J. Cole Bangalu welcomed the Deputies and Assistants Minister who are his lieutenants responsible for driving the ARREST Agenda for the next six years.

The Deputies and Assistants Minister include Henry B. Yonton, Jr. – Deputy Minister for Administration, J Bryant Mcgill – Deputy Minister for Youth Development, G. Andy Quamie – Deputy Minister for Sports and   Laraamand Nyonton – Deputy Minister for TVET.

Others are Valerie D. C. Williams – Assistant Minister for Administration, Kuta Gbakolay – Assistant Minister for Youth Development, Murvee Gray – Assistant Minister for Sports and Collins Tamba – Assistant Minister for TVET.

Presenting them to the employees of the Ministry, Cllr. Bangalu said his success and failure depend on how they will perform their duties. “If I fail, then you all fail”, he noted.

He stressed that for the past weeks, he single-handedly ran the affairs of the entire ministry which was challenging and a learning experience. “I have a good insight into all the departments, over the past weeks it was tough, but I learned a lot”, Minister Bangalu said.

At the same time, Minister Bangalu wants the Deputy, and Assistant Ministers of sports to organize a meeting with the Liberia Football Association (LFA) so that they can discuss the success of Lone Star and how the national team can regain its winning status. He said if the Ministry performs well in the areas of Youth Development, Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and Administration, but fails to perform in football or other sports; the public will brand us as doing nothing. 

He frowned on how former players who represented Liberia in various sporting disciplines have no social security, noting that there should be discussions on the social security plan for former players and the current players of the National Team. The MYS boss said he has seen former football players die because there are no social security benefits for former players.

In their separate remarks, all of the Deputies and Assistants Minister thanked President Boakai for their preferment and they also thanked their boss minister Bangalu for making the case for them to be appointed. The Deputies and Assistants Minister use the occasion to ask the MYS family for their full support for the betterment of the Ministry and to achieve their goals.