The Charge d’ Affaires of the United States Embassy near Monrovia, Catherine Rodriguez has called on development partners, including the United States to support Liberia in reaching development goals.
Speaking at a one-day national dialogue hosted by USAID-LEAD on Thursday, April 4, 2024, Madam Rodriguez said the US wants Liberia achieve its developmental goals because the country has no reason to be in the state that it’s in currently.
She said if Liberia’s problem has to be solved; it takes the partnership and hard work of all.
“These are the ideas, objectives, and challenges we have all brought you here today to discuss. We have called this event a “national dialogue” because we do indeed want it to be an exchange of ideas and best practices,” she said.
Rodriguez explained that the US Government has recognized the governance challenges at the local level, from the operational struggles of County Service Centers, which include limited resources, little or no functional equipment, and low employee capacity to the effectiveness of County Councils that do not have adequate office space, lack of support staff to implement their mandates, and unclear roles and responsibilities.
The Charge d’ Affaires maintained that the US Government also looks forward to engaging with the Government of Liberia to overcome these challenges in a way that benefits all citizens.
She narrated that the United States was encouraged to hear President Boakai’s commitment to the formation of the Ministry of Local Government to move forward the long-stalled decentralization process; indicting that decentralization will help the government provide essential basic services at the local level.
With that, according to her, it will ensure that all citizens see tangible benefit from the taxes they pay, even in the most remote corners of the country, be it a new school for their children, a functioning health clinic in their community, or electricity in their village.
“The U.S. Government looks forward to engaging with the new administration to help improve fiscal transparency through citizen engagement and audit follow-up, but the government of Liberia must do its part by ensuring that there are serious consequences for corruption and mismanagement,” she emphasized.
She said while the U.S. is pleased to support this effort, it is clear that the Government of Liberia is in the driver’s seat.
“We are already seeing progress being made in the right direction from the new administration in three critical areas.” For her part, Madam Tanneh G. Brunson, Deputy Minister for Budget and Development Planning, Ministry of Finance, explained that the USAID-LEAD activity which was awarded to Development Alternatives, Inc. Global LLC (DAI) for five years, could not have come at a better time.
Madam Brunson said the USAID-LEAD objective is to enhance the capacities of targeted Ministries, Agencies, and Commissions (MACs), as well as local governments.
However, she stated that the USAID activity is aimed at formulating and administering sound tax policies, improving budget transparency, deepening decentralization, and delivering much-needed quality services at the sub-national level.
“Therefore, to improve domestic revenue mobilization (DRM), LEAD is expected to support the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) and Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), in strengthening the tax policy formulation process, improving tax administration system, and increasing citizens’ participation in DRM,” Brunson indicated.
