Nellie Peyton is concern whether Liberia’s change of leader will put aid flows at risk. She adds that “Liberia’s development is at risk of slowing as Nobel prize-winning president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a darling of foreign aid donors, is replaced this month by an ex-soccer star with little government experience…”
(A Rejoinder to an Article by Nellie Peyton: “Will Liberia’s Change in Leadership Put Aid Flows at Risk?”[1])
On the contrary, I believe that the characterization attributed to President-elect George Weah is disingenuous to his true character, international respectability and leadership acumen. I also believe that Liberia’s change of leader will not put aid flows at risk.
The provision of foreign aid is primarily dependent on the preparedness of the aid recipient to align with the interests of the aid provider. Foreign aid is also dependent on the prevailing security, economic, trade and social conditions within the aid recipient country; the ability of the aid recipient country to make a case for aid; the ability of the aid provider to provide the aid; and the willingness of the aid recipient country to satisfy certain preconditions and to maintain certain fundamental tenets such as good governance, peace and security, human rights, press freedom, anti-corruption, etc.
Attracting aid also depends on the ability of the aid recipient to uphold sound monetary and fiscal policies and financial prudence. Foreign aid is not necessarily dependent on the competence of the head of state of the aid recipient country as Nellie asserts.
According to the New York Times[2], from 1980 to 1985, Liberia received nearly US$500 million in aid and loans from the United States, making Liberia the largest per-capita recipient of American aid in sub-Saharan Africa. The massive inflows of foreign aid were not preconditioned on the “government experience” of the late President Doe but rather the strategic alliance between the two countries at the time.
In a press statement[3] issued on January 8, 2018, the UN Security Council “encouraged the continued engagement of the international community and donors to assist Liberia’s continued efforts to achieve sustainable peace, including in support of the commitments made in the Liberia Peacebuilding Plan.” This is an indication that the international community would be willing to do business with the government under the leadership of George Weah.
In contrast, Nellie asserts that “Some aid programs that ended last year [2017] were not renewed because donors were anxious about the presidential transition, and this trend will likely continue…”. She furthered that, “it is risky time… adding that times would be hard even if Johnson Sirleaf were staying”. If this is true, times would be hard even if Johnson Sirleaf stays on as President.
Therefore, to say that aid flows will be at risk because of the change of leadership from Johnson Sirleaf to Weah is disingenuous to Weah.
George Weah has metamorphous from a football icon to a statesman. He has been a UNICEF Ambassador, a Senator and now the President-elect of the Republic of Liberia.
As the political leader of the biggest opposition political party, Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), and the largest political coalition, Coalition for Democratic Change, Weah has exhibited strong attributes of a peacemaker, a reconciler and a leader within the Liberian body politics. He used these attributes to quell tensions among Liberians during and after the 2005, 2011 and 2017 elections.
He has drawn admiration and enormous goodwill in the international community due to his patriotism and enviable leadership skills. I am confident that many bilateral and multilateral partners, donors, charitable and philanthropic organizations, and private investors would be willing to provide assistance; as well as, invest in Liberia’s economy under his administration.
Notwithstanding the forgoing, as Nelly rightly put it, “If the new government is stable and reasonably competent, the World Bank and the African Development Bank will continue to support them… But if not, they may be hesitant to extend further assistance and that would be damaging”.
In that context – The key words for the new government are ‘stability’ and ‘competence’ so as to maintain or increase foreign aid, at least in the short term. To restore confidence both at home and abroad, and to attract foreign aid and foreign direct investments, George Weah should, within the first 160 days in office as President of the Republic of Liberia:
Appoint competent cabinet members and heads of other government institutions. All appointees should have proven track record of leadership within the fields of appointment, high integrity and good character.
Meet the conditions precedent to immediately receive budget support from the African Development Bank and the World Bank. Renegotiate with the IMF, European Union and other donors to provide budget support at least in the short term.
Establish a strong Economic Management Team to review the economy of Liberia and make recommendations for short, medium and long-term actions.
Launch the fight against corruption by empowering the Public Procurement and Concession Commission, Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, General Auditing Commission, Internal Audit Agency and the Financial Intelligence Unit of Liberia. Implement key recent reports from these institutions, conduct audit of key and vulnerable institutions for the last 2 – 3 fiscal years, and ensure that capital flight and illicit financial flows are kept at the minimum.
Work with the National Legislature to pass major bills pertaining to the peace, stability and development of Liberia.
Implement some quick-win activities including but not limited to: a) connect additional households and businesses to the national electricity grid; b) construct additional farm-to-market, feeder and major roads, and c) implement training, employment and entrepreneur programs for the youth and most vulnerable people of society, including the physically challenged and senior citizens.
About Author
Alex Cuffy ([email protected]) is a strategic manager and public financial management expert. He currently heads the Financial Intelligence Unit of Liberia, and teaches Accounting at the University of Liberia.
He previously served as financial management advisor to the government of Liberia under the USAID funded portion of the Governance and Economic Management Program (GEMAP), and the World Bank Funded Agriculture Infrastructure Development Project (AIDP).
He has provided financial management consultancy for economic development projects in Liberia funded by the African Development Bank, United Nations Development Program, and World Bank; and he is the author of the Financial Management Manual of the Republic of Liberia.
He also managed public financial reporting systems at Ecolab (a 7 billion dollars specialty chemical manufacturing company headquartered in Minnesota, USA), and a Senior Auditor at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the #1 auditing firm in the world. Alex is a founding member of both “Friends of Weah” and the Congress for Democratic Change.
[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-liberia-aid/will-liberias-change-of-leader-put-aid-flows-at-risk-idUSKBN1EU1GY
[2] http://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/26/world/liberian-president-leads-the-good-life-while-his-country-grows-poorer.html?pagewanted=all
[3] https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13154.doc.htm