Monrovia – A bill titled, ‘Pro-poor Bill’ has been introduced by a former lawmaker of Grand Kru County, Mr. Gbenimah Slopadoe. The bill, which is the Small Business Empowerment Act 2020, seeks to empower Liberian businesses.
Presenting the draft bill to the legislature, Rep. Slopadoe said he shares President George Weah’s vision for Liberians to be spectators of their own economy and that Liberians should take over their country’s economy.
According to him, his vision is also backed by Article 7 of the Liberian Constitution, which puts a management contract between Government and the people to ensure that citizens participate in the management of the national economy.
“Clearly, this vision cannot be discretionary as it is mandated by our constitution. It has to be a law. Research shows over the years that Liberian businesses lack capital as a major weakness in the face of competing with capital owners and importers.”
The draft bill is also recommending that the current small business Department, 2018, be made an autonomy to be known as Small Business Authority headed by a director-general, who shall be assisted by two assistants for Administration and Fundraising Affairs, respectively.
The bill is also recommending that the Liberian Innovation Fund for Entrepreneurs (LIFE) is a capital support fund to empower micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) through the provision of financial guarantees for low-interest and long-term loans provided by an authorized commercial bank to enhance the creation of the economic middle-class in Liberia.
The draft bill is also recommending that the current small business Department, 2018, be made an autonomy to be known as Small Business Authority headed by a director-general, who shall be assisted by two assistants for Administration and Fundraising Affairs, respectively.
Part of the draft bill, LIFE shall be funded from the national budget of Liberia and contributions from government’s bilateral partners, philanthropists, private equities and individuals.
In section 3.4 of the bill, custodians of LIFE shall be the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) under the supervision of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL).
Section 4.2 of the draft bill calls for bidding from the Government of Liberia to be done by only small businesses valued up to United States one million dollars or its equivalence in Liberian dollars, in addition to having 51 percent shares owned by Liberians.
The bill gives foreign businesses the opportunity to only bid for procurement contracts valued over United States dollars one million or its Liberian dollars equivalent provided that such business shall allocate 25 percent of said contracts to small business in partnership.
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