Liberia: Workshop On National Transfer Accounts Opens in Monrovia

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MONROVIA – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), through its Sub-regional Office for West Africa (SRO/WA), has formally begun a three-day capacity-building workshop in Liberia for several institutions of the Liberian Government.

A release under the signature of a member of the ECOWAS Economic Journalists Network, Jacob N.B. Parley, said the three-day virtual training workshop, taking place in Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia, is aimed at producing economic and National Transfer Accounts (NTA) profile on Liberia.

According to the release, the exercise   is bringing together   two employees, each, from  key institutions of government, including the Ministries of Finance and Development Planning, Labour, Health, Agriculture, Justice, the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo- Information Services (LISGIS) and   the ECOWAS Economic Journalists Network. The ECOWAS Economic Journalists Network, established in Dakar, Senegal, in 2017, reports on economic and environment issues, among others.

The National Transfer Accounts (NTA) is an idea dedicated towards helping to strengthen the capacities of government employees, specifically in areas that enable ECOWAS member countries, including Liberia, integrate issues relating to demographic dividends  in respective development policies.

In a virtual remark made on behalf of the UNECA from Niger,  Barthelemy Biao, noted that West Africa’s 2019 population of 391 million inhabitants, raises the urgent  need for  investment in demographic transition.

  Biao strongly believes that capturing the demographic dividends in West Africa plays an essential role in improving  the living conditions of the populations through sustainable development and the structural transformation of economies .

“Liberia is now the only country in the region that does not have the NTA demographic profile and as such, the training is intended to build the capacity of Liberians that will help the government develop the NTAL profile on Liberia.” Barthelemy Biao,  added.

Speaking further, Baio  stressed the need for  employees from government entities to  familiarize themselves with the handbook for measuring the generational economy, published in 2013 by the United Nations and cited  the importance of the document in line with the vision of the West Africa Sub-regional Office  to invest  in approaches aligned with demographic economics.

“The  ECA will do everything possible to institutionalize the NTA approach and support countries to institutionalize it.” Observed the ECA official.

The ECA executive, at the same time mentioned that the  program has a window of economic growth, if accompanied by an appropriate government policies, including investment in health and education  and further  described  demographic dividend as  economic benefits that arise from changes in population age structure and from other demographic forces  that enhance  opportunities for economic development, among others.

Meanwhile, Assistant Finance Minister for Development Planning, Benedict Kolubah, hailed the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa(UNECA) for selecting Liberia as host for the three-day training. Mr. Kulobah, deputizing for Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister, Samuel D. Tweah,noted that   the occasion marked the beginning of  a new day for Liberia.

“This program is a roadmap for  enhancing the national demographic of  our country and setting the profile comes at a time  Liberia is in its preparatory stages of  conducting a national census.” He observed.

Mr. Kolubah assured the UNECA  that participants from Liberia are prepared to be trained and to adequately take part in the process so that Liberia  cannot be the only country in the West African Sub-region without a National Transfer Accounts(NTA).

The workshop, running from Tuesday, October 6 to Thursday, 8th, October, 2020, is being facilitated by experts  from the UNECA, in collaboration with the Liberian Government, through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning(MFDP).

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