
Monrovia – Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS) with funding from the World Bank has launched the Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West Africa (HISWA) Liberia Project to promote development in the country.
For the next five years, LISGIS will serve as the primary beneficiary of the HISWA project activities. Other Ministries, Agencies and Commissions will also serve as the secondary beneficiaries for the full implementation of the project.
The launch of the HISWA project which was held on Thursday took place in the Grand Theater at the Ministerial Complex in Congo Town brought together several individuals from both the government and development partners including the student and youth communities.
The project is being implemented in line with the framework of the Nation Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS II). It is developed by LISGIS with the help of development partners covering the period of 2017-2021. The NSDS II is a continuation of the NSDS I, which seeks to rebuild the statistical capacity and strengthen coordination across the agencies responsible for collecting data.
Speaking, the Director-General of LISGIL Prof. Francis F. Wreh described the launch of the HISWA project as a milestone for the country. He added that the project will help the government meet all of its statistics problems.
He said that the launch of the project could not have been possible without the tireless efforts of the Legislature which he says saw the need to speedily ratified the implementation of the project.
“Today following this launch we have entered into a new challenging face. This is not going to be easy, however, the lesson learned during the first project implementation will serve as a good basic to perform on this new project,” Mr. Wreh said.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of Finance Minister Samuel Tweah, Assistant Finance Minister Benedict Korlubah says statistics are meaningful to policymaking.
He added that the importance of having quality data can help in providing effective public service delivery, something he says developed the Pro-poor Agenda for prosperity and Development or PAPD.
“It was on the foundation of the HISWA and other data sources that were used to develop the objective and the goals of the PAPD,” Korlubah said.
Delivering remark on behalf of the World Bank Liberia Country Manager Dr. Khwima Nthara, the Senior Social Protection Specialist Mack Capehart Mulbah said the objective of the project is to strengthen the statistical systems of participating countries and the regional bodies in Africa, something he could harmonize, produces, disseminate and enhance the use of core economic and social statistics.
“In Liberia, the project will support the implementation of core data collection efforts by the country including the upcoming population and Agricultural Censuses and the next round of the Household Income Expenditure Survey just to name a few. The project also partners with the University of Liberia in its effort to establish an undergraduate degree program in Statistics to support the government’s vision to grow the next generation of statisticians in Liberia,” Mulbah said.
Adding up, the Head of Missions of ECOWAS Commission in Liberia Mr. Nathaniel Walker said regional integration remains the most viable appropriate tool for achieving and accelerating sustainable development of the West African Countries.
“The ECOWAS Authority of Head of States and Government reaffirmed their commitment to improving West Africa integration process while enhancing the effectiveness of the institution in it’s total. On behalf of President Brou and the ECOWAS Mission in Liberia extend our profound gratitude to the government, the President, and the good people of Liberia for accepting this very important initiative of Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West Africa,” he said.