Rabat – Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, is in Morocco where he met with his Moroccan counterpart, Madam Nadia Fettah, to discuss opportunities for enhanced bilateral cooperation in Public Financial Management (PFM) and other sectors.

The talks, held in Rabat, culminated in an agreement to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will see Morocco providing technical support to Liberia in key areas of PFM, including debt and cash management.

This partnership, according to Minister Ngafuan, will allow Liberian PFM professionals from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning to collaborate closely with their Moroccan peers, offering a valuable opportunity to build capacity for more effective public financial systems.”

Through this collaboration, we aim to equip our professionals with the tools and knowledge to enhance the efficiency of Liberia’s financial management systems,” Ngafuan explained.In addition to PFM discussions, the two ministers also delved into broader areas of mutual interest, including agriculture, particularly in the fisheries sector, as well as port development and sports.

They agreed to work closely with relevant sector entities to further explore these areas of cooperation. Earlier in the day, Minister Ngafuan participated in a high-level panel discussion on “Patient Capital for Critical Infrastructure” at the African Finance Ministers Summit in Casablanca.

The session, which included fellow finance ministers from across Africa, centered on the challenges of attracting long-term investment for critical infrastructure projects. Minister Ngafuan highlighted political instability, weak rule of law, and the lack of contract sanctity as major deterrents to attracting patient capital, which requires a stable and secure environment to thrive.

 “Patient capital becomes fleeting when political and economic conditions fail to inspire investor confidence,” Ngafuan stated, underscoring the importance of creating an environment where investors can trust in the long-term sustainability of projects. Minister Ngafuan’s visit is part of Liberia’s ongoing efforts to strengthen ties with African nations and improve its financial systems through international cooperation and knowledge-sharing.

MONROVIA – The Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates of the Kingdom of Morocco, H.E. Nasser BOURITA, and Delegation are expected to arrive in Liberia on Thursday, August 18, 2022 for a one day official working visit.

According to a Foreign Ministry release, H.E. Mr. Nasser BOURITA, the Moroccan Foreign Minister and delegation will meet with His Excellency Dr. George Manneh WEAH, President of the Republic of Liberia and key officials of the Government of Liberia.

The discussion with the Liberian Head of State will cover a wide range of issues including Morocco-Liberia relations as well as regional and international issues.

 H.E. Mr. Bourita, will convey the compliments of His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of the Kingdom of Morocco to his Excellency Dr. George Manneh WEAH, President of the Republic of Liberia for his exemplary leadership role in bringing peace and ensuring stability in the Mano River Union and the ECOWAS sub-region.

H.E. Bourita will hold extensive talks with the Liberian Foreign Minister H.E. Amb. Dee Maxwell Saah KEMAYAH, Sr., and will launch the renovation work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building; and renewed Morocco’s commitment to support the strengthening and development of Liberia’s human capacities through the granting of scholarships and other training programs. Morocco plans to deepen this exceptional relationship within the framework of Liberia’s Flagship National Plan – “Pro Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development.

Monrovia – The Northern African country of Morocco’s request to join the West African regional body has been approved in principle by ECOWAS, but West African leaders are studying the implications of its membership before its membership can be formally endorsed.

King Mohammed VI of Morocco was expected to take part in the 51st ECOWAS summit but canceled his trip to Liberia due to the controversy surrounding the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the event.

ECOWAS weighs US$630 billion, representing the world’s 21st GDP and by integrating Morocco, the 15-member bloc would become the 16th largest world economy with an additional $115 billion and a GDP approaching US$745 billion, ahead of Turkey and right after Indonesia.

With its strategic geographic and economic position, Morocco would be a vital platform for ECOWAS countries to secure European, American and Arab markets.

According to experts, the regional group has exceeded the expectations of its founding fathers.

Today, the organization is recognized globally as a successful regional body. ECOWAS can be seen now as a model of integration and regional co-existence.

The vision of ECOWAS is the creation of a borderless region where the population has access to its abundant resources and is able to exploit them through the creation of opportunities under a sustainable environment.

In this bloc, the population enjoys free movement, have access to efficient education and health systems and engage in economic and commercial activities while living in dignity in an atmosphere of peace and security.

With a population of some 35 million people, Morocco until recently wasn’t even a member of the African Union (AU).

The country left the continental organization for more than 30 years over the AU’s recognition of Western Sahara, a territory that Morocco laid claims to. Early this year, it reapplied to the AU and was readmitted.

ECOWAS is a regional bloc of some 15 countries close to each other and mostly sharing borders.

The countries are Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Benin and Cape Verde.

While this won’t be the first time that North African countries have joined organizations originally meant exclusively for countries in other regions of Africa, as Libya and Egypt are members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), a group of countries in East and South Africa, Morocco’s bid to join ECOWAS sounds bizarre.

Morocco regards Western Sahara as part of its historic territory and has spent much of the last three decades trying to strengthen ties with Europe at the expense of relations with Africa.

There has been no official confirmation of the decision to admit Morocco but highly placed ECOWAS sources have confirmed it to the BBC.

Morocco, along with Tunisia which is seeking observer status with the ECOWAS and Mauritania, which wants to return to the body, will be invited to the next meeting of heads of state in Togo in December, a source told BBC.

The country Morocco

With its diverse Arab, Berber and influence of European culture, Morocco describes itself as a constitutional monarchy.

In 2011 it adopted a new Constitution, which laid the grounds for what it describes as a more open and democratic society, with separation of powers and increased decentralization.

Despite the claim to democracy, the monarchy has a tight grip on the country.

The World Bank reports that after a good performance in 2015, the Moroccan economy is decelerating in 2016.

Economic activity slowed to 1.4 percent in the second quarter as a result of a 12.1 percent contraction in agriculture production, while growth outside the agriculture sector remained sluggish at around 2.5 per cent.

Inflation has remained muted at under 2 per cent, reflecting prudent monetary policy and the fall in international commodity prices.

The Bank further indicates that based on performance since the beginning of 2016, Morocco is expected to reduce its fiscal deficit to 3.5 percent of GDP.

“This would be the result of strong revenue performance and the continued reduction in consumption subsidies. Morocco should thus be able to stabilize its central government debt at around 64 per cent of GDP,” it said.

The country’s trade deficit narrowed down in recent years as a result of fiscal consolidation efforts and the emergence of Morocco’s new industries, especially automobiles.

The current account deficit should not exceed 1.5 per cent of GDP for 2016, and Morocco’s international reserves reached $24.9 billion—the equivalent of 7.3 months’ worth of imports at end-June 2016, the World Bank said.

Considering its sound economic performance, despite all the headwinds, which is an indication that Morocco might be seeking to take advantage of the West African economy – with a population of 335 million, West Africa has a GDP of $345 billion, and Morocco already has bilateral relations with almost all the 15 countries of the ECOWAS.

While Morocco might be a good trading partner as it is also one of the leading producers of phosphate in Africa, there are already existing trade relations with these countries, raising questions about the exact reasons behind Morocco’s interest in becoming a member of ECOWAS.

One of the sticky issues surrounding Morocco’s ECOWAS membership is whether or not the country being a monarchy state would be willing to subject itself to ECOWAS protocol on democracy and governance as Article 1 of ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance calls for separation of powers, and among others, the independence of the judiciary and judges.

The Protocol is also clear on the secularism and neutrality of the State in all matters relating to religion but does not preclude the right of the State to regulate with due respect to human rights.

Besides, ECOWAS protocols such as this one are binding. What that means is that, for a constitutional monarchy that operates quite differently, it remains to be seen how Morocco can subject itself to these universal principles of this particular ECOWAS protocol.

Monrovia – The Liberia Football Association (LFA) has confirmed an international friendly with Morocco on August 31 but it appears that information maybe another publicity stunt.

This followed a deceitful admittance by the LFA on August 13 that the much-publicized West African Football Union (Wafu) tournament, which was scheduled for October in honor of Presidents Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has been canceled due to ongoing renovation works at the Samuel Kanyon Doe sports complex. 

And now the official Facebook page of the Morocco FA is quoting Liberian media of a planned friendly with its local national team.

According to the LFA, the match takes place in Casablanca with Morocco having exchanged communication with Liberia on August 10.

But there is no mention of the match, which will take place at the Kenitra Stadium at 8:00PM local time, on the official website of the Morocco FA.

According to LFA communications consultant Horatio Bobby Willie, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was reached with Mcsport, who are organizing the match.
Willie disclosed that the MOU, which was signed by LFA Presidents Musa Bility, will see Liberia train in Rabat for five days before and after the game.

He said Liberia is expected to feature 90-percent of the team that will face Tunisia on September 3 in the last match of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier while the Moroccans will feature its home based national team.

“This will help us to test our players and work on our strategies ahead of crucial matches in both the African Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers,” Bility was quoted in a LFA release.

According to Willie, Mcsport will provide training facility, a 50-seater bus, provide a luxurious hotel and accommodate a 32-man delegation while the LFA will provide tickets and all the resources for the delegation that will include local and foreign-based players.

But doubts now hang over the veracity of the LFA’s pronouncement if the website and Facebook accounts of the Moroccan FA are anything to go by.