By Lewis S. Teh
Liberia’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Varney A. Sirleaf, urges President-elect, Joseph N. Boakai to build on the gains made by the outgoing administration of President George Weah for the growth of the country.
“I therefore implore the coming government to build upon the gains that have been made over the years by strengthening these interventions and exploring sustainability mechanisms to continue the Liberia Decentralization Support Program in the future”, he urges.
Minister Sirleaf made the urge Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at the Internal Affairs Ministry on Capitol Hill during his last engagement development partners including the Swedish Embassy, Irish Embassy, UNDP, USAID, Ministry of Finance and Development Panning and the Governance Commission.
In brief opening remarks at the start of the meeting, he informed development partners and stakeholders that the Liberia Decentralization Support Program has over time recounted enormous accomplishments due to the collective efforts of all stakeholders.
“I am particularly excited about the strides made around the legal and regulatory reforms accomplishment during the period under review”, he said, adding that the landmark enactment of the Revenue Sharing Act, the PFM amendment and the drafting of the Ministry of Local
Government Bill are testaments to these collective efforts.
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He notes that solar installations in 12 of the 15 County Service Centers across the country are extremely notable, as this will address perennial challenge of stable electricity that has hindered service delivery.
I am also impressed about the establishment of County Councils and the Real Estate Revenue sharing intervention currently being carried out by the LRA in Buchanan city.”
He says those interventions are key for enhancing decentralization and promoting local economic development.
Minister Sirleaf also calls on stakeholders and development partners not to abandon the Project; instead, he says they should remain committed, saying even though we might not be around but let’s continue to support this program for the betterment of Liberia.
“Your supports were a vital ingredient to the success of the LDSP programme and the main gains the government made in other sectors during the past six years.”
UNDP Deputy Resident Representative for programs, Louis Kuukpen, thanked Minister Sirleaf and his team, including all stakeholders for the efforts in making sure that government supports the LDSP in all counties.
“We are very much grateful for your dedication, success and time, and we’re hoping that your successors will bring seminar zest in seeing that the different programs are implemented”, Deputy Representative Kuukpen said.
He expressed joy for the role played by UNDP, saying “We are happy for the achievements we have made together, including the conducting of counties orientation; we saw the enthusiasm and the level of engagement at the community level and this is my realization that the decentralization is a response to DG (Development Goal) 60 that talks about inclusivity.
Swedish Ambassador to Liberia, Urban Sjostrom, also thanked the Ministry of Internal Affairs for always working alongside the Swedish Government in rebuilding the development initiatives of Liberia.
Amb. Sjostrom thanked Minister Sirleaf for extending him an invitation, saying “thank you for inviting me to this meeting as you all may be aware, Sweden is a longtime partner with Liberia. We have been engaging in lots of areas, but this LDSP has been one of the important things to us.”
He notes that as partners, they have seen the challenges in taking decentralization to the people and also seen the progress that’s has been made so far, while commending the Minister Sirleaf for this achievement.
Amb. Sjostrom discloses that he paid a visit to Grand Bassa Ciunty to see efforts in the decentralization program and it was exciting for him to have seen the solar panels installed all across the county. However, he notes, there’s still a long journey and assures that as partners, they are stepping in to support this initiative through the ministry. Editing by Jonathan Browne
