CSA Praises Departing OSIWA Rep.

The Country Coordinator of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Mr. Joe Pemagbi, has received high marks from the Director General of the Civil Service Agency (CSA) for his invaluable contributions to capacity-building in the Liberian Public Service.

Speaking at a farewell ceremony recently, Dr. C. William Allen described Mr. Pemagbi as a true technocrat who represented his organization well during his tour of duty here in Liberia for the past four years. The Open Society Initiative of West Africa is an arm of the Open Society Initiative otherwise known as the Soros Foundation based in New York, USA.

The OSI is a principal donor to the Liberia Emergency Capacity- Building Support [LECBS] project which provides resources to help Liberia meet its human and institutional capacity gaps precipitated as a result of the Civil War.

Dr. Allen praised Mr. Pemagbi, who served as OSI’s representative on the Project Steering Committee (PSC) of the LECBS, and said he would be missed for the professional and collaborative manner he ably worked to sustain the project since he joined the PSC in 2007.

In response, Mr. Pemagbi thanked the Liberian government for proving its readiness to address major challenges confronting it, especially in line with capacity-building.  He said although there were still challenges, the current government has made tremendous efforts, and has proven its willing to address major issues of national concern.

“The human resource development of Liberia has improved considerably. There is progress made in that direction, but the major challenge now is sustainability,” Mr. Pemagbi said.

He then stressed the need for the government to take ownership of its capacity-building programs and move beyond dependence on donor funding. Mr. Pemagbi leaves Liberia in a few weeks for another assignment with OSI.