Gov’t prioritizes partnership with private sector

The Minister of Finance and Development Planning of Liberia, Hon. Samuel D. Tweah, Jr., says the government of President George M. Weah is prioritizing the private sector to achieve the aims of its new Pro-Poor Agenda for Development and Prosperity.

According to a dispatch from the Liberian Embassy in Washington, D.C., Minister Tweah was speaking on April 18, 2018, at the Africa Finance Forum, held under the auspices of the Corporate Council of Africa (CCA) in Washington.

Minister Tweah is in Washington at the head of a high-level Liberian Government Delegation at the annual Spring Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG), being held in Washington, April 16-22, 2018. Members of the Liberian Government Delegation include Hon. Milton A. Weeks, Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia; Hon. Mogana Flomo, Minister of Agriculture; and Hon. Augustus J. Flomo, Deputy Minister for Economic Management, MFDP.

Addressing a large gathering of business leaders and those involved with African policies on the topic: “Investment Opportunities in Liberia,” Minister Tweah said Liberia’s economy and jobs pillar of the new Pro-Poor Agenda will aim to significantly address constraints to investments and improve the general business climate in the country.

“In his inaugural address on 22 January 2018, President Weah declared Liberia ‘Open for Business,’ said Minister Tweah. “This declaration means that the government will be moving very fast to engendering a business and investment friendly environment, improving tax administration, strengthening contract enforcement and dismantling bureaucratic bottlenecks that pose serious impediments to business and investment,” he added.

Hon. Tweah indicated that over the past 12 years, Liberia has seen investment flows in mining, agriculture, forestry and financial services. Over the next several years, he added, the country looks to attract even bigger investment flows to sustain medium to long term economic growth.

Minister Tweah outlined several critical areas of reconstruction and economic development in which the Liberian Government would promote partnership with the private sector. Those areas of priority in which the government seeks private sector partnership or investment include, transforming roads and bridges throughout the country, investment in Liberia’s potentially lucrative energy or electricity infrastructure, and investment in the infrastructure of the four ports of Liberia.

According to Minister Tweah, the other critical areas for private sector partnership include revival of Liberia’s potentially viable domestic aviation sector, prioritize domestic rice production over the next five years, accelerate manufacturing growth through the creation of special economic zones, as well as the government’s plan to achieve an effective and efficient delivery of health care for marginalized Liberians.

Minister Tweah noted that the involvement of the private sector in the various areas the government has prioritized would accelerate national economic growth and yield dividends for the investors.

Minister Tweah was accompanied at the Africa Finance Forum by H.E. Lois Brutus, Liberia’s Ambassador to the United States; Mrs. Sophie Mawlue, Minister Counsellor for Economic Affairs; and Hon. Gabriel I. H. Williams, Minister Counselor for Press and Public Affairs, Embassy of Liberia.

Meanwhile, Minister Tweah and the Liberian Government delegation have been actively engaged with development partners and investors at the 2018 Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group, which brings together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, parliamentarians, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organizations and academics to discuss issues of global concern. Those issues include the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.

Also featured at the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group are seminars, regional briefings, press conferences, and many other events focused on the global economy, international development, and the world’s financial system.