Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah says the aim of the Pro – Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD) is to lift one million Liberians out of poverty over the next five years.
He made the assertion Saturday, 27 October in Ganta, Nimba County while presenting to President George Manneh Weah the PAPD for its official launch.
The PAPD comes with a strong promise to lift Liberians out of poverty within the next five years.Minister Tweah explains that this does not mean that Liberians are going to be rich, but they will have stable and sustainable income from which they will support their various livelihoods.“The plans aim to do this by enabling the private sector to grow and produce jobs in various sectors of [the] economy,” he says.
According to him, jobs in agriculture, forestry, manufacturing and in – service sectors will give Liberians some sustainable income.Minister Tweah reveals that the PAPD plan encapsulates the fears, the anxiety, criticism, the ideas and the lesson learned for all Liberians.
Minister Tweah indicates that the plans will take Liberians where the private sector falls short and provide social protection for the vulnerable and the poor.Minister Tweah reports that the effective drafting of the PAPD began in March 2018, noting that effective delivery is the most important aspect of the launch.
In the next five years, Minister Tweah says government and its partners should place the country on the path to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which has now replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
If the goals and objectives under the PAPD are achieved, he says government would have achieve the SDGs since the PAPD is linked to both the SDGs and the Agenda 2063 Provision of African Transformation under the African Union (AU).
According to Minister Tweah, one of the reasons why Liberia did not meet the MDGs was due to the shocks from the deadly Ebola and collapse of commodity prices over the past several years.For his part, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Liberia Mr. Yacoub El Hillo says it is the responsibility of the UN to contribute not only to the launch, but to the implementation of the document for the benefit of the Liberian people.
“Now that the PAPD is being launched here, we at the UN are going to immediately amend, and produce a new framework for UN development assistance in Liberia to be totally aligned with the pro-poor agenda,” he says.Mr. Hillo says it is befitting that the launch of this agenda is not taking place in Monrovia, because he believes that the pro-poor agenda is not about Monrovia, but about Liberia.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]
According to him, it is befitting that a key priority for President Weah and his government is roads, and that is what is going to unlock the potential of Liberia.The UN envoy notes that roads do not only facilitate people’s movement easily, but they also make the movement of goods [smooth] and open the economy.
The PAPD launch brought together officials of government from line ministries and agencies including the private sector, members of the diplomatic corps, civil society institutions and students from various high schools across Ganta, among others.
By Lewis S. Teh–Edited by Winston W. Parley
