Take the World Bank’s poverty reports seriously

A Liberian clergyman, Bishop Dr. Kortu Brown, laments the wave of poverty in Liberia following the World Bank’s latest poverty report.

By Naneka A. Hoffman

Monrovia, Thursday, March 21, 2023-A Former President of the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC), Bishop Dr. Kortu K. Brown, wants the Government of Liberia and the entire citizenry to take the World Bank’s latest poverty report about the country very seriously.

Speaking in an interview on Thursday, March 21, 2024, Bishop Brown expressed disappointment in the recent World Bank Poverty report that suggests that over half of the population still live below the poverty line. 

He noted that after the end of the civil war and twenty years of peace in Liberia, it is unbelievable that Liberians still lag behind in terms of development, living in poverty with a lack of development despite the abundance of natural resources that God has blessed the country with.

He added that the report finds that nearly 6 out of every 10 Liberians live in poverty based on the national poverty line.

Bishop Kortu laments that in the context of multiple crises, the plight of the poor has worsened, and the number of people in poverty has increased, adding that roughly 1,000,000 Liberians live in extreme poverty and 2.5 million in absolute poverty. 

He notes that the large numbers can sometimes be hard to grasp, but behind the numbers are individuals. The Poverty Assessment shows that the face of poverty in the country is the youth, adding that it is more likely to be a female from a rural area.

“It is the face of someone who has had little or no access to education, healthcare, and basic services like water and sanitation.”

Bishop Brown urges President Joseph N. Boakai to establish a commission named and styled commission on poverty eradication in the country if the issue of poverty must be tackled.

He also calls on the Government of Liberia to hold a national conference that will gather experts from across the country to review the World Bank reports on Liberia and find a solution to address the issue of poverty.

According to him, past and current leaders of the country always focus on things that do not address the main problems confronting the citizenry but boast of employment with the government.

The LCC former president’s comments were in reaction to recent World Bank Poverty reports released on Liberia, suggesting that over half of the country’s population still lives below the poverty line.

He laments that Liberia has not progressed in past years due to the government’s signing of bad concessions, which is contributing to the increasing wave of poverty.

He challenges the Boakai administration, the 55^th Legislature, and the entire citizenry to put their hands on deck as this calls for national action.

He believes this is achievable if President Boakai applies his experience in agriculture to address poverty. Editing by Jonathan Browne