Liberia Receives US$11 Million Grant From the World Bank

The World Bank has announced a US$11 million International Development Association (IDA) grant to Liberia to help the nascent democracy improve efficiency and transparency in her financial and human resource management, according to a World Bank press statement quoted by the UN Mission press office in Monrovia on Thursday.

The statement said the grant is to support the Economic Governance and Institutional Reform Project (EGIRP) to be implemented over a three-year period.

According to the statement, the grant will focus on major and measurable improvements in revenue administration, public procurement, budget execution and payroll management.

The statement said US$8.5 million will be devoted to strengthening public financial management, while US$2.5 million will go towards supporting the Civil Service Reform Program.

This component will support Liberia’s overall Civil Service Reform efforts, focusing particularly on overhauling and reducing fraud in the payroll and pensions system, as well as streamlining the public sector recruitment system.

It will also help in training and rebuilding of skills in the civil service, the statement said.

The objectives of this project are in line with Liberia’s interim Poverty Reduction Strategy which is built on four key pillars: (i) Security (ii) Economic Revitalization; (iii) Governance and the Rule of Law; and (iv) Infrastructure and Basic Services.

Ishac Diwan, the World Bank Country Director for Liberia, stresses the importance of adhering to agreed Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative principles.

“It is lamentable that a country like Liberia, very rich in numerous natural resources, should be counted among the poorest of the poor,” Mr. Diwan said, adding that “sustained efforts must be made to ensure that the proceeds from all these concessions, whether in extractive industries or forests, are maximized, and put to good use, for the development of Liberia”.

Source African Press Agency

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