Africa-Press – Liberia. The pace at which road projects sponsored by the World Bank are being implemented by the Liberian government is not satisfactory, the World Bank Regional Vice President for Western and Central Africa, Ousman Diagana, has told FrontPageAfrica in an exclusive interview.
Diagana who visited Monrovia last Wednesday and inspected projects sponsored by the Bank. He was accompanied by Pres. George Weah and a host of government officials including the Minister of Public Works, the Minister of Finance, the Foreign Minister, among others.
In an exclusive interview at the Bank’s office in Monrovia, Mr. Diagana said, upon the inspections, he held meetings with the President and expressed the need for Liberia to do better in terms of implementation.
He said “time of the essence” for a country that is aspiring for development, therefore, development projects must be accelerated.
Diagana: “This is something that we have brought to the attention of the government. The resources are available from the World Bank, there’s technical expertise in country from the World Bank, we have expanded significantly our presence in Liberia to support the country but we are not in charge of the implementation of the projects, so, if there are delays, of course, it’s on the government’s side. In terms of implementation, the country could do better and we have discussed this with them and subsequently, for the next generations of the programs we will see some progress.”
He, however, noted that though he is not satisfied with the level of progress Liberia has made in terms of project implementation, the country is not lagging behind other countries in the region as they all face similar capacity constraints.
The World Bank Executive inspected ongoing road rehabilitation work on the 6.1 km road linking S.D. Cooper Road to Coca-Cola Factory Road, including ELWA and Red-Light Junctions funded by the World Bank through Liberia Road Asset Management Project (LIBRAMP).
Liberia joined the World Bank Group on March 28, 1962 and since then the Bank has been one of Liberia’s key development partners, supporting major investments in health, education, energy, agriculture, fisheries and transport. The World Bank’s affiliate, IFC, has also been a key supporter of various private sector activities. Total current World Bank portfolio for Liberia stands at $1.3 billion, covering 22 national projects ($912 million) and 4 regional projects ($402 million).
The President acknowledged the Bank’s increased support to Liberia, which has grown significantly, with national IDA commitments doubling from just under $500 million US dollars to close to $1 billion US dollars from 2019.
“This is a manifestation of the confidence that the Bank has in my Government’s vision for our Country,” the Liberian President noted, emphasizing that such a support aligns with Government’s strategic approach to finding lasting solutions to the problems that have plagued the Liberian people for years.
President Weah said the partnership has shown that the Bank is not only in Liberia to support the government financially, but also to help mobilize even more resources from other sources in order to bridge our infrastructure deficit, especially in the road and energy sectors.
Increased Resources from WB
Mr. Diagana said Liberia has in recent time seen increased resources from the World Bank as a result of several improvements that country has made in terms of accountability, good management of resources, good public policies, good implementation of programs, among others.
He said there is a need for Liberia to perform better in order to have access to more resources from the Bank, the Bank does not dwell on the shortcomings of any country, rather, it tries to put in place mechanisms that would have countries like Liberia improve on its overall governance and management of resources. This, he said is part of the Bank’s policy dialogue.
“We know that your capacities are limited, we know that Liberia is having difficulties like many African countries. The environment is very fragile. So, let’s recognize the issues, let’s face the issue,” he said.
He called on civil society to also play its role in ensuring good governance and the adequate use of national resources.
Good Macro Stability
The World Bank Executive said despite the COVID crisis, the Ukraine war, and climate change, Liberia has strived to remain resilient and though inflation remains high in the country, Liberia is performing better than most countries, he said.
According to him, the Liberian government deserves a pat on the back for maintaining a good macro stability.
“We appreciate the Liberian authorities’ effort for paying very good attention to macro stability,” he said.
He said as a result of steady improvements, the number of programs that the World Bank is financing in Liberia and the financial resources that are associated to the programs have increased significantly.
“We have about 26 operations in Liberia today with net commitment of US$1.3 billion – it’s a huge amount – and as the macro situation and governance continue to improve, the World would certainly increase its financial contribution to Liberia,” he said.
Need to Redouble Efforts
When asked whether Liberia is on the right track to economic recovery, Mr. Diagana said the country is making progress but needs to double its efforts.
He, however, said these efforts need to be accompanied by the international community including the World Bank’s assistance.
He also urged the Liberian government to use resources made available by the World Bank in a timely and effective manner.
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