Africa-Press – Liberia. A leading Liberian and international development expert, and former Executive Director at the African Development Bank, has issued a strong New Year call for urgent, unified action to accelerate Liberia’s development, urging leaders across the political spectrum, communities, and citizens at home and abroad to place national progress above politics and personal interest.
In a New Year message shared publicly on social media, Rufus N. Darkortey emphasized that Liberia’s persistent development challenges are no longer the result of limited ideas or lack of understanding, but rather a failure of execution, coordination, and sustained delivery.
As the new year begins, Darkortey said Liberia stands at a defining moment in its development journey. He noted that the scale of underdevelopment confronting the country makes urgency unavoidable and called for stronger execution, decisive leadership, and results delivered with pace and scale to close the gap between national ambition and the lived economic conditions of ordinary Liberians.
Drawing on decades of experience in international development finance and economic growth and development policy, Darkortey observed that countries do not advance on promises, slogans, or plans alone. Instead, he said, progress is driven by disciplined leadership, decisive action, coordinated execution, sound growth-oriented economic policies, credible institutions, and the courage to make difficult decisions in the long-term interest of future generations.
He stressed that Liberia’s development challenge has moved beyond diagnosis, noting that the country already understands what needs to be done. What has been missing, he said, is consistent execution, unity of purpose, and the institutional discipline required to translate plans into outcomes that materially improve the lives of citizens.
Darkortey further emphasized that accelerated development cannot be achieved through permanent political confrontation. He argued that countries make progress when national interest is placed above division and when leaders recognize that effective execution requires collaboration and cooperation across institutions and political lines.
He noted that while strong democracies allow debate, effective states align institutions, national purpose, and development priorities around delivery. When politics becomes deeply polarized and purely partisan, he said, development suffers, because infrastructure, energy access, food security, job creation, and opportunity are not partisan outcomes but national imperatives that affect all citizens, regardless of political affiliation.
Darkortey called on the government, opposition political parties, development partners, the private sector, civil society, and Liberians at home and in the diaspora to work together in the national interest, emphasizing that unity does not imply uniformity but a shared commitment to act collectively where development outcomes are at stake.
He also stressed that Liberia’s development cannot be driven by government alone, but requires a community-based approach that mobilizes the energy of young people, the strength of women, the wisdom of elders, and the active participation of Liberians in the diaspora who bring skills, resources, investment, and deep commitment to the country’s future.
Darkortey cautioned that continued reliance on fragmented and low-impact development efforts has constrained Liberia’s progress and failed to deliver meaningful transformation. He argued that what the country requires now are large, well-designed, and transformative development projects capable of decisively shifting the economic trajectory and creating opportunity at scale.
Emphasizing the need for a fundamental shift in ambition, execution, and delivery, Darkortey urged Liberians to pursue a bolder and more results-driven development agenda. “I deeply believe that Liberia must think bigger, act bolder, execute faster, and deliver results that people can see, feel, and benefit from,” Darkortey said.
He concluded by expressing cautious optimism about Liberia’s future, while underscoring that progress would ultimately depend on serious leadership, national unity, and disciplined execution.
Progress, he said, is possible when leadership is principled, institutions are aligned, citizens are engaged, and the nation is united around execution and delivery. He wished Liberians a purposeful, productive, and impactful year ahead.
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