Liberia’s Path to Transformation
London, United Kingdom, July 18, 2024.
At the 9th African Leadership Magazine Africa Summit, Dr. Augustine Konneh, Senior Advisor to the President of Liberia, delivered an inspiring presentation on behalf of His Excellency President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. The presentation, titled “Africa Unleashed: Navigating Disruptions and Enhancing Opportunities: The Liberian Experience,” outlined Liberia’s ambitious ARREST Agenda aimed at transforming the nation’s socio-economic landscape.
President Boakai’s ARREST Agenda—focusing on agriculture, roads, the rule of law, education, sanitation, and tourism—has been a cornerstone of his administration since his inauguration in January 2024. This agenda is designed to create a new national development plan aimed at reducing multidimensional poverty over the next five years.
Dr. Konneh highlighted the significant disruptions Liberia has faced, including the civil war from 1989 to 2003, the Ebola epidemic of 2014-2015, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic repercussions of the war in Ukraine. These events severely impacted Liberia’s production and economic gateways, particularly in the agricultural sector.
Despite these challenges, the ARREST Agenda has facilitated Liberia’s resilience and recovery. Within the first hundred days of President Boakai’s administration, resources were mobilised to improve road infrastructure, vital for agribusiness and overall economic development. Leveraging his background as a former Minister of Agriculture, President Boakai has prioritised road construction and repair.
Additionally, President Boakai’s administration has initiated the establishment of an Economic and War Crimes Court and an Anti-Corruption Court to address the lingering effects of the civil war and promote justice and transparency. Collaboration with international partners has been sought to support these initiatives. The government is also overhauling the civil service to enhance efficiency and focusing on ICT and STEM programmes to tackle youth unemployment. The long-term vision is to elevate Liberia to a middle-income state by 2050.
Dr. Konneh extended an invitation to global investors to join Liberia’s economic transformation. He emphasised the government’s commitment to creating a conducive environment for investment, particularly in infrastructure development, natural resource management, and entrepreneurship. Liberia is now open for business, promising mutually beneficial outcomes for all stakeholders.
The presentation underscored the urgency of investing in Liberia, noting the nation’s proximity to concluding its strategic plan, Vision 2030. The ARREST Agenda aims to accelerate progress made since the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy in 2006, addressing development constraints and minimising investment risks.
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Here’s the complete speech
Africa Unleashed: Navigating Disruptions and Enhancing Opportunities: The Liberian Experience
By
Dr. Augustine Konneh, Senior Advisor to the President of Liberia
Presented at the 9th African Leadership Magazine Africa Summit
(London, July 17-18, 2024)
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Greetings from the President of Liberia, His Excellency Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. The President has tasked me to represent him at this Summit and deliver a presentation on his behalf. He extends his felicitations and congratulations to Dr. Ken Giami and his staff and partners for organizing this innovative Summit with a meaningful team on African development.
Since his inauguration in January this year, President Boakai has initiated a new Agenda focused on developing agriculture, building roads, addressing the rule of law, improving education, and promoting sanitation and tourism (the ARREST Agenda). The aim is to create a new national development plan to reduce multidimensional poverty in the next five years.
The context of this new agenda is the disruptions in Liberia’s recent history, such as the civil war between 1989 and 2003, economic challenges due to the Ebola epidemic of 2014-15, the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the effects of the war in Ukraine. These events have significantly impacted production and brought the economic gateways of Liberia to a standstill. These disruptions have also affected agriculture and led to declining agricultural production.
The ARREST Agenda has helped the government navigate these disruptions. For example, within the first one hundred days of his administration, the President mobilized resources to address the road situation. President Boakai understands the importance of good roads for agribusiness production and has used his experience as a former Minister of Agriculture to address this issue. In addition, he has initiated the establishment of an Office for an Economic and War-Crimes Court and an Anti-Corruption Court to address the long-term effects of the Liberian civil war. He has also contacted international partners for assistance in achieving these objectives. Other initiatives include overhauling the civil service, focusing on efficiency, and stimulating ICT and STEM programs to accommodate unemployed Liberian youths. The long-term goal is to transform Liberia into a middle-income state by 2050.
On behalf of President Boakai, I invite you to join us in transforming Liberia’s economy. The government has highlighted investment opportunities in infrastructure development, natural resource management, and entrepreneurship. Liberia is now open for business, and we seek win-win outcomes for all involved.
Now is the perfect time to investment in Liberia for two primary reasons. Firstly, Liberia is just five more years from the conclusion of its Strategic Plan, the Vision 2030. As previously stated, the Liberian Government has developed to ARREST Agenda to accelerate the gains made since 2006 when its Poverty Reduction Strategy was put in place. The Government will build on lessons learned over the years for its new development plan with the key ARREST Pillars that will address the constraints of development and devise ways of minimizing investment risks,
I thank you for your kind attention.
