GoL’s AAID Costs US$8.38 Billion – Ngafuan Upbeat Liberia will Adjust to Lower Middle-Income Country 

By: Anthony Q. Jiffan, Jr.

MONROVIA – The principal architect of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine K. Ngafuan says the cost for the plan is nearly US$8.4 billion of which 30 percent will be funded by the Government of Liberia, while the remaining 70 percent will potentially come from development partners, the private sector, and others.

Speaking at the launch of the development policy document in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County Wednesday, January 15, 2025, the finance minister painted a hopeful macroeconomic environment, indicating that growth will also occasion a 23.6 percent increase in per capita GDP, from approximately US$850 to US$1,050, while creating new jobs and formalizing existing ones.

“On the human capital front, the Plan aspires to extend life expectancy from 60 to 65 years, reduce the maternal mortality rate from 742 per 100,000 to 440 per 100,000, and reduce multidimensional poverty rate from 45 percent to 36 percent,” he said. “These and other socioeconomic achievements are expected to improve Liberia’s ranking on the SDG index by 7 places, moving from 152 out of 166 countries to 145 out of 166.”

He named the six pillars of AAID as Economic Transformation, Infrastructure Development, Rule of Law, Governance and Anti-Corruption: Environmental Sustainability, and Human Capital Development.

With the total estimated cost of the AAID is US$8.38 billion, the projected cost across the pillars is as follow: Economic Transformation (US$1.59 billion); Infrastructural Development (US$2.57 billion); Rule of Law (US$0.62 billion), Governance and Anti-Corruption (US$0.81 billion); Environmental Sustainability (US$0.42 billion), and Human Capital Development (US$2.37 billion).

The Government, he said, will fund (US$2.5 billion, or 30%) while the remaining 70% will potentially be funded by various development stakeholders including the private sector (US$2.7 billion, representing 35%), grants as Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) activities (US$1.9 billion, or 25%), and Diaspora remittances (US$0.7 billion constituting 10%).

He said at the heart of the AAID is an innovative approach that integrates critical development priorities and cross-cutting themes to maximize the impact of our interventions.

According to him, these priorities include: agribusiness, infrastructure, education, healthcare, and tourism are the engines propelling our nation’s growth. These sectors hold immense potential for creating jobs, reducing poverty, and diversifying our economy.

According to him, the AAID is underpinned by principles of inclusiveness, sustainability, justice and equality, accountability, peace and reconciliation, and local ownership.

“It reflects the aspirations of all Liberians, shaped by nationwide consultations with stakeholders including government, civil society, private sector actors, traditional leaders, the youth, People with Disabilities, and international partners,” he noted, adding: “These consultations reinforced the importance of a people-centered development, addressing systemic barriers and structural inequalities while prioritizing the empowerment of marginalized communities.”

The finance minister also indicated that for the first time, Liberians adopting a development

drivers and filters approach to foster sustainable socio-economic development impact.

“We utilize the cause-consequence approach to ensure that interventions are strategic and impactful, focusing on measurable cross-sectoral outcomes of development drivers and

Filters,” he emphasized. “Additionally, the AAID is built on a programbased approach to allow implementation of program-based budgeting, hence strengthening the linkage

between the development outcomes and the national budget.”

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