‘I came to office With Impeccable Reputation’ -Modad Declares, Providing Snapshot of Feats In Short Time

Apparently restless from battling and fanning off incessant volleys of cynicisms and critiques unleashed by seemingly well-determined critics, Commerce and Industry Minister Amin Modad doesn’t appear perturbed and cuffed by the situation, nonetheless keeping his eyes on the job—and he is boasting of a long list of “verifiable, game-changing achievements” just in nine months. At yesterday MICAT Press Briefing, the MOCI boss says though he is particularly haunted by pernicious verbal attacks, his “impeccable character” and hard work continue to underpin and spur tremendous progress and transformation at the Ministry. The Analyst reports.      

The Minister of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) Amid Modad, who has come sustained attacks from critics over alleged corruption practices, says the ministry, under his leadership, would not be intimidated into corrupt practices or swayed by false accusations.

“The enemies of change for whom the very existence of this administration came into being is threatened by the changes we war implementing,” he lashed out at his critics. “They will stop at nothing but to impinge the reputation of most who remain true.”

Speaking at the Thursday, October 3, 2024 edition of the Ministry of Information’s biweekly national briefing though the media, Modad said he came to headship of the Ministry of Commerce “with an impeccable reputation. Since becoming Minister, I have been clear about my commitment to doing the right thing for Liberia”.

“I will continue to pursue this mission, undeterred by those who seek to maintain the status quo,” he added. “We are at a critical juncture in our nation’s history, and we owe it to every Liberian to ensure that our trade and commerce sectors are managed transparently and effectively.

“Our focus is on excellence and creating the right outcomes that will transform Liberia’s economy for the benefit of all Liberians. We remain committed to international best practices, the rule of law, and, most importantly, to serving the Liberian people with integrity.”

The Commerce and Industry minister reassured the public that “we are working diligently and focused on establishing a predictable, vibrant, and enabling business environment.”

“I remain committed fully to empowering Liberian businesses. Coming from the private sector I KNOW what it means and I understand the challenges Liberian entrepreneurs face,” he averred. “I remain committed to ensuring that Liberians take charge of the economy, and I look forward to continued collaboration with all stakeholders as we work towards a better future for Liberia.”

Modad used the Thursday MICAT press briefing to share what he considered “some of the  achievements of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) since I assumed leadership and to provide updates on our ongoing initiatives.” 

“You really have to be in government, particularly from the inception, to understand how dysfunctional the system we inherited was,” he said apparent in reference to the erstwhile Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government.

“This was not peculiar to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry,” he said. “Across government, my colleagues and I have been working assiduously to first understand what we inherited, build the competent team to implement our mandate, and then jumpstart our various institutions despite the financial and structural challenges.”   

He said since he took over the reins at the Ministry, he and his team have been working diligently to lay the foundation for a transparent, efficient, and growth-driven Ministry. 

“The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) is committed to the transformative vision of the ARREST agenda as encapsulated in our Vision Statement: To build a ‘Dynamic Capitalistic Economy’ led by an innovative and competitive private sector focused on trade and industrial expansion to benefit all Liberians.”

He said the vision underscores the MoCI’s mission which is to steer Liberia towards a robust economic renaissance, fostering a vibrant private sector with Liberian entrepreneurs, including Micro, Small, and Medium enterprises and particularly Women & Youths as the bedrock.

“We aim to unlock the full potential of our economy, driving sustainable development and creating meaningful work opportunities that empower Liberians enhance their quality of life,” Modad stated.

Unveiling Achievements

The MOCI boss used the press briefing to “run through some of our achievements”, acknowledging that “I will be the first to note that we have not done well in communicating with the public. I promise this will improve as we are working on building a more engaging and effective communication team.” 

Immediately after assuming office, Modad said his administration initiated an internal audit of its human resources, payroll, financial transactions, and fixed assets to understand what “we inherited and to ensure accountability and transparency.”

“We have engaged the Civil Service Agency to retire and pension those over 60,” he said. “We also identified ghost employees and have begun the process filling critical capacity gaps it ensures efficiency and productivity” and requested GAC to conduct and audit of financials statements 2017-2023.”

He also spoke of a four-member disciplinary committee established to investigate reports of malpractices and misappropriations in the Ministry, putting in place a system to enforce effective asset management and realigning the Procurement Division of the Ministry to comply with the Public Procurement Act of 2010. 

According to him, the MOCI launched the renovation of the Business Registry (90% completed), which now includes solar power and ongoing plans for digitization, to streamline business registration and reduce corruption.

“The business registration process now takes 3-5 days, significantly dropping from the 1-2 weeks backlog we met,” he reported. “When we roll out the digital platform, we expect it to be even more predictable. To curtail the corruption & bureaucratic bottlenecks and address revenue leakages, we are rolling our new business registration certificate featuring anti-fraud security features.” 

He further reported: “We secured funding to digitize the Ministry’s services and, like the Business Registration process, we have begun upgrading critical processes, including the issuance of IPDs and EPDs. We prioritized addressing the bureaucratic bottlenecks and corruption that had entrenched the system. We will be rolling-out the digital platform next week to ensure transparency and improve processing time in the IPD process.

He said the MOCI has reestablished relationships and fostered collaboration with key stakeholders, including the Chamber of Commerce and the Liberia Business Association, COLIMBO, and the Liberia Marketing Association to establish productive Public Private collaboration and inclusive development for Liberian businesses.

“We have implemented an aggressive re-engagement of our development partners in an effort to not only harness opportunities, but to also become active participants in the global trade decision-making system,” he said, adding: “We submitted the ratified African Continental Free Trade Agreement to the AU. We are aggressively improving our participation and exploring opportunities for Liberian businesses to take advantage of regional markets and trade development opportunities.”

Minister Modad recalled a visit to Geneva where critical meetings were held with the World Trade Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization, the Enhanced Integrated Framework Secretariat, and the International Trade Center thereby reintegrating into their programs and reinforcing government’s priorities as enshrined in the ARREST Agenda.

External Relations

The Commerce Minister also reported that, under his administration, his administration paid its membership obligations inherited and were impeding Liberia’s participation and access to benefits and opportunities.

For example, he said, “we paid $33K to the WTO fulfilling our arrears and $55K to the EIF against funds misappropriated by the previous leadership that prevented our access to over $6M in capacity support. We engaged various Governments including Cambodia, China, India, and Indonesia on food security, Rice Supply, and food production; significant progress has been made.”

Reducing Price, Maintaining Stock Stability

From the first month when he took over, Modad said his administration reduced the price of rice on the market from $17.00 to $16.75.

Over the last 9 months, despite global factors, he also said “we have stabilized the supply and the prices of rice and other essential commodities, including sugar and petroleum products.

“Despite the propaganda detractors continue to spew, we have managed the rice trade strategically — Liberia has not experienced any shortage of rice and prices have remained stable,” he boasted. “We are pleased to announce that on September 27, India reduced its 20% tariff on rice by 10%. This will have positive impact on stabilizing the price of rice on the market. With the leadership of the President, the strategy we employed over the last 9 months worked.” 

He further reported. “We have gone beyond rice. Our strategy and focus are more on food security. In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and the NIC, we are focusing on the diversification of local food production.  We have resurveyed the Monrovia Industrial Park and are reclaiming plots of Land to purposely reallocate to Liberian enterprises and expand access to key production activities. One of our priorities is to ensure that Liberians take charge of the nascent agro-food processing industry. We reverently believe that self-sustainability and food security are critical elements of political independence and inclusive economic growth.”  

Industrial Park Rehabilitation

The MOCI chief also told the press conference that his administration has engaged partners for support to expand and modernize the park to make it more attractive for investment and to establish regional industrial hubs in Gbarnga, Ganta, and Voinjama.

The Commerce Ministry, he said, is collaborating with the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) to construct a substation within the MIP – a substation to provide operators with steady, affordable electricity, and the project is expected to be operational within 12 months.

Improving MOCI Infrastructures

Despite the budgetary constraints, Minister Modad said his administration is actively improving the Ministry’s infrastructure and operations, including repairing the elevator, installing biometric systems for attendance and security, renovating office spaces, and empowering staff to do their work.

“If you visit the ministry, you will appreciate the work we’ve done repainting and rehabilitating the edifice to restore its credibility and  so that it  represents the business entity it should be,” he said.

According to him, MOCI has re-established what he called “derailed relationships” with UNDP caused by over $300K accrued liabilities to service providers and lack of responsiveness from previous leadership. 

He said: “We have secured funding through UNIDO to refurbish the Standard Lab and working on securing funding to build a proper and more expansive facility.  We are also in talks with private companies to extend the services of the lab to include inspection of foods and other items imported into the country for safety and hygiene and to ensure that they meet the quality standards for the market. We are also realigning the mandate of the Standard Authority as the umbrella institution to regulate standards and other related institutions such as labs.” 

The second-quarter industrial audit exercise was completed, he continued, “focusing on educating the sector about industrial safety and good manufacturing practices.

“We have collected basic manufacturing data from industries to build a functional database of all manufacturing companies in the country,” he said. “To address growing concern regarding the quality and safety of products sold on the market, we collected random samples of products such as zinc, steel, electric wires, and nails and sent them to our Standard Facility and the Ghana Standards Authority for testing.”

Modad also said the Ministry recently released new Administrative Regulations on the importation of Electronics, Rice, and Frozen Foods aimed at opening the market in a more efficiently managed manner with a focus on ensuring quality, fair pricing, increased government revenue, and empowering Liberians. 

Out of alarming concern about the prices of commodities and basic necessities on the market (as inherited), he said, “we announced the reduction of the prices of key commodities and items beginning with Flour, Steel Rods, and Eggs.”

He asserted further: “We have had several meetings with Importers and Supermarkets over the last two months and this list will be expanded shortly to cooking oils and other essentials. The Supermarkets have agreed to not only reduce prices, but to also construct stalls for Liberian Women to sell locally produced vegetables, fruits, and other packaged products in a more hygienic and appealing way. As schools have reopened, they have been persuaded to also set up dedicated sections in their supermarkets for school supplies and foodstuffs for students and children at reduced prices.”

Made-in-Liberia Store

The Liberian Minister of Commerce disclosed the completion of a Made in Liberia Store at the ministry to properly showcase and market Made in Liberia products supporting Liberian manufacturers and agro-processors.

He said the ministry would be visiting the RIA this week to replicate this — targeting travelers.

These are proud establishments to provide market access and showcase Liberian products and culture, he boasted, adding that the ministry has also completed the renovation of the Jorkpentown Farmers Market and Rally-time Market Renovations.

He divulged securing of funding to renovate the Farmers Market at the Jorkpentown Market to revive it for selling Liberian agricultural produce.

The top floor of the market was managed by the MOCI, but was neglected over the years, and the roofing  system is totally damaged and rain is now pouring down to the market hall, he said.  

“We also contributed $2000 to LMA to support the renovation of the Rally-Time Market Roof which was causing a lot of distress for the marketers,” he further reported.  

Modad said the Ministry grounded its Inspectorate for a while after taking over to reorient them on their functions and responsibilities and to address the numerous complaints from the public.

“We have relaunched the inspectorate with proper uniforms and a predictable inspection mandate. We have purchased a new pickup truck and appropriated other vehicles to improve its outreach,” he disclosed further.

“The inspectorate has been active in monitoring pricing, quality of products on the market, safety & safety of manufacturing facilities, and cross border trade. We have curtailed cross border outward smuggling of rice, flour, and other commodities as well as inward smuggling of unhealthy foods, pharmaceuticals, and other commodities. In fact, we have surpassed prior revenue collection on fines due to the vigilance of the Inspectorate in identifying malpractices.” 

Support to SMEs

On May 28, 2024, Minister Modad said, the MOCI in collaboration with UNDP and Accountability Lab Liberia, this program supports impactful Liberian businesses and cooperatives across seven counties — Montserrado, Lofa, Grand Cape Mount, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Sinoe and Grand Gedeh – by providing access to technical assistance, mentorship, and co-financing.

He said the program is designed to help revenue-generating small and medium-sized enterprises and commercially inclined agricultural cooperatives to scale-up their operations and contribute substantially to national economic development through increased revenues and job creation.

According to him, this is accomplished through a rigorous annual business development training and business plan pitching competition with up to US$40,000 that will provide technical assistance, mentorship, and cofinancing grants ranging from US$10,000 to US$40,000 to 57 Liberian MSMEs, forest-based enterprises, and agricultural cooperatives.

“The program involves MoUs with International Bank Liberia Limited, United Bank for Africa Liberia Limited, Bloom Bank Africa, and Ecobank Liberia Limited,” the MOCI boss said.

“Trained 135 individuals, including 90 persons with disabilities or affected by HIV/AIDS, and 45 women in textile production. 90 of whom received grants of US$500 each, and 45 women received US$1000 to 45 to help start their businesses after their training amounting to $45,000.

He further reported that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Tailor Union of Liberia will be graduating about 50 youths who have completed basic training in sewing and have decided to take career in the textile industry.

“Each trainee will receive one sewing machine along with other accessories to start a new business,” he said, disclosing the Ministry has launched a $6M line of credit for SMEs supported by the World Bank under the LIFT Program.

He reported further: “The first US$3m has been processed and another $3m will follow. It provides low interest and suitably termed funding through the commercial banks and other nonbanking financial institutions. Portions will be dedicated to importing Liberians in the importation of key commodities with the aim of progressing into local production.

“The Ministry of Commerce has commenced a nationwide tour, visiting Margibi, Bong, and Nimba and various border points in that region; this exercise will continue to other counties in October and November in our effort to improves services across the country in increase revenue.”

Improving Revenue Quota

Modad asserted that the Ministry of Commerce has improved revenue significantly, indicating that, last year, the MOCI projected $3M in revenue, but achieved only $1.9.

“To date,” he disclosed, “we have generated about $1.9M and are poised to surpass $2.5 as we have commenced an aggressive assessment of our rural services and a robust business registration exercise.