“Invest In Domestic Revenue Mobilization and Private Sector” -AfDB Director Darkorty Tells African Leaders

MONROVIA – In his desire to proffer solutions to the myriad of development issues affecting countries in his constituency and others in Africa, the Executive Director of the African Development Bank for The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan, Mr. Rufus N. Darkortey is encouraging leaders of those countries to invest more in domestic resources mobilization and private sector-led growth to accelerate the pace of development in their respective countries and Africa as a whole.

Mr. Darkortey said the enormous macroeconomic and fiscal pressures on fragile and transitional countries can be alleviated in the presence of more revenue availability to countries to complement the external resources being provided by multilateral development institutions like the African Development Bank, World Bank, IMF among others. 

He said the ongoing Covid pandemic and the Russian war in Ukraine have imposed adverse exogenous pressures on economies that are already struggling with debt burdens, fiscal challenges, infrastructure and other development issues.

The AfDB Executive Director, Rufus N. Darkortey, made the statement during his recent consultation mission in Liberia to discuss the Bank’s existing engagements, while exploring new areas of engagements as well as assessing the performance of the Bank’s portfolio of projects in Liberia. 

While in the country, Mr. Darkortey met with several Government entities including the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Central Bank of Liberia, Liberia Revenue Authority, Ministry of Public Works, Gender Ministry, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs. 

The Executive Director said with more national budgetary investments in revenue generating entities, our countries can raise more resources internally, while accessing external resources from our development partners to leapfrog impactful and transformative development on the African Continent. 

He said countries can expand their economic bases to raise more domestic resources by more national budgetary investments in strengthening the agriculture and private sector by creating new small and med-size enterprises (SMEs), including Women-owned SMEs and Youth-owned SMEs. 

He said the rapid pace of creating and supporting more SMEs development with access to financing for them, the more the countries can quickly reduce unemployment, the informal sector and poverty by creating jobs and middle income wealth that will in turn grow the economy and the tax base for additional revenue mobilization.

Mr. Darkortey thanked President Weah and the people of Liberia for the economic resilience and recovery of the country from its recent economic growth contraction and global shocks, including high inflation, fiscal constraints, the impact of COVID and the Russian war in Ukraine.

He expressed the Bank’s and President Adesina’s ongoing commitment to fostering economic, infrastructural and social development on the African Continent in conformity with the Bank’s charter to reduce poverty in Africa, with specific focus on vulnerable members of the population, including women and the youth.