By: Rancy S. Teewia
The United States ambassador to Liberia, Madam Christine Elder, said poverty reduction requires more smart policies in order produce economic growth.
She said in order for the Liberian Government to address issues of poverty and disease, it would require deliberate government actions and policy choices that fairly allocate public and private sector resources so that all Liberians, including the poor, benefit from growth.
Ambassador Elder made the statement at the opening of the USAID, the Government of Liberia and other partners held two-day development conference.
The conference, which is held under the theme, “Implementing a vision for prosperity and self-reliance,” runs Thursday June 27 to Friday June 28, 2019 in Monrovia.
The US Ambassador stressed that Liberians are familiar with the root causes and context of their development challenges and that Liberians, more than anyone else, are the ones that must n bring to bear the insights and skills that are critical to devising policies that can spur growth and reduce poverty, and they should lead the effort to find solutions to their own development challenges.
She said in a statement: “Mr. President, we commend you and your administration for your pro-poor Agenda for prosperity and development, which focuses on improving the living standards of Liberian’s most vulnerable populations especially in the counties by helping the poor to get on their feet, Liberia can also accelerate the development of a middle class that is essential for sustained growth and broadly shared prosperity”.
The U.S Ambassador also added that the IMF program that Liberia is negotiating can help stabilize the economy while preserving existing necessities in healthcare and education upon which Liberia’s most vulnerable depend. It will also drive needed reform of Liberia’s public sector wage bill and it monetary fiscal policies and institutions.
She said the United States’ recent cooperation and development strategy reflect the continued commitment of the US to help Liberia achieve the goal outlined in the president’s pro-poor Agenda.
“I am pleased to inform you Mr. president that we designed strategy, which will guide U.S development initiatives in Liberia for the next 5 years so that aligns with the pillars of your pro-poor Agenda.”
She also said as stakeholders, everyone should look back and evaluate honestly how effective certain decisions or initiatives have been, because development is an iterative process that requires the capacity to changes over time and build on success.
According to here, it requires stakeholders and every citizen to learn from mistake with the ultimate goal of developing more visible policy option and laws it requires cooperation among all branches of government, consultation among stakeholders in society, research and analysis, planning and strategic capacity, and rigorous evaluations and monitoring.