LPRF Ends With More Support for Liberia's Reconstruction

Berlin, Germany - The 2008 Liberia Poverty Reduction Forum (LPRF) has ended in Berlin, Germany with Liberia's partners announcing additional financial commitments to fund the country's development programs.  In a communiqué, the partners confirmed that their support to Liberia will be approximately US$250-300 hundred million for the first year of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS 2008/2009). The partners agreed with the Liberian Government on the need to fully align these funds to the country’s highest development priorities.

According to an Executive Mansion dispatch from Berlin, the partners committed approximately US$115 million through the Liberia Reconstruction Trust Fund. In addition to this amount, there is a further US$140 million commitment from the World Bank and the African Development Bank to support infrastructure financing over the three years. Partners also announced increased budgetary support and contributed to financing for a cash buy-back of the country’s commercial debt. The African Development Bank and the World Bank made commitments of US$26 million in budget support over the next three years. 

The announcement of budgetary financing was an apparent endorsement during the Forum’s opening session Thursday. The amount represents a build-up to previous budgetary support provided by the World Bank, France, and China.  In a speech Thursday marking the opening session, the President noted that after decades of economic mismanagement and fourteen years of brutal civil war, Liberia’s nightmare is over. “We are committed as a people to build a new Liberia from the ruins of war to a future of hope and promise,” the President told the Forum, expressing gratitude for the support her Government has received from the country’s international partners.

Liberia, the President noted, has made great strides over the past three years. The country has increased school enrollment and rebuilt health services; re-established basic security; and put in place improved systems for good governance and economic management.  While much has been achieved, the President pointed out, the next three years will be critical.

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, Madam Ellen Margrethe Loj, acknowledged progress, but cautioned that the situation in Liberia remains fragile. The country, she said, presents a constant reminder that you cannot achieve development without security, and you cannot achieve security without development.  To advance on both fronts, the UN official said, Liberia needs the continued attention and support from its international partners.

Meanwhile, Liberia’s PRS initiatives have been endorsed by partners at the Berlin Forum who have pledged their commitment to strengthening support for the program.  Additional funding has also been announced for the restoration of the country’s infrastructure.

Partners renewed their commitment to supporting Liberia’s reconstruction as it moves from an emergency post-conflict phase to rapid, inclusive, and sustainable development. This includes support for a broad range of priorities such as economic revitalization, governance reform, and basic service delivery.  Importantly, partners also committed an additional 73 million euros (US$115 million) to a coordinated fund supporting infrastructure reconstruction.  There will also be a US$140 million USD from the World Bank and the African Development Bank to support infrastructure financing over the coming three years.

“Liberia’s progress has been impressive. The situation has improved dramatically but it remains fraught with risks.  The international community must sustain its support over the long term and transition to larger, more sustained, and more efficient and effective programs,” said Michel Wormser, the Director of Strategy and Operations for the Africa Region of the World Bank.

For her part, the German Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, stressed, “Let us work together to help make Liberia a country of hopes fulfilled and an outstanding example that peace makes the difference. We are all responsible and will contribute.”