The Inquirer (Monrovia)
Melissa Chea-Annan
6 May 2008
Monrovia — Following a week-long visit to Liberia by a team of International Monetary Fund (IMF) experts, Fund Mission Chief, Robert Powell, has argued that to help reach the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) goals, the authorities involved should refine the costing of PRS measures.
He said donors should align their commitment with the PRS priorities at an early stage, saying, "The Fund supports the PRS through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility." Powell has described his visit as successful.
Speaking at a news conference over the weekend, Mr. Powell explained that the government and the mission have agreed on the importance of ensuring that the budget for fiscal 2008/09 be in line with PRS priorities.
The IMF Mission Chief explained that the mission was in the country to discuss Liberia's recent economic performance and its response to the current challenging global environment.
According to him, during their visit, the team met and held wide-ranging and positive discussions with the Minister of Finance, the Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) and members of the Legislature, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate Pro-Tempore, among others.
Speaking in the conference room of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Powell stated that they shared Liberian authorities' view that recovery will continue in 2008, with the growth of about 8.8 percent, and that inflation is projected to rise to about 13 percent because of higher rice and petroleum import prices and strong domestic demand. "Thanks to strong management of the economy," he added.
The IMF Mission Chief for Liberia, flanked by the Minister of Finance, Antoinette Sayeh and other members of his team, further stated that his Mission supports the government's decision to help the poor by temporarily suspending taxes on rice imports and its plans to fast-track local commercial production of rice.
He said during the team's meetings with Government officials, they discussed the government's recently published Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), which lays out an ambitious, well-tailored program of reforms to achieve higher and more inclusive growth and progress in poverty reduction, over the next three years.
He said in light of the significant one-off revenues expected next year, that proposed current expenditures should be sustainable over the medium term.
Mr. Powell said their discussions with the Legislators highlighted the extensive legislative agenda expected under the PRS and the need for early consideration of key legislation necessary to maintain the momentum of reforms and to reach the completion point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, which is a key step in securing further debt relief for Liberia.
The Minister of Finance, Antoinette Sayeh praised the visit of the team and described it as "very good", because during the visit, they held challenging discussions in the interest of the country, particularly on the prices of basic commodities.
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