The Inquirer (Monrovia)
28 May 2008
It is certain that Liberia will soon get a new finance minister as the incumbent Dr. Antoinette Sayeh has now been appointed Director of the African Department of the International Monetary Fund (FUND). She is expected to take over that new job in early July this year.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Information in a press release disclosed the appointment of Minister Sayeh to that international financial institution.
In a press release issued, the ministry said, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf yesterday announced that her Finance Minister Antoinette M. Sayeh will be assuming the position of Director of the African Department of the International Monetary Fund (FUND) in early July this year.
The release said the President believes that the honor extended Liberia in asking Min. Sayeh to join Managing Director Strauss-Kahn's new senior management team at the IMF is an unprecedented opportunity to contribute to reforming the IMF, and to better serve its African Clients, including Liberia. It is also recognition of the excellent progress her government has made in restoring Liberia's international credibility over the past two and a half years.
It said while the government would have preferred to continue Min. Sayeh's leadership of its economic reform program and of the Ministry of Finance, heading the IMF's African Department will allow her to continue strongly supporting the country's microeconomic reform program.
The release said The timing of Min. Sayeh's departure reflects the completion of a number of major deliverables that Pres. Sirleaf had assigned to her the restoration of stability to Liberia's public finances, including a significant expansion of its revenue base; the clearance of Liberia's protracted arrears to the IMF, World Bank and the African Development Bank; its bilateral dept restructuring through the Paris Club; IMF Board approval of a poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF)- support program; generating significant new external assistance for Liberia; the recent completion of Liberia's first Poverty Reduction Strategy ; and the June 26-27, 2008 Liberia Poverty Reduction Forum (LPRF) with development partners in Berlin.
It said in light of these accomplishments Pres. Sirleaf has agreed to Min. Sayeh's departure, reassured that she will be leaving a Liberia better-position to tackle its formidable reconstruction and development challenges.
Meanwhile, the release said Min. Sayeh will continue to lead the Ministry of Finance over the next months as it works towards the close of the current fiscal year, the approval of the 2008-2009 budget, and the Berlin meeting It said s-uccessor arrangement will be announced later.
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