Debt relief, combined with Liberia's strategy to encourage investment, offers the country a chance to rebuild. (Photo Courtesy allAfrica.com)

The Managing Director of the World Bank has expressed her confidence that Liberia will reach the Completion Point of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative tomorrow. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the World Bank is impressed with the progress Liberia is making in its post-conflict recovery programs. The World Bank Managing Director said Liberia is seen as a post-conflict success story.  Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said Liberia and its President Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf remain willing and committed to economic reform and prudent fiscal and monetary reforms.

She assured that the World Bank will continue to provide development assistance to Liberia even after the HIPC Completion Point. She commended Liberia for the milestone in its debt waiver drive and hoped the country will continue to keep fiscal discipline and continue its positive engagement with multilateral institutions.

Speaking earlier, Liberia’s Finance Minister, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, thanked the World Bank for the support it has been providing Liberia since 2006. Minister Ngafuan spoke specifically of support through the Crisis Response Window that is now financing the road from Bokey’s Town to Buchanan. He assured the World Bank Managing Director that Liberia will not depart from the fiscal discipline that has brought the country to the brink of the HIPC Completion Point. Minister Ngafuan said as part of the post HIPC discipline, the government has set up the institutional mechanism, like the Debt Management Committee, which will carefully determine Liberia’s credit priorities. The Finance Minister informed the World Bank executive that Liberia will place key priority on infrastructure especially roads, ports, and power generation whenever the country decides to borrow.

The Finance Minister and the World Bank Managing spoke on Monday in Washington DC in a build up meeting held ahead of the Bank’s board meeting that takes place on Tuesday, June 29 in Washington DC. The World Bank Board is expected to approve Liberia’s attainment of HIPC Completion Point as was done by the IMF’s Board last week. With the approval by the boards of the two Breton Woods institutions, Liberia will have met all the requirements to graduate to the HIPC Completion Point, and as a result benefitting from irrevocable debt waiver of over US$4 billion.

Also attending the meeting were Planning Minister Amara Konneh, the Executive Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Mills Jones, the Executive Director of the World Bank, Dr.Toga McIntosh, Assistant Planning Minister Steve Marvie, Jr. and the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Liberian Embassy in Washington DC, Mr. Edwin Sele.