Washington, D.C. — Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Monday called for debt cancellation and increased development assistance for the country.
She was speaking at a joint news conference with World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz on the eve of the Liberia Partners' Forum, a Bank-hosted version of a donors' conference.
While expressing gratitude for aid received, Sirleaf said: "We need to shorten the road between commitments and cash." After two civil wars and decades of corrupt and tyrannical leadership, "all our people know is they want a job."
Despite the reforms of her one-year tenure - including anti-corruption measures and the demobilization of fighters - and the repeal of United Nations sanctions on timber exports, the country still lacks basic infrastructure. Without tangible results like jobs and roads, the sustainability of reforms remains tenuous, the president said.
Liberia currently pays about US$85,000 a month towards its massive debt, most of it incurred by previous corrupt leaders. "I can understand the president's frustration," said Wolfowitz of the double burden of rebuilding a war-torn country and paying off massive debts. "We can work with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the AfDB (African Development Bank)," he said, "but it's going to require fresh money from the donors."
Liberia has received grant assistance from the AfDB, Sirleaf said, but without debt relief, "we can't build an infrastructure that will attract private investors."
China, a country with an increasing presence on the African continent, has made commitments to rebuilding Liberian infrastructure, including a World Bank-sponsored engineering battalion. Sirleaf stressed that although China was important, the United States remains Liberia's major partner.
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In dealing with any donor, Sirleaf said, "we set the agenda and we set the priorities." Wolfowitz added that "China is bringing valuable development expertise… perhaps more valuable than that coming out of more developed nations in Europe and the United States."
Sirleaf won the presidency on what Wolfowitz describes as "an honest platform of economic reform." With debt relief, infrastructure construction, a revival of the diamond and timber export industries, and foreign investment, she believes the country can recover from its troubled past.
Her visit takes place against a backdrop of trouble elsewhere in West Africa. Commenting on increasing tensions in Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire, Wolfowitz said that "if these communities slip backward into war, it will be terrible for Liberia, but if Liberia moves forward it will positively affect the region."
