Monrovia, January 23, 2025/ In a frantic effort aimed at enhancing and strengthening the natural resources sector of the country, Integrity Watch Liberia (IWL), with funding support from the Government of Ireland through Irish Aid, has officially launched a pilot project, "Strengthening Inclusive Governance and Accountability in Liberia Natural Resource Sector."
Making a welcome statement at the official launch on Wednesday, January 22, IWL Executive Director Harold Aidoo said primarily the exercise is a very important project that looks at strengthening inclusive governance and accountability in Liberia's natural resource sector.
For us at Integrity Watch Liberia, we believe that the Government of Ireland generously funds this project launch.
Mr. Aidoo said the project came about when the Government of Liberia concluded and launched its Arrest Agenda for Inclusive Development.
"If many of you have looked at the Arrest Agenda, it has a financing projection of around 8.4 billion U.S. dollars. If you look at the current national budget, hovering around 700 to 800 million U.S. dollars. That tells us that we have a financing deficit of some 4 billion U.S. dollars", he noted.
He said Liberia's natural resources are one of the surest ways to break this financing gap, optimize domestic resources, and be able to finance many of the development priorities.
In this vein, many of you are aware of the fact that we are in the middle of a crisis, many of you are aware that also as a country, we have a lot of challenges, particularly within the natural resource sector."
He says the way to proceed is to have all stakeholders within the sector, Minister of Lands and Mines, the 55th Legislature, the Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Concession, Civil Society, communities, and media work together to primarily build capacities within the legislature so that they can negotiate and scrutinize concession deals before passage or ratification.
For his part, Ireland's Ambassador accredited to Liberia, Gerald Considine, said Ieland's foreign and development cooperation policy is based on fundamental principles of justice, human rights, and the rule of law.
"We seek to promote the norms and principles which support key freedoms, and to ensure that these enable sustainable development", Amb. Considine said.
He noted that in Liberia, the government's effort to strengthen governance underpins all of its work to deliver transformative change, inclusive economic development, and realization of human rights for all Liberians.
"We recognize the critical importance of strengthening governance and supporting inclusive governance if we are to deliver on our overarching ambition to reach those furthest behind first with our development impact."
Ambassador Considine noted that effective and transparent governance that is responsive and accountable to citizens is an enabler of transformative development across these areas.
He revealed that Liberia has a distinction of being home to vast natural resources, including stretches of rich rainforest and mangroves that act as a carbon sink.
"The sustainable and equitable management of Liberia's valuable resources is key both to the country's sustainable development and economic transformation through increased domestic revenues and to adaptation for a climate-smart future that is resilient to the shocks we see increasingly often," he underscored
He noted impact of more extreme weather, rising sea levels, erratic rains, and shifts in climate patterns, whether near here in West Point, for fishing communities in Cape Mount, or farmers in Rivercess.
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The Ambassador continued that Ireland is committed to supporting Liberia and its efforts for climate adaptation and resilience and looks forward to deepening their work in this area while recognizing the importance of partnership with civil society to support institutions.
Meanwhile, presenting an overview of the project to stakeholders, Mr. Alben Greeaves said the objective and goal of the project are natural resources management, which he believes can be improved through strengthening legislative capacity, advocacy, effective coordination, and management.
He added that other goals include enhancing the policy framework to support more sustainable and equitable use and management of natural resources in Liberia.
Mr. Greeaves said the project is expected to be implemented across fifteen counties with a direct and indirect beneficiary of 175,000. Editing by Jonathan Browne
