The Government of Liberia (GOL), through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, and the Delegation of the European Union to Liberia have conducted the second EUPortfolio Review which was focused on reviewing the portfolio of the European Union (EU) programs in Liberia.
During the one-day gathering, authorities from the GOL, the EU and a cross section of representatives and technicians from institutions or organizations implementing the various EU projects in Liberia reviewing the successes and challenges focusing on assisting the GOL in implementing its developmental agenda.
Making remark during the opening ceremony, deputizing for the National Authorizing Officer, Finance and Development Planning Minister, Samuel D. Tweah, Deputy Finance Minister for Economic Management, Honourable Augustus J. Flomo commended the European Union for the level of support and assistance provided the Liberian Government in meeting its developmental goals over the years.
He disclosed that despite the size of the developmental envelope being reduced, the government is pleased with the quality of development that has been implemented and made a clarion call for more support in the midst of addressing or providing the needed roadmap in addressing them. Stressing, “Whether it is a challenge from the GOL, EU or implementing partners, we all need to put hands on desk to solve them.”
He concluded by calling for more robust partnership going forward in ensuring the GOL achieve its roadmap in providing the needed development for its people which he says will be easily achieve through the provision of the necessary assistance from developmental partners.
For his part, the Head of European Union Delegation to Liberia, Ambassador Laurent Delahoussereemphasized the mission of the EU by indicating,“The EU is here to deliver to the people of Liberia. This is done by our programs, implemented through teamwork with the Government and our implementing partners. The Portfolio review will help in assessing how well all of us are doing andhow to improve our collective performance to serve the objectives of the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development”.
Stressing, “We are here to help in assessing how well projects and programs are implemented collectively in line with the objectives of the National Development Plan called the Pro Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD)
Background
The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005) recognizes that each country has primary responsibility for its own development progress, that development assistance must be country-led, and that donors and recipients have a shared responsibility to ensure the successful implementation of assistance activities.
In this light, it is important for the Government of Liberia (GOL) and its international partners to periodically review the international partners’ assistance programmes to ensure that they are aligned with Liberia’s own developmental priorities. Therefore, the European Union, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, is conducting a Country Portfolio Review.
General Overview of the EU Portfolio in Liberia
The European Union is one of the largest providers of external assistance to Liberia. The EU National Indicative Programme for Liberia in the period 2014-2020, under the 11th European Development Fund, amounted toUSD 326 million(EUR 279 M),and included the following focal sectors:
- Good Governance (indicative amountUSD 125 M/ EUR 107 M)
- Energy (USD117M/ EUR 100 M)
- Education (USD37.5M/ EUR 32 M)
- Agriculture (USD 35 M/ EUR 30 M)
- Civil Society (USD 4.7M/ EUR 4 M)
- Supporting Measures (USD 7M / EUR 6 M)
The European Union also supports Liberia through General Budget Support to the Liberian budget enabling Liberia to increase itsnational budget and be able to pay teachers, nurses, doctors, and free resources for important investments.
The EU programmesare aligned to the four pillars of the government of Liberia’s Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD):
- Pillar 1: Power to the People
- Pillar 2: Economic and Jobs
- Pillar 3: Sustaining the Peace
- Pillar 4: Governance and Transparency
In the period 2021-2027, the EU will remain a solid partner of Liberia, through a new EU cooperation instrument, the “NDICI-Global Europe” (Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument) and its 3 pillars (geographic, thematic, rapid response). Liberia will continue to receive consistent EU financial support through the NDICI-Global Europe. The EU will seek to enhance the impact of the EU cooperation on the ground, to the benefit of the Liberian people. The EU Multi-annual Indicative Programme (MIP) 2021-2027, which specifies the focal sectors for the EU cooperation in Liberia, was approved in December 2021. The cooperation of the EU and EU Member States with Liberia is driven by a Team Europe approach, seeking to maximize the unity, coordination, complementarity and impact of the combined actions of the EU and EU Member States (Germany, Ireland, France and Sweden have Embassies and bilateral programmes in Liberia), with the aim to obtain real, sustainable results in Liberia, to deliver to the Liberian people.
