Speech By H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - President of the Republic of Liberia
Mano River Union Summit - C. Cecil Dennis Auditorium
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building - Monrovia, Liberia

May 15, 2008

Excellencies;

I stand before you with great pleasure and deep gratitude to God that we are able to meet here in Monrovia to address issues related to the revitalization and sustainability of our Union. On behalf of the people of Liberia and in my own name, I welcome your Excellencies to our country and hope that your stay will be enjoyable. The critical message to us all is very simple and clear: 

Today’s challenges in our sub-region need to be boldly tackled if the interests of our peoples are to be adequately addressed. I am pleased to welcome Mr. Laurent Dona Fologo, Envoy of His Excellency, President Laurent Gbagbo who will participate in our deliberations and deposit the instrument of ascension of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire to our Union.

I am also pleased to welcome the Ambassador of Morocco, who brings the good wishes and message of support for our Union from His Excellency, the King of Morocco. Please express our deep thanks and appreciation to His Majesty. We also welcome our long term friend, Ambassador Said Djinnit as Special West Africa Representative of the UN Secretary General.

Dear Colleagues; Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen;

Our gathering marks an important milestone in the history of the Mano River Union. With the restoration of peace; we can now chart a desired course for the political, social and economic development of our sub-region; a course that takes us beyond those achievements made prior to our civil conflict.

Let us recall with pride that in pursuance of the noble objectives of the MRU, programs were formulated and satisfactorily implemented. Scholarship and Fellowship Exchange Programs enabled many of our citizens to attend higher institutions of learning and graduate in various disciplines thus contributing to national capacity building. Technical training institutions were established to further support capacity development in member countries. Notably, we had a Postal and Telecommunications School; a Forestry Training School; a Marine Training Institute; and a Custom and Excise Training School.

Union industries, were identified and on their way to maturity. The Mano River Bridge linking Liberia and Sierra Leone was constructed and commissioned in early 1976. An airline (Air Mano) to link, the various capitals in our West African Sub-region was initiated, although never operationalized. A transport link by sea (cargo and passengers) was created between Sierra Leone and Guinea and with subsequent Liberia participation.

It is however regrettable to note that due to the effects of the devastating civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone and the attendant effects on Guinea, all these initiatives and investments were either destroyed or completely plundered. Although the very existence of the Union as an instrument of Sub-regional integration was never questioned, its relevance, viability and effectiveness were put to a crude test.

Today, we have an opportunity to retrace our steps, pick up the pieces and move beyond those past achievements.

Dear Colleagues;

There is need to revisit past initiatives and past programs unfulfilled, within the context of emerging challenges that must claim our fullest and collective attention. In doing so, let me quickly draw attention to five imperatives that must be placed high on our agenda.

First, we must ensure that peace and stability prevails in all of our countries. This requires harmonized strategies and regular interactions among our security agencies to ensure that our boundaries remain safe and free from any subversive activities.

Second, we must address our capacity constraints especially in the public sector. This is a matter of urgency given the demands and consequences of globalization and technological advancement. The regional capacity building project approved by the African Capacity Building Foundation several years ago needs to be brought to fruition as quickly as possible.

Third, we must find innovative ways to create viable jobs for our ever growing youthful population.  Making our economies functional and productive would assist us in meeting this challenge. The identification of interconnecting growth poles would provide opportunities for rural youths.

RELATED: Jointt Communiqué of MRU 18th Summit

Fourth, we must together confront the emerging food crisis. Our Ministers of Agriculture deliberated two days ago, thinking through a set of policies, strategies and operational plans to tackle this challenge with a focus on rice production. We are called upon to take a closer look at their report and embark upon a plan of action to address this emerging challenge.  Let us focus on results oriented strategy – on outputs, on effective responses to the new global imperatives.

Fifth, recognizing that in two of our countries French is the official language and English in the other two. We must act to bridge the long standing communication divide that exist in our Union by ensuring that both languages are incorporated in the curriculum of our School systems at all levels.

I strongly believe that sub-regional cooperation is the best strategy to provide the required adequate response to these challenges and we see the Mano River Union as a viable framework for the consolidation of peace, security and development. The expressed desire of our sisterly state of Cote d’Ivoire to join our ranks in securing our sub-region and lifting our peoples out of poverty is therefore a healthy and welcome move. Besides expanding our markets, we shall together secure our borders from being used to wage conflicts on one another. It’s accession to the Union today is indeed historic.

It is encouraging to note that even in the face of most trying of difficulties, leaders and majority of our people still believed in the value and future of the Union. What can we say when the population at the grassroots level closed ranks in those difficult times to ensure their survival and sustenance? What can we say other than to appreciate the Union’s existence when considerable number of dynamic civil society organizations such as MARWOPNET (Mano River Women Peace Network). 

played a leading role in resolving our conflict and promoting peace. In this regard, we want to note that it was they who brought the King of Morocco on board as an intermediary among the Presidents of the Sub-region and led them to be acknowledged by the United Nations for its Human Rights award.

At the same time, as sustainable peace needs sustainable development, we have been presented a matric of programmes constituting elements for a strategic action plan for the Union. Amongst these are responses to the youth employment problem, where UNIDO and other UN Agencies are already engaged. 

There are also proposals covering Trans-boundary Protected Areas Management for the Forest Areas that we share; others for trade and industrial development as well as an enhanced peace and security architecture that must be developed for the sub-region. These will all need further  and timely consideration.

In order to take advantage of and build on all of these gains, the Union has to function effectively and efficiently. The first step is a complete restructuring and strengthening of the Secretariat of the MRU. The required technical/manpower, institutional, logistical and financial support must be mobilized as quickly as we can. With the desired capacity, the Secretariat can be held accountable for delivering on the mandate 

we will give it today. As the Secretariat takes on the assigned tasks, we ask for the support of our development partners in ensuring that the desired objectives are achieved. I want to congratulate my colleagues for their commitment as manifested in their presence here today. I believe that collectively we can make the difference and bring development to our peoples.

To our citizens within the Union who have gone thought years of pain and anguish, we want to acknowledge that our development challenges, although daunting, are not insurmountable. We are committed to ensuring that the challenges are addressed to move our people upward on the development path. We ask for your understanding, patience and support.