Liberia came out of a civil upheaval that lasted more than a decade with enormous problems related to democratization, political accommodation, security, and the economy.

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, addressing the UN yesterday, says with international help Liberia has made great strides in the last two years but with some daunting challenges still threatening the gains made.

Therefore, she wants the international community to double its efforts in taking the actions necessary to help Liberia tackle these challenges.

The Analyst Staff Writer has been leafing though the President’s address to the 63rd Ordinary Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, yesterday, told the 63rd Ordinary Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York that Liberia’s notable economic and political strides would be jeopardized unless immediate steps were taken to bridge the widening gulf between aid-pledge and aid-delivery.

“Aid must come when it is needed. There must be a short road between pledges or commitment and delivery or cash,” the Liberian leader told the high profile world gathering that is being attended by delegations of donor and recipient nations from across the globe.

Ellen Address To The 63rd UN General Assembly

She said it was necessary to take immediate steps because despite the recorded 9% growth in revenue due largely to international cooperation and the strengthening of the nation’s financial institutions and transaction processes over the last two fiscal years, the economy was still too weak to support competing national demands.

She did not say which steps should be taken to keep Liberia’s head above water, but suggested that when the steps are taking mainly by the UN and the economic partners of Liberia led by the United States and supported by the EU, China, and others, then it must be required that both the donors and the beneficiaries take transparent steps to account for the aid.

“Vulnerable communities and countries in crises need aid to bring short term relief.  But aid must soon move on to trade and then transform long term development initiative.  Aid must be accounted for by both the donor and the recipient,” she said.

Again, the Liberian Chief Executive did not say why accountability on both sides was now a necessity; neither did she say why the donor and recipient, rather than the recipient alone, should account for aid.

But analysts say it was necessary for the donor to go beyond stating how much aid it has planned to give a recipient government to actually saying how much it has given, how it expects the aid to be used, and what strings are attached to the aid.

“There are situations where some donors simply announce what aid they are willing to give but never deliver on their promises. Some donors even make their aid predatory. I think this what the President is aiming at,” said one observer.

Whatever the President was aiming at may remain a matter of conjecture, but she told the assembly that Liberia’s situation has made a positive turn. She recalled that at the point of her ascendancy to power in 2006 Liberia’s economy collapsed with GDP falling 90% from 1987 to 1995.

She described the collapse as “one of the largest economic freefalls ever recorded in the world” and noted that at the time, “indicators on health, education, water and sanitation, food security and infrastructure were very poor, sometimes beyond measure”. 

With the cooperation of the Liberian people and the assistance of the international community, she said, the situation has been changing greatly since January 2006.

“My government, with the support of international partners, began to take steps to move the whole country in gear. First, there was the need for a clear direction – something in the form of a national vision or agenda; formulated and contributed by the people as their own; Second to restore the International reputation and credit worthiness of the country and thirdly, to demonstrate the necessary leadership – strong, committed and focused – for the people,” the first African female President said.

According to her, these steps paid off greatly as the Liberian people were seeing results in the areas of security sector reforms, economic revitalization, health, and education.

“The people are seeing that the economy has started expanding rapidly, with growth accelerating to over 9% in 2007, roads and buildings sprouting in many places, health clinics and schools reopening or being established where they did not exist before, agricultural production increasing, and a huge external debt well on the way to being cancelled,” she noted further.

She attached no statistics to the reported high performance by her administration but noted that Liberia was grateful to the international community for the recorded successes.

“There are those who are committed to work with Liberia and Africa fight poverty, promote positive all round international cooperation.  Among many avenues for cooperation, we thank the United States for it Africa Growth and Opportunity Act which aims to promote trade rather than aid; The European Union for its facility, Anything But Arms; the Forum for China Africa Cooperation; the Japanese Government and its partners in driving the Tokyo International Conference for African Development; and others through which the continent looks forward to new avenues for sustained development,” she said.

President Sirleaf praised especially the role of UNMIL in Liberia, describing it as central to the nation’s success since it guaranteed the enabling environment for national planning and implementation.

“The presence of the UN Mission in Liberia has given hope to the people not to surrender to the threat to peace and development that are represented by the large percentage of unemployed youth who can not be absorbed by an economy still too weak in spite of the recorded growth; the large number of ex-combatants who were not properly re-integrated into society; and the resultant armed robberies and drug and arms related crimes. In addition, UNMIL’s presence is contributing to the economic growth because it signals the guaranteeing of the peace,” President Sirleaf said.

he said UNMIL’s role in Liberia was so essential that the military mission needed additional support.

“We wish to thank the Security Council which has correctly seen the necessity to renew the mandate of the UN Mission in Liberia. We particularly thank the resource contributing countries without whom the Mission could never be there saving lives and promoting development,” she said.

Meanwhile, President said Liberia’s 161 years of statehood and the civil war has taught her to appreciate global and regional peace initiatives aimed at setting free oppressed peoples.

She said Liberia has come to appreciate the UN and called on the world body to do everything possible, including the invocation of Chapter Seven to free that the peoples of Somalia and Darfur in Sudan from the scourge of war.