Monrovia- Liberia - The Liberian Government through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning is holding a three-day “Quarterly Aid Coordination Forum” in Monrovia.
The forum which runs from November 25th-28th is organized by the Aid Coordination Department at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and is geared toward tracking the progress as well as the challenges in aid coordination and implementation across the country.
Speaking at the start of the forum was the Deputy Minister for Economic Management at the Ministry of Finance and Development Hon. Depue Y. Zuo who commended development partners, especially the government of Sweden for supporting Liberia’s national development plan.
Hon. Zuo said “Development is a process and not an event. I want to thank Sweden for her support in the formulation of the National Development Plan. Sweden provided funds for the National Development Plan formulation”
According to Hon. Zuo, comparative analysis in development begins with data collection and there would be no way to make a plan or do anything in the absence of data.
Deputy Minister Zuo revealed that the quarterly report on aid coordination and implementation on Liberia’s project dashboard was a work in progress.
Moreover, the deputy minister expressed the need for donor partners to be cognizant of the Paris Declaration which put more emphasis on the effectiveness and accountability of aid in terms of being mutual in development implementation.
Accordingly, the Paris Agreement reaffirms that “developed countries should take the lead in providing financial assistance to countries that are less endowed and more vulnerable, while for the first time also encouraging voluntary contributions by other Partners ”
The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness was adopted on the occasion of the High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness that was held from 28 February to 2 March 2005 in Paris. It is a practical, action-oriented roadmap to improve the quality of aid and its impact on development. It incorporates a series of specific implementation measures and establishes a monitoring system to assess progress and ensure that donors and recipients hold each other accountable for their commitments.
Minister Zuo thanked the aid coordination unit and urged analysts of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning there to be more robust in their duties.
Making remarks, Kerstin Jonsson Cisse, Deputy Head of Mission at the Swedish Embassy expressed delight at the invitation by the Liberian government.
Ms. Kerstin Jonsson Cisse explained that “aid coordination is essential, especially knowing who does what and why, seems necessary.”
For her part, the Assistant Minister for External Resources and Debt Management, Hon. Alice E. Williams said that “this forum is about our shared commitment to strengthen and manage our external resources and to make sure that we collaborate successfully in implementing our projects in various sectors and institutions.”
Hon. Williams disclosed that the forum serves as a platform to review the status of the ongoing projects and also incoming projects aimed at addressing challenges programs encounter and finding a collective effort to resolve those problems effectively and efficiently.
“This forum is not only about progress, but challenges and the way forward while implementing these projects”, Hon. Williams said.