Minister Kamara Speaks On Implementing The SDGs…. Highlights Steps Taken by Liberia

Liberia's Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Boima S. Kamara, has underscored the importance of tracking and measuring performance in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a key to success.

Minister Kamara says the Government of Liberia has established an institutional framework comprising the various stakeholders to coordinate and monitor the implementation process of the SDGs, and that such move was in fulfillment of Liberia's continuous support and engagement in the SDGs process since its adoption in September 2015.

According to a dispatch from the Liberian Mission in New York, the MFDP’s Minister made the remarks on Tuesday, July 19, when he delivered a statement at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (SDGs), held at the headquarters of the United Nations.

Minister Kamara pointed out that while it is true that fragile States and conflict- affected countries face significant and unique challenges in the implementation of SDGs, especially in the case of Liberia which has emerged from civil conflict, the modest gains made by the country during the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, further motivated it to engage at the highest level, in the formulation process to ensure that the country's unique perspective were considered and reflected in the SDGs.
Minister Kamara indicated that the Liberian Government appreciates and recognizes the correlation between peace, security and development, and that it is only by focusing on political issues such as reconciliation, peace-building, and governance, as well as economic factors, such as unemployment and productivity, would the Government realize its development objectives.

"President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf launched the SDGs nationally in January this year demonstrating the political will to implement the Agenda 2030. As we undertake the process of domesticating the SDGs, Liberia commits to adopt a coherent, inclusive, and whole-of-government strategy for implementation which underpins peace, security, stability, human rights and development as the foundation for achieving the SDGs," Minister Kamara averred.

Speaking further, Minister Kamara informed the audience that the Government of Liberia, having taken a comprehensive review of the implementation of its national medium-term plan and initiated the alignment of Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030, is taking further steps towards a structural transformation of its economy aimed at reducing the over-reliance on natural resource extraction and ensure inclusive economic growth.

To this end, he intimated that the Government has launched an agriculture transformation agenda with the sole purpose of ensuring economic diversification through agricultural productivity enhancement to reduce susceptibility to global economic, food and fuel price shocks, adding, "In implementing Agenda 2030, Liberia will complement economic transformation with strengthening social protection programs as a core instrument for reducing poverty, addressing inequality and helping the ultra -poor and vulnerable households to manage risks more effectively." Minister Kamara maintained.

Meanwhile, Minister Kamara, while aligning his statement with that of Africa's position which emphasizes the need for domestication of the SDGs, called for the indicator work to accommodate flexibilities at the country level to develop practical and relevant country indicators to monitor performance in SDGs implementation.

This, he explained, will require strengthening data and statistics institutions to play the important role of gathering evidence to inform countries interventions and further guide the process.

He assured the audience of the Liberian Government's readiness to work in partnership with all stakeholders, including international partners, civil society organizations as well as the private sector to achieve policy coherence in order to implement Agenda 2030 in a way that will ensure that no Liberian is left behind.