Liberia: Government Pledges Quarterly Engagements with Private Sector After Limited Talks in Seven Years - FrontPageAfrica

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Monrovia– The Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Augustine Ngafuan, has pledged government commitment to quarterly engage the Liberia Chamber of Commerce (LCC) and Liberia Business Association after limited discussions over the past seven years.

By Jaheim T. Tumu- jaheim.tumu@frontpageafricaonline.com

The business community, despite playing a pivotal role in the economic and development trajectory of Liberia over the past several years, has the opportunity to be addressed at their ‘Business Luncheon’ within the past seven-year by  three Ministers of government, with the last latest being in 2018 and 2023 before Minister Ngafuan this year.

Despite the little attention, Liberia’s national development strategies have consistently highlighted the private sector as the engine for economic growth, but despite the narrative, the government’s action has been contradictory, creating an environment where policy implementation has not always matched policy statements.

But addressing private sector actors, including partners, at the Business Luncheon, which was held under the theme Re-imaging Liberia’s Business Ecosystem: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities,  Minister Ngafuan said that he considered the sector as an important component of Liberia’s development transformation, promising to address some of the challenges and unlock the opportunities.

Minister Ngafuan further emphasized that the government will task itself to work with the private sector to develop a Liberian version of a business dialogue that we should not do because the World Bank wants us to do it. We should do it because we need to do it.

Said Minister Ngafuan, “I will commit to this quarterly engagement with the government. When we talk about this engagement, what I am conceiving is that we have the EU-Liberia partnership dialogue; we also have the US-Liberia political dialogue.

We have these arrangements with partners, but we need to have the government-Liberia Business Dialogue, and we can copy what we have been doing with partners.”

Ngafuan said that both the government and the private sector must commit to action over a period, tasking themselves and differentiating responsibilities.

Accordingly, he indicated that the process requires the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), National Port Authority (NPA), the Legislature and the Ministry of Justice to ensure that things required by laws are understood.

“One thing I want to commit to this forum is that we need to operationalize this thinking that we rode in the heads of public corporations, including the Port Managing Director, LEC Managing Director and other heads of institutions, so we have a Government-Liberia Business Dialogue.”

Addressing the challenges that businesses face, Minister Ngafuan said one of the key impediments to business growth is energy. Accordingly, he said the prohibitive cause of power is sucking into the profits of businesses.

“We must reengineer business processes to reduce red tape because red tape is one major problem to the private sector, Minister said.

Giving his closing remarks, the president of LCC, Natty B. Davis, called on the need for institutionalization of Public-Private Dialogue, a regularly scheduled meeting between government agencies and private sector representatives that can help bridge the communication gap.

Davis, “Establishing a policy advisory board that reviews proposed regulations before they are enacted can prevent sudden disruptions that adversely impact businesses.”

He stated that infrastructure projects intended to support economic growth, such as the expansion of – port facilities and major road networks, have stalled due to funding gaps.

“Infrastructure Investments through PPPs: Public-private partnerships (PPPs) can be a catalyst for completing stalled infrastructure projects. By leveraging private sector expertise and capital, the government can ensure that critical projects like airport expansions and port improvements are completed efficiently and align with the needs of businesses,” he said.

He emphasized that the challenges extend to administrative inefficiencies that stymie business operations; as a result, business owners report extended delays in obtaining necessary licenses and permits, a problem that undercuts efforts to make Liberia an attractive investment destination.

Davis said, “This disconnect impacts not only investor confidence but also the country’s ability to leverage these projects to attract further investments; for instance, while demand for bulk cargo berthing has increased four-fold, there are still no signs of addressing this gap. We are reliably informed that bulk cargo importers paid more than US$ 10 million in demurrage charges in 2022.”

He also called for public officials, private sector leaders, and development partners to move beyond rhetoric and commit to practical, coordinated action.

 “Only through collective efforts and transparent policy implementation can Liberia foster an investment climate that stimulates growth, attracts capital, and benefits all stakeholders. The success of any economic policy is contingent on the seamless collaboration among public officials, private sector leaders, and development partners,” he said.

Accordingly, he said there is a need to develop a streamlined regulatory process where they can recommit to the principles of the one-stop investment window that integrates services across relevant government bodies, reducing processing times for business registrations, permits, and licenses.

“This strategy has proven successful in countries like Rwanda, where streamlined regulatory procedures have significantly boosted investment inflows,” he said.

Also speaking, the Country Manager of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Madam Nuzhat Anwar, said within her limited capacity, the institution will work with the government to ensure that they can assist the private sector investment. She, however, indicated that the most important thing is to create jobs for the Liberia people.

“I am happy to get into discussions, investments and partners where we can have more jobs created.  I do want to see more manufacturing industrialization happening to create the jobs,” she said