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ADNews-Monrovia, Liberia: The Government of Liberia has received a joint communiqué from over 40 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), calling for urgent reforms to strengthen domestic resource mobilization and improve public service delivery amid ongoing global economic challenges.
Sponsored by ActionAid Liberia, the communiqué is the result of years of research and advocacy by the National Civil Society Council and its partners, outlining systemic barriers and proposing key reforms aimed at empowering Liberia to finance its development through domestic means.
The communiqué highlights seven major observations: collapse of Traditional Aid and the Rise of Economic Nationalism, A Deepening Debt Crisis and Global Power Imbalances, Weak Domestic Revenue Generation and Extractive Paradox, Debt and Climate ( A Vicious Cycle), Failing Public Services and Burden on Women and Girls, Gaps in Climate Finance and Gender Inclusion, and the Failed Policy Prescriptions from International Financial Institution as urgent challenges and systemic barriers that undermine Liberia’s capacity to finance its development through domestic means.
Meanwhile, the communiqué outlines eight critical demands: Rejecting Austerity and IMF-Imposed Conditionalities, Transforming Global Debts and Development Architecture, Enacting Progressive Tax Reforms to Mobilize Domestic Revenue, Eliminating Illicit Finance Flows, and Promoting Transparency, Prioritizing Gender-Responsive and Equitable Public Services, Reforming Extractive Sector Taxation and Governance, Enhancing Debt Management, Fiscal Discipline, and Accountability, and the expansion of civil and political space for inclusive development.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony on Tuesday, June 24, in Monrovia, ActionAid Liberia Country Director Elizabeth Gbah Johnson urged stakeholders to adopt the communiqué as a tool for national development.
“Our focus goes beyond providing information and advocacy,” Johnson said. “We are committed to building the capacity of both civil society and state actors to ensure they are informed and held accountable.”
She emphasized the importance of gender-responsive budgeting, stressing that women’s inclusion in decision processes must be institutionalized.
“This is not just about today’s dialogue,” she added. “This is the beginning of a continuous process, a development series. The discussions we have here must extend beyond this room and reach the stakeholders who can implement real change.”
Receiving the communiqué on behalf of the government, Assistant Finance Minister for Debt Management, Alice Williams, acknowledged the CSOs’ input and assured that the document would be treated as a working tool.
She encouraged civil society actors to continue identifying revenue-generating opportunities and donor-funded projects within the government for improved transparency and accountability across the country.
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