Liberia’s national development strategies have consistently highlighted the private sector as the engine of growth for the country’s economy. Despite this narrative, there seems to be no or little action on the part of the national government in creating an environment where policy implementation has not always matched the policy statement.
Upon this backdrop, the Liberia Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, November 21, 2024, held a day long business luncheon in Monrovia.
This event which brought together several business actors within the private sectors and Ministers of Justice and Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), Counselor N. Oswald Tweh and Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan respectively was held under the theme: “Re-imaging Liberia’s Business Ecosystem: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities.”
In remarks, the president of the Liberia Chamber of Commerce, O. Natty B. Davis II said that while the government has introduced various development strategies emphasizing private sector-led growth, these have often conflicted with actual practices, such as abrupt changes to tax policies, sudden shifts in regulations without stakeholder consultation and almost a complete disregard for the rule of law.
Mr. Davies said, “An example of this disconnect is the imposition of new tariffs and duties in 2019, aimed at increasing government revenue but which inadvertently strained local businesses. This policy move led to increased operational costs for many companies and reduced profit margins, discouraging further investment. According to a report from the Liberia Business Association, these tariffs forced some small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to downsize or shut down operations entirely and even prompting threats of mass protests.”
“In addition, infrastructure projects intended to support economic growth, such as the expansion of – port facilities and major road networks, have often stalled due to funding gaps or misaligned priorities. 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 ]alone,” Davis said.
He furthered that these challenges extend to administrative inefficiencies that stymie business operations. Many businesses’ owners report extended delays in obtaining necessary licenses and permits, a problem that undercuts efforts to make Liberia an attractive investment destination.
However, the Liberia Chamber of Commerce President suggested that predictable and Transparent Policy Frameworks to build trust, the government must ensure that policy changes are predictable and communicated clearly, a multi-year policy plan that outlines anticipated tax, trade, and regulatory changes can help businesses plan and grow with confidence.
He also named the institutionalization of Public-Private Dialogue, a regularly scheduled meetings between government agencies and private sector representatives that can help bridge the communication gap thus, establishing a policy advisory board that reviews proposed regulations before they are enacted can prevent sudden disruptions that adversely impact businesses.
For his part, Finance and Development Planning Minister, Augustin Kpehe Ngafuan said that it is about time that Liberia starts to engage in these kinds of dialogue and do what he calls “the Liberian way”.
Minister Ngafuan said that he will commit to a quarterly engagement with the private sector in this kind of dialogue because, according to him, it helps to drive the country’s economy and improve the sector.
“When we talk about this engagement, what I am conceiving is like the same way we have the European Union (EU) the government Liberian partnership dialogue, the United States (US) Liberia political dialogue and there is a need we have the Liberia business dialogue,” Minister Ngafuan said.
He furthered that this dialogue can copy from what has been ongoing with the other dialogues and improve upon, discuss certain issues and commit to action by tasking everyone.
The Finance Minister said that this initiative will include the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), the National Port Authority (NPA), the Liberia Business Registry (LBR) and many other entities.
Meanwhile, Minister Ngafuan stated that it is about time that Liberia re-imagine the process of business so as to reduce what he considers as red-tape.
