Tuesday’s gathering was attended by leading civil leaders, incuding Elizabeh Dato-Johnson*(on the podium), country director of Action Aid Liberia. Credit: Aria Deemie/New Narratibes.
MONROVIA, Liberia—As civil society organizations intensify calls for debt cancellation and fiscal reform, the Liberian government has defended what it calls a deliberate effort to rebuild trust with global lenders.
By Aria Deemie, climate, environment, and science reporter with New Narratives
Alice E. Williams, assistant minister for External Resources and Debt Management at the Ministry of Finance, acknowledged the country’s historic debt burden but said the current administration had little choice but to restore credibility with international partners.
“When we came in, the World Bank had suspended all projects. The African Development Bank, the Kuwaiti Fund — they had all frozen us out,” Williams said. “So our first priority was to fix that. Every quarter, we processed the payments before they even asked. That’s why we’re now in good standing. No quarterly arrears. No backlogs.”
Her comments came as more than 30 civil society organizations issued a joint communiqué urging the government to reject austerity, seek fairer debt restructuring, and reform tax policies they say disproportionately favor corporations.
Alice E. Williams, assistant minister for External Resources and Debt Management, says the govemrment has rebuilt trust among global lenders.
“There were things we had to forgo,” Williams acknowledged. “But we had to restore credibility. That’s what opens the space for any future support or negotiation.”
“There were things we had to forgo,” Williams acknowledged. “But we had to restore credibility. That’s what opens the space for any future support or negotiation.”
Liberia’s challenge remains how to balance fiscal discipline with public demands for equity, justice, and investment in essential services.
Later in the day, Williams received a communiqué from civil society organizations.
Liberia’s external debt rose from $US612 million in December 2017 to $US898.6 million by March 2020, according to the Ministry of Finance. Officials at the minstiry say $US256 million of that increase came from loan agreements inherited from the previous administration, while a litle more than $30 million was tied to new borrowing by the George Weah-led govenrment. The remainder reflected the formal recognition of longstanding debts to the Central Bank of Liberia previously unrecorded but acknowledged under IMF-led reforms.
International partners have taken note. Wrojay B. Potter Jr., a representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), praised the government’s efforts.
“We want to congratulate the Government of Liberia,” Potter said. “For us at FAO, Liberia has cleared all its outstanding arrears and dues. That now gives Liberia access to other opportunities under FAO.”
In a follow-up call with FrontPage Africa/New Narratives, Potter emphasized that although Liberia was a founding member of the FAO in 1945, it had never hosted a formal country office.
“As tradition has it, countries usually have an office,” said Potter. “On June 28, during the FAO conference, we will be launching and turning over the ‘Liberia Room’ to the government of Liberia in recognition of fulfilling their responsibilities. From there, we’ll also be launching our new country program out of Monrovia.”
Despite the government’s tight fiscal posture, civil society delegates welcomed Williams’ candor. But their core message remained: debt repayment alone is not a development strategy.
According to the communiqué, Liberia’s public debt now exceeds $US2.5 billion, or 67% of its Gross Domestic Product,GDP, a level that leaves little space for public investment in health, education, or climate resilience. While the extractive sector accounts for more than half of GDP, it contributes just 16 percent of domestic revenue. Critics blame the cap on generous tax holidays and weak regulatory enforcement.
Advocates say the cost of that imbalance is being borne by ordinary Liberians, especially women and girls through underfunded schools, fragile hospitals. They have also raised concern about what they say is a “$US359 million climate finance gap” as the country braces for escalating environmental threats.
For some technocrats, the conversation echoed missed opportunities. Blamo B. Nimle, a drafter of the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing development, reminded participants that many of the fiscal principles re-emerging like tax justice, social compacts, and SDG-aligned spending were commitments Liberia had already made.
“I helped present this to the Liberian Cabinet under President Sirleaf,” said Nimle, who now works at the Liberian embassy, but spoke in a personal capacity. “But those ideas never fully took root. When ministries submit budgets, many lawmakers don’t have a foundational understanding of these commitments.”
He urged civil society groups to expand their advocacy beyond the executive branch and into the Legislature.
“Our lawmakers are key,” he said. “If they understood the Addis Ababa framework, they could help push for domesticating those goals, like curbing illicit financial flows and meeting SDG-linked spending targets in national plans.”
Other participants echoed the concern, pointing to unfulfilled international pledges. Liberia committed to allocating 15 percent of its national budget to health under the Abuja Declaration and 15–20 percent to education under the UNESCO Education 2030 Framework. As donor support shrinks, many warned that Liberia’s deeper challenge isn’t just fiscal, it’s institutional memory.
“This domestic resource mobilization forum, led by civil society, is something we should all commit to,” she said. “The suggestions raised today are promising. I’ll be taking them back to my colleagues and our NGO unit. It’s a continuous discussion, communication, and coordination. Let’s work together to make Liberia successful, viable, and a loving place to be.”
