Follow the yellow brick road.....

At work much of my efforts have been geared towards preparations for the Liberia Poverty Reduction Forum, 2008 in Berlin. At the Forum the government will present the first full Poverty Reduction Strategy to Liberia's international partners, take stock of the progress made and discuss future challenges. In a nutshell the objective is to seek endorsement of the government's priorities so that partners strengthen and align their support around the government's agenda.

A key priority of the Forum is to highlight the importance of rebuilding infrastructure, especially roads. By the end of the war only 6 per cent of the limited road network was paved and the entire water distribution network, sanitation system and electricity grid were completely destroyed. There was no piped water or electricity, except for private generators, anywhere in the country for 15 years.

Investment in infrastructure fits into the classic 'big push' era of development polices. If you subscribe to the poverty trap literature, then by financing infrastructure, and more specifically, building roads, productive demand will follow. Farmers will be connected to markets, exports will become more competitive and the rural poor will have greater economic opportunities. The theory can be compelling for some, but there are countless numbers of 'white elephant' project, roads to nowhere and lack of maintenance. Besides, it can be argued that Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world, it doesn't have much of anything. It is possible to create a 'laundry list' of almost everything which needs to be rebuilt. Why focus on physical infrastructure when provision of social services are so scarce?

What the government will be emphasising at the Forum is that rebuilding infrastructure, especially roads, is at the centre of all of the government's major objectives. In particular, by connecting the country it will contribute towards economic revitalization, increase access to health and education, consolidate peace and security and facilitate inclusion and equity. The longer-term benefits are supplemented by the immediate benefits of job creation and provide people with tangible results of the governments efforts. Moreover, during the extensive nationwide consultation process, people consistently named roads as a priority. With limited resources and capacity the government must enforce some prioritisation and respond to the population.

So the grand vision is in place and the Minister of Finance has been leading the effort to take this message to donors in Berlin. In support of this, the key areas that I have been working on are the presentations to be given by the Finance Minister, the communique which will capture the outcome of the Forum and the press release. My work has provided me with the opportunity to work closely with the Minister and begin to understand the complex relationship with donors. The Government is clearly showing leadership in setting the agenda, the challenge is to bring donors together to support implementation.