Liberian Government Priorities Are Up-Side Down, Says Governance Reform Commission
By Josephus Moses Gray
Jmoses1970@theperspective.org
The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
October 13, 2004
Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
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According to the Commission, Budgets should achieve goals and should
not be in isolation of macroeconomic targets. The Commission added
that to the contrary, the national budget lacks macroeconomic policy
orientation. It noted that macroeconomic targets such as expected
GDP growth rate, rate of inflation, wage policy, pricing policies
and monetary policies are normally established within the framework
of the national
economic policy objectives set by Government, saying that these policies
set benchmarks and standards for setting of national priorities, direction
and evaluating the performance of the economy.
The GRC said while a post-conflict situation does not allow sophistication, at least some simple development objectives with set targets could have been established and added that mandate of the NTGL with respect to resettlement; reintegration and rehabilitation should therefore be prioritized in the allocation of budgetary resources.
Additionally, the Commission said the overall program objective and results of the NTGL are clearly stated in the RFTF. As cost sharing arrangement, the Government, GRC said is under obligation to meet some of the essential costs in producing the results. There is no clear linkage to the budget for achieving these sets of results in the budget, it noted. “It is recommended that the NTLA takes a more active role with the highest degree of seriousness to ensure that the budgetary process assist in getting our national priorities”, GRC propounded.
According to the Commission, the 2004/2005 budget is heavily biased against program and in favor of payout to workers and personnel expenditure or wages of public sector employees represent the largest single item in the budget, amounting to US$41,728,356 or 52%. Assuming an average monthly wage of LD$1,000 per employee the allocated amount for personnel services expenditure implies that the number of people receiving wages is not fewer than 170,000.
This situation, the GRC said understandably results from the prolonged
instability and economic retrogression that have plagued Liberia in
the last two decades. As it were, the commission said under normal
economic conditions and stability such a phenomenon would imply a
bias for supporting a welfare system as opposed to enhancing development
priorities.
Expectedly, as the well-being of the State improves, the GRC said
personnel payroll share to development share would switch appropriately.
A better system of allocation might have resulted in some form of
personnel redeployment without undermining the need for ensuring income
for survival.
The GRC revealed that Security Service Sector accounts for a sizeable 14.84% of the budget and said establishing a rational justification for the nearly 15% allocation would be difficult given that under the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement, UNMIL is primarily responsible for national security. “One would have thought that in order to exert greater impact on short-term rehabilitation and reconstruction, the security allocation could have been reduced by at least 50% and the balance reapplied to say the Education, Health, water, roads Public Works and Rural Development sub-sectors”.
The GRC further stated that enhancing these sub-sectors with increased funding should indeed facilitate resettlement of our displaced population to their original bases, adding that given existing road conditions and food shortage in the country, reintegration and resettlement would be difficult for returnees and displaced persons to resettle in their places of origin, when Public Works and agriculture sectors are allotted a merger share of 3.65% and 1.39 % of the budgeted resources respectively.
As a case in point, the GRC added that the disarmament process is currently being impaired as a result of the bad road conditions through out the country, noting that allocation to labor intensive infrastructure improvement would also have an effect of job creation and positive implications for civil service redeployment.
The lack of accountability and transparency in government operations,
including restriction on information regarding the decision making
process, is contributing to the growing crisis of confidence in the
NGTL, the GRC noted, and added that there are a
number of institutions whose functions are intended to ensure public
accountability.
One of such institutions is the General Auditing Commission established
by the Liberian Constitution as an autonomous agency. An independent
agency, then General Auditing Office (GAO) was established by an act
of the National Legislature in 1956, and revised
in 1972 (Chapter 53 Executive Law of 1972) to perform the day-to-day
activities of the Commission, the commission added.
The GRC said the law, as it is today, has eroded the independence
of the Commission to be objective in its work and to report its findings
without fear or favor.
The general purpose of the Commission is to “promote the principles
of good governance in post-war Liberia”. More specifically,
the Commission is mandated to: review the existing program for the
promotion of good governance in Liberia, with the objective of adjusting
its scope and strategy for implementation. Also to develop public
sector management reforms through assessment, reforms capacity building
and performance monitoring, ensure transparency and accountability
in governance in all government institutions and activities, including
acting as the public ombudsman.
The GRC says the basic principle underlying the Commission’s delivery strategy is the active involvement of the people of Liberia in the reform process. To this end, it said a robust nationwide consultation initiative has been put into motion since the beginning of September 2004. And added that the objective is to involve the Liberian people in determining the direction, focus and content of the reform process and recommended measures. The strategy also intends to create a national constituency behind proposed reform measures with the aim to ensuring that the measures are implemented by incoming governments.