This paper presents Liberia’s Request for a 40-Year Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). The 40-month financing package will support the authorities’ Economic Reform Agenda to address macroeconomic imbalances, strengthen debt sustainability, and lay the foundations for higher, more inclusive, and private sector-led growth, beyond the enclave sector. The ECF arrangement is expected to catalyze additional external financing from international financial institutions and development partners. Liberia’s economic vulnerability has worsened in recent years. Fiscal slippages have compromised public debt sustainability, contributing to a sharp decline in international reserves. Governance weaknesses have also persisted. The authorities are firmly committed to revitalizing the reform agenda to support macroeconomic stability, promote broad-based economic development, and reduce widespread poverty. Comprehensive structural reforms, including improvements in governance and transparency, are critical for achieving these objectives. Maintaining strong program ownership, supported by capacity development, will be crucial to ensure program success and continued donor support.
Liberia is a fragile, low-income country. Per-capita income remains about a third of the level prior to the civil wars during 1989-2003. After a bout of economic instability, prudent monetary and fiscal policies reduced inflation to just over 5 percent in 2021 and budgets are financed without recourse to central bank credit. Economic growth suffered first from macroeconomic instability and then from the COVID-19 pandemic. Growth rebounded to 5 percent in 2021 and, after a soft patch this year due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, should reach 5-6 percent in the medium term if Liberia taps its clear potential through persistent structural reforms and prudent policies. The government’s resolve will be tested in the runup to the general elections in September 2023.
Ensuring macroeconomic stability, providing a foundation for sustainable and inclusive growth, and addressing weak governance are the tenets of the ECF-supported program. The COVID-19 pandemic was a painful setback, but economic activity should recover by end-2021 and prospects for growth in 2022 are favorable. Prudent monetary and fiscal policies allowed inflation to decline into the single digits. The authorities are addressing disruptive currency shortages through a comprehensive currency changeover operation. While the SDR allocation provides timely room for supportive policies without compromising macroeconomic stability, the authorities remain committed to their reform program and generally continue to implement the necessary measures.
The Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development 2018 to 2023 (PAPD) is the second in the series of 5-year National Development Plans (NDP) anticipated under the Liberia Vision 2030 framework. It follows the Agenda for Transformation 2012-2017 (AfT). It is informed as well by lessons learned from the implementation of the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy 2007 (iPRS) and the Poverty Reduction Strategy (2008-2011). The fundamentals underpinning the PAPD are: i) Liberia is rich in human and natural resources; but ii) is deprived of development largely because its human capital lacks the knowledge to transform the natural resources into wealth—whether through farming, mining, fishing, or other productive ventures that require technology or financial investments. Consequently, Liberia is relatively rich in natural capital but relatively poor in relations to its peers in both human and produced capital. Moreover, because of a legacy of entrenched inequality in access to development opportunities, widespread infrastructure deficits and pervasive poverty have become the binding constraints to future growth and prosperity.
Restoring macroeconomic stability, providing a foundation for sustainable inclusive growth, and addressing weaknesses in governance remain the main objectives of this program. While allowing for a slight fiscal loosening to meet humanitarian needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, tight monetary policy, much improved public financial management, domestic revenue mobilization, and zero central bank financing have supported the administration’s efforts to achieve price and exchange rate stability. This has helped to preserve the purchasing power of the poor who were the most affected by the high inflation environment at the program’s inception. The authorities consider bringing the ECF-supported program back on track of utmost importance and are committed to their development plan, the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD).