Finance and Development Planning Minister, Bioma Kamara, has challenged the African Development Bank (AfDB) to improve its financing model to spur growth in special sectors in member states.
Minister Kamara, in his opening remarks at the ongoing Annual Meetings of the Bank in Kenya, further narrated that the increasing ADF 17 to 25 billion will spur growth in special sectors in member states.
He said, “While these ADF allocations are contributing to priority sectors in the country, Liberia believes that the financing gaps in infrastructure and agriculture investment to move Africa into middle income level remain significantly wide.”
Minister Kamara noted that the investment capital demand for Africa’s transformation cannot be addressed with eight US$8 billion and thereby called for ADF capital mobilization of US$25 billion to target infrastructure, agriculture, digitalization and domestic resources mobilization.
Minister Kamara, on behalf of Liberian government also recommended that reforms in the Bank should consider giving priority to domestic resources mobilization by member states for sustainability and innovation.
He suggested at the continental event that AfDB encourages African leaders to sign a special appeal letter for ADF replenishment to attract more investment into the Fund.
Meanwhile, Kamara stated his delight on Liberia being one of the pilot countries for the advancing youth entrepreneurs’ project, which is currently awaiting ratification by the Legislature and asserted, “We appreciate the AfDB’s financing strategy targeting youth bank projects across Africa.”
He praised the AfDB for being increasingly supportive of Liberia’s economic recovery through transformative infrastructure (road and energy), agriculture, domestic resources mobilization and good governance projects to promote inclusive economic growth.
Kamara maintained, “Liberia currently enjoys 18 projects (12 national and 6 regional) under ADF, TSF and NTF with a total portfolio of $397 million. Liberia’s portfolio is aligned with the Bank’s High Five constituting energy 28%, agriculture 8%, road infrastructure 56%, industrialize Africa 4% and improving the quality of lives of the people of Africa 4%.”
In a related development, Finance Minister Kamara on the sideline of the Annual Board Meeting, held a bilateral meeting with the Canadian Ambassador to the African Union, Mr. Ben Marc Diendere.
The two officials shared a long existing economic and diplomatic relationship between the two countries and expressed interest to strengthen economic cooperation.
Ambassador Diendere expressed the Canadian government’s interest to engage the African Union to change the narrative and provide opportunities for the economic growth of Africa.
He pointed out Canada’s interest to finance the AfDB, engage member countries in the areas of human capital development through TVET for youth development, SMEs development, climate resilience and food security.
The Canadian Ambassador to the African Union expressed Canada’s concentration to expand the African economy through agriculture, agribusiness and value chain to reduce poverty and encouraged Liberia to watch out for risks in seabed mineral resources negotiations.
For his part, Minister Kamara expressed President Boakai’s vision to expand the economy with vested interest in agriculture and infrastructure financing as a game changer for economic growth of Liberia.
He called for cooperation with Canada in the areas of private sector development, mining and carbon market development, domestic resources mobilization and SMEs development to enable inclusive and sustainable growth of the Liberian economy.
He emphasized the need for members of the G-7 nations to increase private sector financing to low-income countries and remove the use of GDP conditionality for lending to poor countries, adding that private sector financing and jobs creation in Africa will reverse the migration challenges being experienced by developed nations.
Furthermore, the Minister suggested that multilateral financial institutions improve financing architecture to focus on growth-enabling sectors in developing countries through public-private sector mobilization.
Meanwhike, Kamara and Ambassador Diendere then agreed to renew cooperation and strengthen their relationship to mobilize financing support for President Boakai’s ARREST agenda.
