Liberian President George Weah
LIBERIA HAS gone to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a possible bailout to salvage its broken economy dominated by alleged cases of corruption and mismanagement.
President George Weah made the announcement about his country going to the IMF on May 29, 2019, while addressing Liberians from Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, about the poor state of the country’s economy.
According to him, “soon, we will welcome a team from the International Monetary Fund, coming to create an IMF program tailored for Liberia.”
He noted that “such a program will help us to take the needed steps to stabilize our economy, restore confidence in our currency, and offer technical assistance to continue social services.”
Requirement
Mr. Weah said “an IMF program requires greater discipline across government budgets.”
He revealed that “we will be introducing salary caps for government workers, and asking our legislators to share the burden as well.”
The President announced that “we will review performance and revenues from our State-owned enterprises, ensuring that leakages or inefficiencies do not undercut the ability of government to support its people.”
Justification
He sought to have justified his administration’s IMF move on grounds that other African nations including Ghana, Rwanda, and Senegal, have benefited from IMF bailouts.
He said “we have seen other African countries, including Ghana, Rwanda, and Senegal, benefit from IMF programs, and I believe Liberia can do so as well.”
Ghana’s last IMF bailout was a three-year which came in 2015 under the former President John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) which had been accused of corruption, gross incompetence and mismanagement.
The total amount Ghana benefited under the program was about $920.58 million. That came with stringent conditions, including restrictions on recruitment, and borrowing.
BY Melvin Tarlue