President Akufo-Addo and Liberian President George Weah
A DROP in emergency aid is complicating Liberia’s macroeconomic situation, President George Weah has revealed.
The West African nation is grappling with severe economic challenges under the Presidency of Mr. Weah, a former footballer and once a political novice.
Inflation appears to be skyrocketing every second, with the free fall of the Liberian dollar against major international trading currencies, a big concern for Liberians.
But addressing a nation in ‘despair’ from Liberia’s capital, Monrovia on May 29, 2019, Mr. Weah partly blamed the current economic crisis in Liberia on the fall in emergency aid since the end of the Liberian civil war in the early 2000s.
The civil war started in 1999 and ended in 2003.
He admitted “and so, my fellow Liberians, I want you to know that I am aware of the difficulties and hardships that the rising exchange rate is causing you, and the effect it is having on prices of all goods and commodities in the market.”
He added that “I am deeply concerned about these issues, and I am working day and night to resolve them.”
According to him, “Liberia is no longer receiving the emergency aid that came in the years after war, and large grants from our multilateral partners have also dried up.”
He said “the amount of remittances we receive from abroad in US dollars has also declined.”
Mr. Weah added that “all of these realities complicate our macroeconomic situation.”
The Liberian leader noted that “the sudden drop in US dollar inflows puts pressure on the economy, and devalues the Liberian dollar, moving prices upward.”
Outdated Policies
According to him, “the macroeconomic policies we have today are policies tailored to the time that we had free inflows of United States dollars.”
He added that “we are now changing these policies to reflect the economic realities of our time.”
Beyond Aid
The cry over aid from the Liberian leader comes at a time when Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, is calling for Ghana Beyond Aid and urging his African colleague leaders to stop the over reliance on foreign aid for national development.
BY Melvin Tarlue