Liberia’s Finance Minister, Samuel D. Tweah says Liberia’s current scorecard in the Millennium Challenge Corporation is an indication that the nation is making positive strides in various sectors. He said it also denotes that the Government of Liberia is focused on achieving its goals.
The Government of Liberia has passed 12 out of 20 indicators on the scorecard of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the first since 2018.
Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah said it is just the beginning as Liberia will push in the coming years to maintain an upward trend and a positive scorecard.
“We remained focused and not distracted, that is what this scorecard is telling us,” Tweah said Tuesday when he addressed a panel of journalists on State Radio in Monrovia.
He said that based on the visibility that the current scorecard has brought, many Government agencies are cautious about improving their internal structure which he said will translate into a positive score for the government.
Based on the recent MCC scorecard, Liberia passed 12 indicators, Inflation, Trade Policy, Gender in the Economy, Land Rights and Access, Access to Credit, Employment Opportunities, Political Rights, and Civil Liberties.
The nation also made a successful pass in the Control of Corruption, Rule of Law, Freedom of Information, and Health Expenditures.
On the nation’s passing of the Control of Corruption indicator, Minster Tweah imputed that Liberia has always passed the indicator which many considered as key, however, he emphasized in retort to comments surrounding the recent sanction by the U.S. Treasury Department of three government officials that by passing the corruption indicator does not necessarily denote that corruption does not exist in Liberia.
What the Government of Liberia seeks to now do, Tweah cited, “is to do more to strengthen the fight against corruption,” adding, that the scorecard is also denoting that the Government is making efforts in the use of existing structures and mediums to fight corruption.
Referencing corruption as a structural challenge, Tweah affirmed that the Government has done even more in the formulation of programs to deter bribery, the misuse of public funds, and payroll fraud among others.
While the Government celebrates its achievement in the passage of the 12 indicators, Tweah is confident that in the coming years the government will do more to remain in an upward trend by passing 14 of the indicators on the MCC scorecard.
This means that the Government will have to exert effort to make a successful pass in the remaining or a few of the indicators which it did not pass to include Fiscal Policy, Regulatory Quality, Government Effectiveness, and Primary Educational Expenditure.
The Government of Liberia will also work to score high in Natural Resources Protection, Immunization Rates, Girls’ Primary Education Completion Rate, and Child Health.
Meanwhile, Minister Tweah has said that with the prevailing MCC scorecard, the Government of Liberia is set to make its case to the Board of the MCC as it seeks to secure a compact grant.
