Vision for Liberia

The objective Liberia needs growth that creates productive work, stronger businesses and more secure household incomes. The 2022 national census shows how central this challenge is: people aged 15–35 make up a large share of the population, while much of youth economic activity remains concentrated in own-account and family work rather than stable salaried employment. The Weah 2029 programme would place private-sector job creation, enterprise growth and household purchasing power at the centre of economic policy.

Government should create the conditions for Liberians to build businesses, find skilled work and compete fairly—not attempt to replace the private sector. Programme direction Priority would be given to a national SME and enterprise programme that reduces unnecessary licensing barriers, expands transparent access to credit and guarantees, and links Liberian firms to procurement opportunities in construction, agriculture, mining, energy and public services.

Public investment would be designed to create skills and commercial opportunity alongside the infrastructure itself. Fiscal discipline and responsible debt management would remain essential. Liberia cannot sustainably improve living standards if inflation, arrears or poorly managed public spending undermine wages and private investment. Public spending should therefore be tied more closely to measurable national priorities, while the independence and professional role of the Central Bank are respected.

A modern one-stop business environment would progressively move registration, tax, licensing and selected government approvals online, reducing time, cost and unnecessary contact points for entrepreneurs. What success should look like More Liberians in productive and formal work; stronger domestic firms; easier business formation; wider access to finance; more local participation in major contracts; and public finances that support investment without creating unsustainable debt.

The objective Liberia's infrastructure gap raises the cost of moving people, farm produce, construction materials and exports. Poor connectivity also makes it harder for communities to reach schools, hospitals and government services. A national road programme should therefore be judged not simply by kilometres announced, but by whether roads remain usable and whether they connect people to economic opportunity. The Weah 2029 programme would build on the principle that connectivity is a national economic service .

Strategic highways, county capitals, farm-to-market links, urban access roads, bridges and port corridors should be planned as one network rather than as isolated projects. Programme direction A published multi-year infrastructure pipeline would identify priority corridors, financing arrangements, project status, contractors and expected completion dates. Maintenance would be treated as a core budget responsibility so that completed roads do not rapidly deteriorate.

Farm-to-market roads would be coordinated with agriculture programmes, while port-access and logistics improvements would be coordinated with trade, customs and industrial development. Where public-private partnerships are suitable, procurement and long-term obligations should be disclosed clearly. Liberian engineering and construction firms should have transparent opportunities to qualify, partner and build capacity, while technical standards and independent supervision remain non-negotiable.

What success should look like More all-season road access, lower transport time and cost, stronger links between farms and markets, better movement through ports, predictable maintenance and a public project map that lets citizens see what has been promised, funded, started and completed.

The objective Electricity is basic infrastructure for modern life and economic production. Liberia has made progress over the past decade, but national access remains low and the cost and reliability of power continue to constrain households and businesses. The Weah 2029 programme would pursue more connections, stronger utility performance and more productive use of power . Grid extension should continue where technically and economically appropriate, while mini-grids, solar systems and other decentralised solutions expand service to communities that cannot wait for the main grid.

Programme direction The Liberia Electricity Corporation should operate with stronger commercial discipline, transparent performance targets and sustained action against technical and commercial losses. Investment should focus not only on generation but also on transmission, distribution, metering and maintenance. Regional electricity trade through the West African Power Pool should be used strategically to improve supply security and manage costs.

Public facilities—including priority schools, clinics, water systems and county service centres—should be incorporated into electrification planning. Productive-use programmes would connect energy investment to agro-processing, cold storage, manufacturing, digital services and small business activity so that each new connection can support jobs as well as household consumption. What success should look like More reliable connections, lower system losses, fewer outages, wider rural access, stronger financial performance at LEC and visibly more businesses using electricity to produce goods and services.

The objective Education policy must answer two questions at the same time: are children in school, and are they actually learning? Liberia continues to face serious access, quality and skills challenges, including high numbers of out-of-school children and a technical-training system that remains too small for the country's labour-market needs. The Weah 2029 programme would focus on foundational learning, accountable teaching and a direct bridge from education to employment .

Programme direction Early-grade literacy and numeracy would be treated as measurable national priorities. Student learning should be assessed regularly enough for teachers, school leaders and the Ministry of Education to know where intervention is needed rather than waiting for end-of-cycle failure. Teacher training, licensing, deployment and attendance systems would be strengthened, with particular attention to rural and underserved schools.

School rehabilitation would prioritise safe classrooms, WASH, electricity and basic learning materials. Technical and vocational education would be expanded through regional centres linked to actual labour demand in construction, electricity, mechanics, agriculture, hospitality, ICT, mining services and other productive sectors. Employers should participate in standards, apprenticeships and certification so that training leads to usable skills.

What success should look like More children in age-appropriate grades, stronger reading and mathematics outcomes, better-trained teachers, more credible TVET certification and a growing share of graduates moving into work, apprenticeships or further study.

The objective Liberia has fertile land, abundant rainfall and a large rural population, yet the country still imports a substantial share of its staple food. Rice illustrates the gap clearly: domestic production remains far below annual demand. The Weah 2029 programme would treat agriculture as a commercial growth sector and a food-security system , not only as subsistence activity. Programme direction Rice, cassava, vegetables, livestock and selected cash-crop value chains would receive coordinated support based on agro-ecological potential and market demand.

That support should combine improved seed and planting material, irrigation where viable, extension, mechanisation services, storage, feeder roads, processing and market access rather than distributing inputs without a value-chain plan. Aggregation centres and storage systems would help farmers reach larger buyers and reduce losses. Public institutions should use transparent procurement to create predictable demand for qualifying Liberian food products where supply, quality and value are competitive.

Agricultural finance would be strengthened through risk-sharing arrangements, better farm and market data, warehouse-receipt approaches where feasible and partnerships with banks, cooperatives and processors. What success should look like Higher yields, more locally produced rice and other staples, lower post-harvest losses, more agro-processing, stronger rural incomes and a measurable reduction in dependence on food imports over time.

The objective Liberia has made important gains in survival and access to health services, but maternal, newborn and child mortality remain unacceptably high. Distance from facilities, shortages of trained staff, medicine availability and weak referral systems continue to determine whether treatable conditions become emergencies. The Weah 2029 programme would focus on strong primary care, safer childbirth and a dependable path from community care to hospital treatment .

Programme direction Community health workers should be supported through predictable financing, training, supervision and supply systems, particularly where communities are far from facilities. Maternal and newborn care would be strengthened through antenatal services, skilled delivery, emergency obstetric capability, blood availability and reliable referral transport. Essential medicine procurement and distribution should be digitised enough to identify stock-outs, delivery delays and consumption patterns.

County and district hospitals would be upgraded against clear service standards rather than through isolated construction projects without staffing and equipment plans. Public health surveillance, vaccination and emergency preparedness would remain core national-security capabilities, drawing on Liberia's experience with Ebola and other outbreaks. What success should look like Fewer preventable maternal and child deaths, shorter emergency referral times, better medicine availability, stronger community-health coverage and facilities that can demonstrate the services they are actually equipped and staffed to deliver.

The objective Liberia is one of the world's wettest countries, yet safe water, sanitation and hygiene remain major public-health and dignity challenges. Weak sanitation also contributes to disease, missed school days, unsafe neighbourhood conditions and pressure on already fragile health services. The Weah 2029 programme would treat WASH as essential infrastructure with permanent maintenance responsibilities , not as a series of disconnected projects.

Programme direction Urban water investment would focus on treatment, distribution, metering, leakage reduction and reliable service expansion. Rural programmes would combine protected water points, small piped systems and sustainable maintenance arrangements suited to local conditions. Every public school and health facility should progressively meet minimum standards for safe water, toilets and handwashing. Sanitation policy would combine infrastructure with enforcement, community-led approaches and practical support for households and settlements where open defecation remains common.

Drainage, solid-waste collection and disposal need to be planned together, particularly in fast-growing urban areas exposed to flooding and pollution. County and municipal service providers should publish basic performance information so residents can see coverage, outages, collection schedules and investment priorities. What success should look like More households with reliable safe water, fewer communities practising open defecation, functional WASH in schools and clinics, cleaner urban areas and service systems that can be maintained after donor-funded projects end.

The objective Liberia's development institutions must be strong enough to manage public money, contracts, concessions and services with consistency. International assessments continue to identify governance weaknesses and corruption as major constraints to competitiveness, investment and public trust. The Weah 2029 programme would make institutional accountability a governing system rather than a public-relations exercise .

Programme direction Major procurement awards, contract values, project status and payment information should be published in accessible formats, subject to legitimate legal and security limits. E-procurement and electronic payment systems should progressively reduce discretionary cash handling and improve audit trails. Asset-declaration, conflict-of-interest and public-service ethics requirements should be applied consistently.

Integrity institutions, the General Auditing Commission and the judiciary require operational independence, professional staffing and timely follow-through on findings and cases. Public appointments should place greater weight on competence, defined responsibilities and measurable performance. Ministers and agency heads should work against published institutional priorities, while citizens should have simple channels to track major government commitments and report service failures.

What success should look like More competitive procurement, fewer unexplained project delays, stronger audit follow-up, better public access to government information, more predictable enforcement and a civil service in which performance and competence matter.

The objective Digital transformation should reduce the distance between citizens and public services, lower the cost of doing business and make government transactions easier to trace. Liberia has already begun important work in telecommunications, cybersecurity, digital identification, digital skills and public-sector modernisation; the next step is to turn those foundations into services people use every day. The Weah 2029 programme would build secure, interoperable and citizen-centred digital public infrastructure .

Programme direction Priority services—business registration, tax, selected licences, government payments, public records and service applications—would progressively move to secure online channels while preserving assisted access for people who are not yet connected. A trusted national digital identity framework, strong data-protection rules and cybersecurity standards are essential. Government systems should be designed to exchange data lawfully without forcing citizens to repeatedly submit the same information to different agencies.

Broadband expansion, shared infrastructure and competition should support better connectivity outside Monrovia. Digital-skills programmes should be linked to employment, entrepreneurship and government procurement opportunities so that young Liberian firms can build solutions rather than only consume imported technology. What success should look like More services completed online from start to finish, fewer queues and paper processes, better public payment records, stronger cybersecurity, wider connectivity and more Liberian technology firms participating in the digital economy.

The objective Mining is again a major driver of Liberia's economic growth, while the country also possesses significant forest and agricultural resources. The national question is not simply whether resources are extracted, but whether extraction creates transparent public revenue, skilled Liberian work, competitive local suppliers and long-term value beyond the life of a concession. The Weah 2029 programme would pursue responsible resource development with stronger domestic economic linkages .

Programme direction Concession and licence administration should be transparent, predictable and technically competent. Publicly disclosable concession obligations, production information, payments and community commitments should be easier to track. Local-content policy should focus on capabilities rather than unrealistic quotas: identify goods and services Liberian firms can competitively supply, establish qualification pathways, connect firms to finance and standards, and require major operators to publish supplier-development plans.

Government should actively evaluate opportunities for commercially viable processing and value addition in Liberia where power, transport, market scale and environmental standards support it. Environmental approvals, monitoring, mine closure and land rehabilitation should be enforced consistently. What success should look like More transparent resource revenue, more qualified Liberian suppliers and skilled workers in concession value chains, credible community obligations, enforceable environmental standards and a larger share of economic value retained in Liberia.