Local and international partners have hailed the National Road Fund of Liberia (NRF) for maintaining a good stance amidst the huge pressure that many African road funds have come under since the insurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The International Road Fund (IRF) declared that, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in January 2020, the global economy was already battling a slowdown, and the economic crisis was further exacerbated by the pandemic as extreme pressure continued to be exerted on budgets of the African Road Funds and sector institutions to provide for the development and preservation of road infrastructure.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the African Roads Maintenance Funds Association (ARMFA) and head of the Road Fund Administration (RFA) of Namibia, Ali Ipinge, noted that if alternative funding strategies are not explored road construction and maintenance will be severely compromised on the continent. Ipinge said with funding being insufficient to provide for road maintenance needs, ARMFA member states require innovative strategies to be investigated and implemented.
He named key among the strategies as road tolling (with enhanced electronic tolling systems), distance-based road user charges, public-private partnerships (PPP) models and private investments, robust road asset management systems and output performance-based contracting.
However, the NRF of Liberia has maintained a relatively good financial record as compared to many African road fund managements. As a result, it was positioned to aid the Government of Liberia (GOL) to settle domestic responsibilities while keeping focus on the administration’s flagship program, “Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD)”.
With the broad notification of the NRF achievements during these difficult times, many are calling for the government to give the entity an autonomous status, which will strengthened the institution to generate more funds and institute, monitor and evaluate policies that could generate more revenue to the national coffers.
One such person is Margibi County’s district #1 Representative, Tibelrosa S. Tarponweh, who has sent to the plenary of the House of Representatives a bill seeking to repeal the Act that created the NRF in 2016.
Representative Tarponweh proposed that the National Road Fund of Liberia be elevated to an autonomous agency and placed under the supervision of its Board of Directors appointed by the President of the Republic.
He emphasized that making the NRF an autonomous agency will protect revenues collected from petroleum importers. “Such protection will assure all Liberians adequate financial management and avoid the excessive risk of losing focus on the primary objective of the proposed National Road Fund Administration. This is justified in the fact that it increases a substantial amount of independence of the financial and program management system,” the communication noted.
The National Road Fund of Liberia (NRF) is headed by Boniface Satu as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and assisted by a team of competent staff.
Meanwhile, the bill seeking to make the NRF an autonomous agency has been greeted with applause from the public, with many anticipating that, if elevated to an autonomous status, the NRF will do more in generating needed revenue for government.