In furtherance of the regional workshops on natural resource governance, domestic resource mobilization, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) over the weekend ended a two-day intensive and constructive discussion with stakeholders in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County.
During the closing ceremony, the Executive Director of the National Secretariat of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Wilfred K. Selmah, commended participants for their quality inputs as it regards the deliberations and reviews of government’s internal policies and reform programs. He disclosed that the on-going regional cluster dialogues on good governance and domestic resource mobilization stakeholders meetings are very important in financing domestic investment and social programs, which are essential for economic growth and for eradicating poverty.
Speaking to over 103 participants at the close of the meetings in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, Selmah emphasized that good governance is of importance for community mobilization and a plus for all developmental initiatives to be sustainable.
He reiterated that the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) attaches great significance to the effective participation of all stakeholders concerned in the policy reform processes of good governance.
However, all of this was realized when Selmah, on Monday, November 15, 2021, headed a team of APRM staff to southeastern Liberia, under phase 2 of the Integrated Public Financial Management Reform Project (IPFMRP), to represent Minister Samuel D. Tweh Jr., who is the focal point of the Liberian program on improved engagement between civil society and government officials.
He further noted that community mobilization engagement meetings are very important because it identifies community priorities, resources, needs and solutions in such a way as to promote representative participation, good governance, accountability and peaceful change.
The APRM Executive Director, Wilfred K. Selmah, emphasized that accountability is an essential characteristic of good governance as well as strengthening community participation for sustainability and self-reliance. “Through domestic resource mobilization, countries accelerate their economic growth,” he noted.
He further lamented that, against this background, the stakeholders’ meetings were mainly focused on the importance of domestic resource mobilization, and in particular public revenue, to increase knowledge and awareness of the challenges regarding domestic public resource mobilization for sustainable development in Liberia.
According to him, the domestic resource mobilization (DRM) dialogue in the southeast brought together key stakeholders to share experiences and to plot the way forward, and can highly become a development tool for generating revenues to support sustained and inclusive economic growth in the country.
Meanwhile, the two-day Regional Cluster Dialogues meetings, from November 17—19, 2021, which took place in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, included participants from Maryland, River Gee, Grand Kru and host Grand Gedeh.
Key prominent facilitators included Alphonse B. Jolo, Sr., Policy Analyst for Modelling, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning; Marvin D. Yeahgar, Customer Service Officer, Taxpayer Division, Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA); and James Johnson, Deputy Director/Program Officer, National Secretariat, African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
At the close of the Regional Dialogue, most participants said that the workshop had exceeded their expectations. According to their feedback questionnaires, they plan to use their new knowledge in teaching, research, and expanding their work for policymakers. They said they need to take several other key factors into account in the self-assessment, and the review questionnaire was of vital importance as it enhances human capacity developmental goals.
Concluding, Selmah said the primary purpose of the APRM is to foster the adoption of policies, standards, and practices that will eventually lead to political stability, high economic growth sustainable development and accelerated sub-regional and continental integration through sharing of experiences and reinforcement and successful best practices.