USAID/OTI Liberia Field Report
April - June 2007
Program Description
In September 2006, USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) launched the Building Recovery and Reform through Democratic Governance (BRDG) Initiative in Liberia. This new initiative came on the heels of the two-and-a-half-year Liberia Transition Initiative that began in 2003 as part of the U.S. Government's effort to support the Liberian political transition and helped consolidate peace after 14 years of civil war.
Until December 15, 2007, BRDG/Liberia will provide strategically targeted support for activities that help the new Government of Liberia gain traction and consolidate legitimacy as it undertakes the formidable challenges of national transformation. The new approach will help further three specific objectives, most recently modified on June 25, 2007:
- Assist the Government of Liberia and other key actors to improve capacity with an emphasis on communication systems;
- Assist the Government of Liberia and other key actors to mount effective political responses to high-visibility issues; and
- Support regional activities aimed at strengthening the Mano River Union.
Country Situation
Diamond Sanctions - The U.N. Security Council voted on April 27, 2007, to lift diamond sanctions that had been in place for the past 3 years to stem the flow of so-called blood diamonds, signaling that the Government of Liberia (GOL) has made significant progress toward Kimberley Process compliance. Liberia gained acceptance into the global Kimberley Process on May 3, 2007. The United Nations will review Liberia's progress toward becoming Kimberley compliant in 90 days to determine if further action is required.
Legislature - Following the controversial removal of Edwin Snowe from his position as Speaker of the House, the House elected Alex Tyler from the Liberia Action Party on April 5, 2007, to serve as Speaker. The passage of the Financial Autonomy Act by the national legislature captured public attention and generated a strong negative public response as the Act would have allowed extra-budgetary privilege and exempted the legislature from government oversight and taxation. On constitutional grounds, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf vetoed the bill in its entirety.
Taylor Trial - On June 4, former Liberian President Charles Taylor boycotted the opening of his war crimes trial in The Hague and vowed not to attend further proceedings due to his lack of confidence in the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The Court recently declined Taylor's request for self-representation and instructed the defense team to find a new lead counsel for Taylor.
USAID/OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
Over the past three months, OTI and implementing partner Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) were able to refine management systems to enhance program efficiency, despite some staff turnover. BRDG has continued to develop grant activities and provide short-term technical assistance (STTA) according to the BRDG program strategy and rolling analysis of political and operational realities. During the reporting period, the BRDG program contract was modified to -
- Extend the completion date from August 30, 2007, to December 15, 2007;
- Allow for an additional 240 days of Senior Level STTA Labor;
- Increase the contract ceiling by $474,196, from $5,927,565 to $6,401,761; and
- Provide incremental funding in the amount of $850,000.
On June 25, the OTI/BRDG team participated in a strategy review session during which it clarified program objectives, reviewed program successes, and identified activities and partners for the next 6 months through program closeout scheduled for mid-December 2007. While the BRDG program remains focused on its original three main objectives, the team decided to narrow the first objective to focus mainly on communication systems and to place more emphasis on activities that strengthen the Mano River Union (MRU).
Radio Programming - Star Radio, one of Liberia's leading independent radio stations providing news, information, and entertainment to greater Monrovia, continues to be an important partner. To date, Star has received support in the form of equipment, training, and subsidies that have helped it establish a network of six affiliate stations in Tubmanburg, Gbarnga, Buchanan, Voinjama, Zwedru, and Harper. The enlarged network covers nearly the entire country and will provide a source of independent, accurate, and timely information that is essential to the democratic process. Star Radio relocated to a new studio during the reporting period, reducing overhead costs by 50 percent. The new studio is optimally located in Monrovia on an elevated site.
In addition to providing institutional support to Star Radio, BRDG also partnered with the organization to summarize and translate the "National Budget Guide" into the 16 local languages and Liberian English. The different versions were recorded and then broadcast for 5 days on each of the 30 community radio stations throughout Liberia as well as on 4 Monrovia-based stations. This activity leveraged the work done by Green Advocates, the partner that developed the budget guide under the previous OTI program. Through this initiative to summarize and publicize the budget guide, a greater number of Liberians now have the means to understand the budget process, an awareness of their right to information about the budget and their obligation to stay informed about it, and the ability to influence its development and execution.
Assistance to the Government of Liberia - BRDG continued to provide direct material assistance to the GOL. BRDG supplied the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS) with materials needed to implement the pilot phase of the country's next census. These materials included GIS hardware and software, GIS laboratory equipment, IT and communications equipment, and office supplies. OTI will fill a funding gap to assist LISGIS with this operation, the country's first national housing and population census since 1984. The census will provide essential data for effective planning, decision making, and policy making. U.S. Ambassador Booth spoke at the official launch of the census on June 28, 2007.
BRDG also worked with the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs (MPEA) earlier this year, providing technical assistance to design a 10-year human capacity development strategy and action plan. At that time, BRDG recognized the ministry's need for a professional venue to discuss, introduce, and coordinate development activities, and this assessment was followed by a formal request for assistance from the ministry. BRDG rapidly responded to the request by providing an in-kind grant for the procurement of office equipment and furniture. In addition, the ministry has taken proactive measures to reduce operational costs by moving from rented space to a government-owned facility.
On June 25, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) coalition of 17 local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) formally launched its resource center that will be used for engagement with the GOL on the EITI process, training civil society members, and organizing advocacy campaigns that promote anti-corruption in the forest and mining sectors. BRDG will provide additional capacity-building and organizational development support to the coalition through STTA.
Legislative Report Cards - To raise awareness of the performance of elected officials, BRDG partnered with the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission to help the organization issue its first Legislative Report Card. Data for the report card was collected by monitoring the activities of national legislators, and the information was simulcast on three radio stations and distributed as inserts in two newspapers. In response to public demands, the report card has been reprinted. In addition, the results will be radio broadcast to all 15 Liberian counties.
Combating Market Corruption - Markets in Liberia have traditionally been fraught with corrupt leaders who use intimidation to obtain fees from sellers without providing any services. In an effort develop a pilot for an alternative market governance structure, BRDG recruited an expert to provide guidance on leadership structures, organizational policies, and sound market practices to the Kaymah Town Women's Market. The expert worked through the Community Empowerment Program, a local NGO, and the project led to the democratic election of officers and the development of by-laws. Representatives from the Office of the Vice President visited the pilot project because the Vice President has been tasked with tackling the problematic management issues within the Liberian Marketing Association.
Liberian Identity - The Governance Reform Commission (GRC) has prioritized the need for Liberians to re-evaluate the existing vision of Liberian identity in the new light of a post-war, forward-moving country. This is an extremely important intervention for both building national pride and preventing conflict in the future. The GRC has also recognized that this discussion is best initiated through children, who can help depoliticize the issue. In an effort to support this initiative, BRDG developed new partnerships with, and provided grants to, Marion Cassell Ministries International (MACAMI) and the United Muslim Women Advocacy and Empowerment Organization (UMWAEO).
The MACAMI grant supported a children's concert held on Unification Day on May 14, 2007. Multiethnic choirs from five neighborhoods in Monrovia participated. Each choir performed songs in Liberian languages followed by a group song in English. The concert displayed the diversity of Liberia's culture and allowed the children to interact and enrich their identity through the powerful medium of song. The choirs are now working with a production studio to record the songs on CD to further spread the Liberian identity message.
The UMWAEO grant was based on the successful YMCA model that involves discussions, debates, games, and artwork to engage children in thinking about a diverse yet unified vision of Liberia. UMWAEO's activities are centered in Nimba County, home to many of Liberia's Muslim communities. UMWAEO works with children in these communities to explore and expand their view of Liberian identity.
Mano River Union Activities - The Mano River Union Youth Parliament (MRUYP) is a subregional network of young people within the Mano River Basin that advocates for peace, human rights, and the development of young people and their communities. The Liberian chapter of the MRUYP is recovering from a political division, and BRDG is providing assistance to reinvigorate the organization in preparation for the MRUYP Congress that Liberia will host this year. The first phase of this grant provided for the free and transparent election of 30 youth parliamentarians (2 per county), which took place at the Federation for Liberian Youth's National Congress in Gbarnga on May 23, 2007. Now that the parliamentarians have been legitimately elected and recognized by their peers, the youth are preparing for the Liberian Youth Parliament Session, which is a precursor to the MRUYP Congress.
BRDG also supported the participation of MRU delegates in a 6-day technical-level meeting hosted by the National Commission on Environment and Forestry in Sierra Leone. The event sought to re-establish a MRU trans-boundary partnership for broader protection of forestry and wildlife. The delegates spent 2 days reviewing planning mechanisms for regular technical-level MRU communication followed by a 4-day field trip to protected sites on the Liberia-Sierra Leone border. The delegates are currently working on a communiqué that will outline the roles and responsibilities of the MRU governments in protecting cross-border forests.
B. Grant Activity Summary
| Program Activities |
Amount |
Grants |
Amount |
| Assist GOL and other key actors to improve capacity |
11 |
$913,576 |
37 |
$1,809,504 |
| Assist GOL and other key actors to mount effective political responses to high-visibility issues |
9 |
$172,460 |
24 |
$658,271 |
| Support regional activities aimed at strengthening the Mano River Union |
2 |
$90,754 |
10 |
$420,387 |
| Totals |
22 |
$1,176,790 |
71 |
$2,888,162 |
C. Indicator of Success
Speed – The election for a new Speaker of the House provided an excellent occasion for Liberians to interact with members of the legislature. To take advantage of this opportunity, BRDG aired a 2-hour interactive program that was simulcast on both radio and television 24 hours after the three candidates for Speaker announced their candidacies. During the first hour of the program, the candidates were questioned on major issues of concern to the Liberian people. They were also asked about their credentials and ability to lead the legislature. The second hour of the program was dedicated to interactions between the candidates and the general public, who submitted questions via phone and text messages. The station received more than 75 phone calls and text messages, and more than 300,000 people tuned in for the program. The response to the simulcast demonstrated the Liberian people's eagerness to engage in the democratic process and made the candidates realize that the successful candidate would need support beyond that of the legislature. The initiative provided Liberians with access to their elected officials and a chance to address the candidate who ultimately received the majority vote in the House of Representatives.
Resource Leveraging – In order to ensure that GOL and donor resources were being applied appropriately, the Truth and Reconciliation-International Contact Group on Liberia Working Group requested a financial review of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's (TRC) expenditures over the past 12 months. BRDG responded by hiring two experts from the Ghanaian firm of Boateng, Offei & Co. James Sraha and Daniel Hughes began reviewing the TRC's financial documents on May 21 and conducted a comprehensive briefing on their findings. In addition to TRC and BRDG-Liberia, representatives from the U.S. Embassy, the European Union, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Open Society Institute for West Africa attended the session. The findings revealed areas of concern and provided recommendations for establishing improved processes.
Policy Leveraging – Concurrent with the lifting of diamond sanctions on Liberia, BRDG placed an international expert, Paul Temple, with the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy (MLME) to review and refine Kimberley Process compliance systems, which have been designed to monitor and regulate the rough diamond industry in Liberia. While U.S. Government (USG) assistance to Liberia was instrumental to the lifting of the sanctions, the long-term technical assistance contract ended just as Liberia begins to operationalize a complex set of chain-of-custody and certification processes. BRDG recognized this immediate need and stepped in to provide critical support to the MLME as it works toward its first certified-diamond export, envisioned for late July. Mr. Temple's first month in Liberia was so successful that he was asked by the MLME to accompany them to the Kimberley Process Intercessional Meeting in Brussels from June 10-16, 2007.
D. Program Appraisal
During the reporting period, OTI addressed program objectives and made some overall strategy changes in response to the political context in Liberia. Taking into consideration other donors' plans to ramp up long-term support for building the capacity of the GOL, OTI focused on the GOL's immediate needs by providing census equipment to the LISGIS and conference room equipment at the MPEA. OTI addressed immediate strategic needs of both the USG and the GOL by placing a Kimberley Process compliance expert in the MLME until the position can be filled permanently. OTI also provided an operations manual and emergency equipment expert to guide a critical procurement process at the Robertsfield International Airport. Shifting emphasis from ministries to a more grassroots level this quarter, OTI continued to advance the GRC's national visioning exercise by supporting identity projects that explore the experiences and perspectives of various ethnic groups. In addition, OTI's programs increased citizen access to reliable information about the activities of the legislature.
Next Steps/Immediate Priorities
- Increase strategic communication capacity-building activities.
- Expand focus on the Mano River Union.
- Plan for administrative closeout, final evaluation, and After Exit Review.
For further information, please contact:
In Washington: Donna Kerner, Deputy Africa Team Leader, 202-712-0716, dkerner@usaid.gov
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