Friends of Liberia 

We were encouraged and motivated by the ideas expressed by H.E. Dakpannah Dr. Charles Ghankay Taylor in his speech, which was delivered by the Minister of State without Portfolio, Honorable Augustine Zaizay. We will respond enthusiastically to the President’s offer to work closely with the NGOs in the reconstruction and recovery of the nation.

We thank President Taylor for his suggestion that a representative group of NGOs from NARDA meet with him personally every three months and with his cabinet ministers who direct the sectors within which we work. We accept his offer. We will use these meetings to report the results of our work and discuss obstacles or problems that hinder our performance. We recognize that such a dialogue requires us to contribute to the maximum extent possible to the government’s program goals and objectives and thus forge a vital link between the government institutions and the NGOs. We recall with enthusiasm the meeting with President Taylor and his cabinet ministers on September 17, 1998 at the Executive Mansion. We hope that the relaxed atmosphere and mutual sharing which permeated that session will characterize these new meetings.

Furthermore, we thank President Taylor for his suggestion that we coordinate with his county superintendents when we learn of his impending visits to a particular county to arrange a visit to one NGO project and observe the work it is doing. Such direct contact with grassroots efforts will increase the President’s appreciation of the contributions of the NGOs and strengthen the people’s ties with their government.

We are extremely grateful to the Ministers of Education and Agriculture who addressed our plenary. The national polio eradication program prevented the Minister of Health from attending, but many NGOs that work in this sector have enjoyed a close collaborative relationship with him and his staff. The government’s presence was further strengthened by various technical staff from several ministries and agencies.

The many agencies from the United Nations and other international donors in plenary session also shared their plans and perspectives on Liberia’s current reality. While these initiatives can only lead to an improved relationship between government and the NGO community, we would like to express our concerns about five other issues that if not addressed will make it more difficult for the NGOs to contribute to the efforts of the government to rebuild Liberia.

First and foremost is the issue of human rights. The frequency of acts of harassment, intimidation and violations of basic rights is on the rise. The country is being criticized by every major human rights group internationally, as well as within Liberia. It would also be helpful if the government would undertake more comprehensive and in-depth investigations that are comprehensive, objective, and most importantly, impartial.

The people with whom we interact confirm that they have observed or have been victims of some of the very human rights violations that are being reported by national and international organizations. Individual citizens cannot report violations with confidence that they will be properly or thoroughly investigated and that the confidentiality of the complainant will be protected. They live in fear of the security forces. Overseas donors, both private and government, have informed us that until this government engages in a serious dialogue with regard to the violations and takes immediate and meaningful steps to correct the shortcomings, assistance will be curtailed.

We urge the government to take immediate steps to improve the human rights situation so that Liberia can compete on equal footing with other needy countries for the decreasing donor funds. A recommended first step would be to enhance the work of the Human Rights Commission.

Furthermore, the National Reconciliation and Reunification Commission has not yet met the high expectations which accompanied the formation. We see a tremendous need at the community level for reconciliation and the learning of conflict management and resolution skills. The target groups should not only be adults and ex-combatants, but also school children. If this is done, we will better avoid the wrenching conflicts of the past two decades. We recognize that the commission has not received adequate support. We ask that the government make this a priority. To date, the commission has been unable to exert sufficient influence to formulate and implement programs that will capacitate Liberian’s with these urgently needed reconciliation and conflict management and resolution skills. Conferences and workshops in Monrovia that don’t quickly translate into programs in the communities are a waste of scarce resources. The commission needs to act concretely and decisively.

Secondly, we further urge our government to restore the confidence of our traditional friends in the international community and to continue to ensure respect for the territorial and governmental integrity of our neighbors.

Thirdly, ex-combatants are another critical cause of the insecurity that citizens feel. The government should review and activate the plan formulated in 1996 that dealt specifically with ex-combatants..

This conference provided us with models for the successful reintegration of combatants as was employed in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Ethiopia. We are ready and willing to cooperate with the government in implementing a strategy to address the problem. Success will greatly improve our internal security and provide law-abiding citizens with a greater confidence that the government is capable of protecting the society.

Our fourth major concern is the slow implementation of the decentralization process. This has limited the general society’s ability to identify with its government. Entire sectors of the society feel that inadequate fora exist to enable them to express their opinions and views to the government. Decisions affecting education, health, agriculture, housing and microenterprise are announced with little input from the many organizations that operate in these sectors or from the intended beneficiaries.

Decision making appears to be centralized with the communities most affected minimally involved. More effective programs geared to the specific needs of the community, better utilization of scarce resources and an increase in community self-help are sacrificed by the centralized system that undermines government’s ability to include local communities in its planning and decision making. If the goal of the government is to create greater self-reliance, it will not be achieved until communities believe that they have a stake in the decisions that impact their lives.

The fifth concern is the government’s role in the provision of a secure business environment that encourages new investment. Public and private corruption, cumbersome registration procedures, uneven application of the laws and regulations, lack of discipline within the security forces and inadequate basic services such as water, light and telephone are barriers to investment. It is critical that the government urgently address these issues so that Liberia becomes attractive to new and significant investment and jobs. The government must be willing to attack these problems in order to win the confidence of its citizens who are badly in need of livelihood sources.

The NGOs affiliated with NARDA commit to begin a new chapter with the government. We accept the challenge offered by several ministers to re-examine the distribution of our resources in order to better serve neglected areas of the country. Specifically, we will explore new areas in response to these concerns. We will consider expanding our programs into the areas of food processing such as preserving, drying or storing the harvest to reduce waste and spoilage and increase farm profits, and in designing new programs that will help to alleviate the housing shortage.

We will also make every effort to reach out to elected representatives and senators, engage them in a dialogue and invite them to learn more about our work within their districts. We will embrace the new political reality, and attempt to influence the decisions of elected leaders with regard to the key issues which impact our work. We both gain when society observes NGOs and governmental collaboration with programs that benefit the community.

We, the NGOs, recognize that our institutional capacities have also suffered during the past decade. We urge NARDA to secure resources to train us in administration, financial management, proposal preparation and the development of management systems for the efficient use of resources in support of program initiatives.

The conference delegates were asked to work within the sectors of agriculture, education, health, housing and microenterprise. Each group analyzed the national strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges of these sectors, developed an NGO goal and laid out a three-year plan of objectives, inputs, outputs, outcomes and likely collaborators that are designed to better focus their programs, establish mechanisms for collaborating with government efforts in program implementation and improve their delivery of services. The outcomes were designed to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time based.

The same mechanism was used to enable the delegates to address cross-sectoral issues of reintegration of refugees and internally displaced, meeting children’s needs, meeting womens’ needs, and the needs of war-affected youths.

The objectives, for the next three years, of each sector and cross sector follow:

AGRICULTURE

1. Train 88 NGO agrarian extension agents who will in turn teach improved techniques to 2,200 farmers.
2. Strengthen the institutional capacities of 12 NGOs in the sector.
3. Distribute 48MT of improved varieties of seed rice to 900 farmers in a seed multiplication program.
4. Engage 1,000 farmers in the cultivation of 5,000 acres in cassava.
5. Engage 300 farmers in a livestock and poultry improvement and multiplication program.

EDUCATION

1. Provide vocational and technical training for 1,500 war-affected youths in both urban and rural areas.
2. Assure that 35% of school children have affordable supplies, textbooks, and tuition assistance and other educational materials.
3. Renovate or construct 300 primary, 50 junior high, 15 senior high schools, 5 vocational training, 1 teachers’ training, and 2 special education facilities.
4. Provide assistance to 7,000 needy girls and training to 1,000 female instructors.
5. Provide short-term management and other job related training to 360 education officers, supervisors, technical/special education instructors, school administrators, teachers’ trainers, adult literacy instructors and community support group leaders.

 HEALTH

1. Rehabilitate and refurbish 145 rural health care facilities.
2. Train or retrain 2,400 health workers for the 145 rural clinics and health posts.
3. Maintain in the clinics an inventory of 75% of the drugs and medical supplies deemed essential by the Ministry of Health.
4. Rehabilitate or construct 1,500 hand pumped wells, 1,500 latrines and 2,000 garbage disposal facilities.
5. Assist in national immunization campaign that will reach 75% of under-5s and women of childbearing age.

HOUSING

1. Introduce new low-cost housing technology in 26 communities in 13 counties.
2. Identify and strengthen 13 community-based construction groups in the more effective use of locally available building materials.
3. Conduct 3 low-income housing workshops each year on land tenure, zonal regulations and enforcement of regulations.
4. Construct 5 model low-income units in ten communities in 5 counties.

 MICROENTERPRISE

1. Revitalize and strengthen 64 credit unions and 135 cooperatives.
2. Train and retrain 50 staff members in 7 NGOs who will oversee micro credits to 3,000 and micro-grants to 6,000 beneficiaries.
3. Secure $2.25million for microenterprise activities.
4. Convince 3,000 additional people to join cooperatives, credit unions or solidarity investment groups.
5. Establish regular and frequent meetings among the sector NGOs, the private sector and the appropriate government ministries and agencies.

 WAR-AFFECTED YOUTH

1. Develop and/or support one youth vocational training center in each of the thirteen counties to train 10,000 youth.
2. Develop a database to identify youth problems and locate youth in need of services.
3. Collaborate with the GOL to establish a National Youth Service Corps.

 REINTEGRATION OF REFUGEES

1. Resettle and reintegrate 221,000 refugees.
2. Resettle and reintegrate 150,000 internally displaced persons.
3. Assist in distributing building construction materials to 125,000 families by end of year 2000.

 MEETING WOMEN’S NEEDS

1. 26,000 women participants in programs of micro-credit grants and business skill development.
2. Reduce women’s illiteracy from 87% to 50%.
3. Build networking and collaboration among 14 womens’ NGOs.
4. Initiate community awareness/sensitization workshop on gender discrimination.

 NEEDS OF CHILDREN

1. Implementation of the Ministry of Education civic education program in 50% of primary schools.
2. Set up a national committee to develop a childcare and development manual in collaboration with relevant national ministries.
3. Train 25% of teachers in 13 counties in basic counseling skills.
4. Establish or rehabilitate one recreational center per county.
5. Increase school enrollment by 45% emphasizing girls and the disabled.