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Liberia defaulted loan repayments to the World Bank by 60 days under the administration of outgoing president George Weah inviting suspension of its access to unwithdrawn funds
Liberia defaulted loan repayments to the World Bank by 60 days under the administration of outgoing president George Weah inviting suspension of its access to unwithdrawn funds.
The World Bank’s decision was conveyed in a letter on November 15 to Liberia’s Finance Minister Samuel Tweah by Ousmane Diagana, the Vice-President of the Western and Central Africa region at the World Bank.
In the recently held poll on October 10, the baton of power was passed to a new administration led by Joseph Boakai. The country’s right to withdraw from the Disbursing Loans and specific Trust Fund grants is now temporarily halted until the debt to the Bank is serviced. This will create a serious impact affecting the country’s capacity to borrow. The new leaders will have to negotiate repayment timing with the World Bank.
While the World Bank says that Liberia’s economy grew by 4.8% in 2022, the country’s fiscal position worsened with its deficit estimated to have risen to 5.6% of GDP in 2022, up from 2.4% in 2021. It adds that, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 53.4, the West African nation is at moderate risk of external debt distress and high risk of overall debt distress. The Liberian economy, focused on agriculture and mining, is set to grow by 4.5% in 2023.
While all these developments are taking place in the economic front, Liberia’s party which lost the election – the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC)- has accused the opposition of rigging the recent presidential run-off vote. Despite raising concerns, the CDC has opted not to pursue further action to preserve national unity. President George Weah conceded after it became evident that his opponent, Joseph Boakai, secured a narrow yet insurmountable lead, winning by just over 20,000 votes.
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CDC Secretary-General Jefferson Koijee claimed that the party possessed evidence of opposition interference in the election, citing 21 tally sheets indicating ballot stuffing. However, the evidence was not presented for verification. International and local election observer groups, including Ecowas and the European Union, deemed the polls free, fair, transparent, and credible. Joseph Boakai’s Unity Party has yet to respond to the allegations.
