Liberia Needs Your Voice
More than three quarters of the population of Liberia lives on less than $1 per day, the unemployment rate hovers around 85%, life expectancy is less than 50 years, two thirds of the population is illiterate, and at least 8% is infected with HIV/AIDS.
According to the UN's human development index, Liberia ranks among the most impoverished countries in the world.
A rapid resolution of Liberia's debt problem is crucial for several reasons. - Debt cancellation is essential so that desperately needed development assistance and external finance can be mobilized to rebuild the country's infrastructure and meet the basic needs of its population.
- Liberia is in a delicate transition from 14 years of war to a new democracy. Resolving the debt issue would provide a tangible sign of progress to the Liberian people, bolstering the democratically elected government.
- The sooner the debt issue is resolved, the sooner the government's senior officials can devote their full attention to other key issues of poverty reduction, financial management, and good governance.
Shareholders at the IMF have been working for more than 18 months to devise a plan to clear the $800 million in arrears the country owes to the IMF. A complex formula to mobilize the needed resources has been developed, but a funding gap of $60 million-$90 million remains.
IMF shareholders are currently debating who should cover the remaining costs. Some argue the G-8 should chip in more; others argue that the IMF should use its substantial internal resources to make up the difference; while others argue middle-income countries should do more to contribute their fair share.
Meanwhile, the impoverished majority in Liberia pays the price for the IMF's inaction. The IMF is playing a blame game rather than investing the time and energy necessary to come up with the remaining cash.
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