An illustration of the high cost of low state (fiscal) capacity in Liberia

Reactions to a statement from the US Ambassador to Liberia

I: (Mis)governing Liberia

The United States ambassador to Liberia recently penned a statement decrying the state of public infrastructure and services in the country. In the statement (below) the ambassador succinctly describes a number of structural problems associated with low state capacity, including the problem of weak public finance management (PFM). In particular, he contrasts the appropriations for political institutions (such as the legislature’s US$65m budget) against the lack of resources to fund the quotidian operations of hospitals in Liberia’s southeast. For this reason, I found the statement worth sharing in full.

However, the statement also needs some contextual reinforcement. As it turns out, and contrary to some of the conclusions made (or implied) by the U.S. ambassador, the Liberian state’s PFM problems cannot be solved by slashing politicians’ salaries or merely fighting corruption.

A good place to start would be to appreciate the fact that Liberia is stuck in a v…