USAID Liberia Mission Director Jim Wright has lauded the Ministry of Internal Affairs for its role in Liberia’s fight against COVID-19. In particular, he noted the Ministry’s successful use of local and traditional leaders to reach rural dwellers with COVID awareness and prevention messages and said the “US Government was committed to continue helping Liberia address the challenges posed by the pandemic.”
Speaking when he paid a courtesy visit to the Ministry on Thursday, August 26, Mission Director Wright also noted the progress Liberia has made in its decentralization efforts. He added that a key purpose of his visit was to learn how USAID can continue to work with the Ministry to achieve its priorities.
The Minister of Internal Affairs Varney Sirleaf thanked USAID for “helping the Government of Liberia to provide basic services” for the Liberian people. He expressed appreciation for USAID’s support for Liberia’s decentralization efforts, noting the important support USAID provided for the drafting and passage of the Local Government Act as well as a 10-year plan to help guide the implementation of the Act.
Minister Sirleaf said one of his Ministry’s major priorities was resolving county boundary disputes as well as clan and district boundary disputes. He added that unless they are resolved, these disputes could be sources of future conflicts.
The Internal Affairs Minister also said improving the performance of County Service Centers was another key priority of his Ministry. Established with support from USAID and other donors County Service Centers in each of the 15 counties serve as a one-stop-shop for important official government documents and services such as marriage and birth certificates, land deeds, and business and work permits—documents that previously could only be obtained in Monrovia.
Mission Director Wright’s visit to the Ministry of Internal Affairs was the latest in a series of courtesy visits he has made to various ministries and agencies since his arrival in Liberia a month ago. In addition to the Ministry of Internal Affairs he has to date visited the Ministries of Health, Education, Youth and Sports, Finance and Development Planning, and the Central Bank of Liberia.
He is learning firsthand from his Liberian counterparts about how to build on what he has described as the “strong partnerships USAID has forged with all stakeholders in Liberia’s development.”
Jeffrey Szuchman, Director of USAID/Liberia Democracy, Rights and Governance Office (DRG)and Roosevelt Tule, Economic Governance Specialist in the DRG Office, accompanied Mission Director Wright on his visit to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
USAID/Liberia