Liberia: ‘So-Called Opposition’ Senator Group Cracks

Five members of the so-called “like-minded opposition Senators group” have joined ranks with Senators from the ruling establishment to ratify a US$65 million loan from the World Bank Group.

This decision marks a significant departure from their previous resistance towards the loan agreement, which they had opposed just two days earlier.

One of the key figures in this sudden change of heart is River Gee County Senator Conmany Wesseh, who emphasized the importance of the Senate concurring with the House of Representatives in ratifying the loan.

The loan title, “Resilient Recovery Stand-Alone Development Policy Financing,” aimed to lay the institutional and policy foundations in selected growth sectors while promoting transparency and accountability in the public sector.

According to the Work Bank, US$22 million of the money comes from the country’s performance-based allocation, while US$32 million is from the International Development Association (IDA) Scale-Up Window Shorter Maturity Loans (SMLs), and US$11 million from Liberia’s performance-based allocation SMLs IDA credit.

However, Wesseh and members of the “like-minded” opposition Senators group had previously questioned the timeliness of the loan as elections are just a few months away and planned to vote against its ratification.

The group, whose plan who have to stall the loan passage, suffered serious setbacks when Wesseh, who is up for re-election, joined ranks with ruling party Senators to convince his so so-called “like-minded” colleagues, Senators Daniel Flomo Naathan, Francis Saturday Paye, Wellington Geevon Smith, and Henrique Flomo Tokpa, to vote in favor of the loan passage.

The votes give the loan supporting Senators a majority, leading to its ratification, which now only awaits President Weah’s signature to become a law.  The support means that the loan agreement was ratified with 16 to 8.

Wesseh, whose action along with his breakaway colleagues is not strange, had argued yesterday that the loan needs passage as it has been included in the fiscal year 2023 budget, making it a necessary step to move forward with the agreement.

The World Bank Group, however, did not state whether the US$65 million was included in the 2023 budget, which has already passed its first quarter. 

According to the Bank, the loan supports the government’s efforts to reignite sustainable and inclusive private sector-led growth, building on the gains made under the previous programmatic Inclusive Development Policy Operations series, which was concluded in 2022. 

The Bank added that the loan would support the operation of the government in regularly generating information on government payment delays and arrears in order to reduce them.  Shorter delays in public payments can improve private sector liquidity and profits, reduce the likelihood of bankruptcies, and ultimately increase economic growth, the Bank said. 

Signed in June 2023, the loan repayment process will consist of three installments, beginning on January 15 and July 15 of 2029, and continuing until July 15, 2034. The interest rate for the loan is set at 8.3% with the final repayment due on January 15, 2075. 

President George Weah had initially sent a communication regarding the loan agreement to the House, which unanimously passed it before forwarding it to the Senate for concurrence. 

This recent passage in the Senate solidifies the loan agreement's approval and clears the way for its implementation.

Elsewhere the Senate narrowly missed an opportunity to bring Ministers of Finance and Health Samuel Tweah and Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah before the body on contempt charges.

The two Ministers have repeatedly failed to appear before the Senate Committee and plenary, citing official overseas assignments as their reason for absence. 

The Senate however settled on asking Tweah to submit regular quarterly budget reports for the current 2023 budget while  Jallah, on the other hand, has been asked to provide an explanation as to why the 15 national health sectors lack funding and necessary medications.

However, the two ministers have been summoned to appear before the Senate on July 4, 2023, or risk facing contempt charges for “real.”