New United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Representative for Liberia, Stephen Rodriques, has pledged to serve the people of the country through ambitious initiatives.
He made this known when he visited the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dee-Maxwell Kemayah, noting that he will build on the foundation of his predecessor, Lamin Beyai.
The new UNDP chief promised to work with development partners and the UN system to mobilise additional resources in the areas of community development, livelihood and decentralisation.
Liberia, which has been hosting numerous transnational interventions since 1960s, was on the road to recovery and stability following its civil war until the Ebola crisis struck.
Ebola affected Liberia’s economy as many people were wary of visiting local markets and the free movement of people and goods, both nationally and regionally, was severely reduced.
Not too long after business owners overcame Ebola, the world was shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to AidData, 7,250 aid projects were launched in Liberia between 1960 and 2013, offering $13.7 billion in international funding.
‘I am not here on holiday, but ready to roll up my sleeves to support the government of Liberia’s National Agenda Strategy-Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD)’, he said.
The PAPD is the second in the series of five-year National Development Plans (NDP) under the Liberia vision 2030 framework.
Rodriques pledged his agency’s support to the country’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic through programmatic initiatives that will ‘build back better’ the lives of the people.
He promised to encourage donors to support and commit to the democratic tradition of an election basket fund which will see Liberia through the next election process.
For his part, Kemayah congratulated Rodriques for his appointment and praised Beyai for his diligence to duties while serving in the position.
He called for collaboration that would support the ministry in capacity development, its passport division, and the foreign service institute.
Rodriques, who had served as Resident Representative for UNDP Rwanda, has over 24 years of development experience.
Source: UNDP Liberia
Photo source: UNDP Liberia
