Management Action Record IEG Findings Developing a new growth agenda: Although the focus on public financial management and infrastructure was understandable in the initial period, the Bank now needs to pay greater attention to the overall growth strategy and reconsider the traditional approach the government has relied on to develop natural resources.
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IEG Recommendations The World Bank Group can help the government and other partners develop a new strategic framework for growth with the following characteristics: • It is explicitly pro-poor and inclusive, taking into account the needs and circumstances of intended beneficiaries based on careful sociopolitical assessments. The pro-poor focus would be enhanced by integrating the role of indigenous communities and civil society in the design of interventions. • It reexamines the “concession model” that has been traditionally applied in mining, forestry and plantations. A key question is to what extent such concessions are pro-poor when they often involve pitting local communities with limited capacity against far more sophisticated operators. • It focuses on job creation and employment, especially for youth. Although job schemes under social protection will remain, ultimately most of the jobs will need to be created in the private sector. Measures to enhance the investment climate may be an essential element of the strategy. • It addresses systemic issues such as land tenure, access to credit and skill development to meet the demands of private businesses. This effort would be facilitated by supporting post primary education, which would alleviate the shortages of teachers while expanding the scale and quality of education.
Liberia Country Program Evaluation: 2004–2011