Exploring Development Challenges: Guest Lecture at Cuttington University on Income Inequality and Official Development Assistance
It was a pleasure to serve as a guest lecturer at Cuttington University Graduate School of Global Affairs and Policy yesterday. Together with students, we discussed Income inequality across countries and their correlates. We also discussed Official Development Assistance – bilateral and multilateral, Liberia’s long-term history of volatility and dismal growth, and their implications for […]
Emergency Relief Efforts in Weasua Town: Gbarpolu Legislative Caucus Responds to Storm Damage
On Saturday, March 16, 2024, at around 4:15 P.M., a heavy storm passed through Weadua Town, Gbarma District, Gbarpolu County, and destroyed more than a hundred homes and the market hall. Thankfully, there were no fatalities. Today, the Gbarpolu Legislative Caucus delivered emergency relief – 200 bundles of zinc, 100 boxes of nails, a power […]
Opinion: Democracy in West Africa, the ‘road less travelled’?
In 2024, around 50% of our planet’s population will go to the polls. As a Liberian, I will be closely following upcoming elections in Africa, and particularly those in Ghana, which for the past 30 years has built up its democratic institutions through free and fair democratic contests, and peaceful and orderly transfers of power. […]
Senator Amara M. Konneh’s Reflections: Two Months in the Liberian Senate
My reflections: Month TwoToday is exactly two months since I took my oath as a Liberian Senator from Gbarpolu County. The Senate has been busy, mostly with confirmations. We closed yesterday for a few weeks of a constitutional recess after two months in session. The recess presents an opportunity to visit our constituents and reflect […]
Senator Amara Engages Yale Students on African Innovation and Partnership with Liberia
Yesterday, I addressed Yale students at the opening of the school’s annual Africa Innovation Symposium in New Haven, Connecticut. I am also teaching two sessions of an Economic Transformation Innovation Lab to undergraduate students majoring in Global Affairs and Economics at Yale, a one-time commitment I made immediately after the presidential election runoff. Our case […]
Revamping Liberia’s Electricity Corporation: A Call for Efficiency and Accountability
LEC Financial Picture LEC has 18 bank accounts with the following total end-of-November balances: Total LRD account balance LR$93.2m Total USD account Balance is US$9.764m Of the total USD account balance, only US$728,000 is the balance in project accounts. Debt obligations: CI-Energies/ CLSG electricity = US$13m Regulatory Levy = US$537,544 Total GoL appropriation for LEC […]
Urgent Call for Reform: Overhauling Liberia’s Electricity Corporation for Economic Growth and Accountability
The same journalists who caused significant reputational damage to our country in 2018 when they reported that two large containers of newly printed Liberian Dollars made their way from the Freeport of Monrovia to the former President’s house – without proving it – and later became basketball-playing buddies of the same former President they accused […]
Senator Amara M. Konneh’s Advocacy for Senate Reform: Reflections on the First Month
Update: Reflections on my first month as a Senator Former Pro Tempore Albert Chie facilitated a smooth transition, perhaps one of the best exercises of political leadership in the entire transition. Our leader, President Pro Tempore Nyomblee Karnga-Lawrence is off to a good start, respectful of colleagues, and shows promising signs of being a consensus […]
Urgent Call for Action: Revitalizing Liberia’s Energy Sector to Drive Economic Growth
While going through the Roberts International Airport yesterday, there was no electricity. All the flight systems and air conditioning units were down. The terminal was so hot that passengers and airport employees were fanning themselves with whatever was in their hands. This is unacceptable! Eighteen years ago, our country had zero megawatts of grid power […]
Strengthening Public Procurement: Collaboration with World Bank for Ethical and Accountable Practices in Liberia
I had the pleasure of meeting with the World Bank Liberia Country Manager Georgia Wallen (Left) and Ms. Nazaneen Ismail Ali, World Bank’s Practice Manager for Procurement in the West Africa Region (Right) and her team earlier this morning to discuss the Bank’s procurement process and transitioning to the use of the Government of Liberia […]