Corruption hinders SDGs implementation in Liberia

The EPA boss has suggested that Liberia must intensify its fight against corruption if it is to achieve high scores in implementing the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

By Lincoln G. Peters

Monrovia, March 28, 2024: Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Executive Director Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey-Yarkpawolo says the misuse of public resources and corruption are major factors affecting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Liberia.

Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo spoke at the third Adventist University West Africa (AUWA) Multidisciplinary International Research Conference on the SDGs Actualization by 2030: Prospects, Challenges, and Solutions.

The program was held at the university’s main campus in Monrovia on 27 March 2024.

“Conversely, Liberia scored 142 out of 180 on the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index, making it the 142nd more corrupt country in the world,” said Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo. 

“As expected, Liberia scored 49.9 on the 2023 SDGs implementation, ranking 157th out of 166 countries.”

Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo noted that if Liberia is to achieve high scores in implementing the SDGs, it will need to intensify its fight against corruption. 

“Asset declaration, asset recovery processes initiated by President Joseph Boakai, and strengthening Liberia’s integrity institutions are important in this regard,” he believes.

He added that the Legislative branch of government, which has authority over budget appropriations and oversight responsibility, has a huge responsibility to ensure a less corrupt Liberia.

According to him, these include a lack of commitment from some countries, lack of investment, the global debate on the way forward on solutions to the global climate crises, global overconsumption and inequality, wars, climate change, and corruption.

He said the major challenge to implementing the SDGs is the misuse of public resources or corruption.

“Research I conducted during the preparation of this paper demonstrates that corruption is directly proportional to [the] performance of the implementation of the SDGs,” said Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo. 

“This means that the more corrupt a country is, the more poorly it performs in implementing the SDGs. The opposite is equally true,” Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo stated.

He disclosed that the more transparent and less corrupt a country is, the more likely it is to achieve high scores on implementing the SDGs.

He said Finland is the world’s number one country with the highest implementation score of the SDGs, with an average of 86.8. Only 13.2 percent remains to reach 100 percent in 2030.

Commenting on Priority Areas to focus on for the remaining time (2024-2030) for Liberia, the EPA boss noted that in preparation for the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR 2023) summit, Liberia prepared and submitted the National Commitments to SDG Transformation (NCT). 

In the NCT, he said Liberia identified five priority areas to focus on for the remaining six years of implementation.

“The priority areas were aligned with the Weah Administration’s Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD),” he said. 

“I have proposed aligning each of these priority areas with President Boakai’s ARREST Agenda,” Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo continued. 

He said the priority areas are further divided into two categories: achievable by 2027 and those achievable by 2030.

According to him, those achievable by 2027 include social protection programs that seek to reach rural and hard-to-reach areas and draw them into a national registry system providing cash transfer and microfinance training to improve income-generating opportunities.

Dr. Yarkpawolo said the plan also includes ensuring long social security programs for Liberians, which will positively affect SDGs 1, 2, 3, and 5. These align with agricultural transformations and improvement in education in President Boakai’s ARREST agenda.

He detailed that the second action point is to create full-time employment, minimize vulnerable employment, and promote work commensurate with pay.

According to him, the Liberian government plans to create job opportunities for youth and other vulnerable groups to improve income stability while accelerating community development projects that will address SDGs 1, 5, 8, 10, and 11.

He stated that the alignments with the ARREST Agenda will focus on increased budgetary allocations for agriculture, which has the potential to create jobs, improve tourism, and construct farm-to-market roads, as well as create job opportunities in sanitation and tourism.

He said, “The third action, with an ambitious deadline of 2027, is to improve food security, increase climate finance, and develop programs that mitigate climate change.”