MONROVA-Deputy Minister for Economic Management at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Hon. Dehpue Y. Zuo, has called for stronger coordination, transparency and accountability between the Government of Liberia and the United Nations Country Team to ensure that development resources are aligned with national priorities and produce measurable benefits for Liberians.
Deputy Minister Zuo made the call during a United Nations Country Team partnership dialogue focused on strengthening collaboration, shared accountability and implementation of Liberia’s national development priorities.
Speaking on behalf of Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, Zuo commended the United Nations for its longstanding partnership with Liberia, including its contributions to peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, post-conflict recovery and national development.
He said the partnership has evolved over the years and should now focus increasingly on national ownership, institutional sustainability and measurable development outcomes under the Government’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID) 2025–2029.
Deputy Minister Zuo said Liberia’s development financing environment is changing, particularly as traditional sources of development assistance face reductions.
He urged the government and development partners to pursue more predictable, diversified and sustainable financing mechanisms while ensuring that available resources are directed toward Liberia’s most pressing priorities.
The financing architecture in Liberia must be firmly anchored in national priorities, sector stability and mechanisms that minimize leakages as we mobilize more diverse resources to finance our development priorities,” Zuo said.
He stressed that development financing should prioritize interventions that deliver tangible benefits, particularly for women, children, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
According to Zuo, the success of development partnerships should not be judged by the number of programs or meetings conducted, but by the quality of implementation and the measurable results delivered to communities.
Zuo welcomed the alignment between the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2026–2030 and Liberia’s AAID 2025–2029, describing the alignment as an important foundation for closer cooperation.
He urged UN agencies and development partners to strengthen existing Liberian institutions and sector plans instead of establishing parallel structures.
We expect this conversation to reinforce our national institutions, sector plans, development priorities and public-sector investment framework not to establish parallel institutions, but to strengthen complementary ownership and implementation,” he said.
Zuo also highlighted the indicative US$874 million financing envelope associated with the UN development cooperation framework.
He called for the financing to be strategically targeted toward programs capable of producing significant and measurable development outcomes.
The Deputy Minister said the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, through its Aid Management and Coordination Unit, has an important responsibility to track external resources and ensure they are aligned with national priorities.
He also encouraged continued collaboration between the government and UN Country Team on domestic resource mobilization.
However, Zuo raised concerns about limited government visibility over some interventions implemented by UN agencies and development partners.
He said stronger information-sharing, monitoring and reporting would allow the government to better account for development interventions and ensure they are reflected in national planning, budgeting and public investment processes.
While acknowledging UN contributions in areas including health, education, agriculture, social protection, governance, youth employment, gender equality, climate resilience and peacebuilding, Zuo identified several challenges requiring joint attention.
Among the issues highlighted were procurement bottlenecks, fragmented implementation, weak coordination, slow recruitment, limited reporting platforms and delays in project implementation.
He said addressing these challenges would be critical to ensuring that development resources are translated into concrete improvements for Liberians.
With preparations underway for the 2027 National Budget, Zuo urged the UN Country Team to clearly identify its priority programs for the coming fiscal year and the government coordination mechanisms needed to accelerate implementation.
He said closer alignment between UN-supported programs and Liberia’s national budget would strengthen accountability, improve resource coordination and ensure that external development financing supports nationally identified priorities.
Speaking earlier at the dialogue, Christian Mukosa, Representative of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Acting UN Resident Coordinator in Liberia, said the development cooperation framework must go beyond being a policy document and serve as a practical instrument for delivering results.
Mukosa cautioned against allowing the review process to become another routine reporting exercise.
Instead, he called on the Government of Liberia, UN agencies and development partners to conduct an honest and constructive assessment of what is working, where gaps remain and what corrective measures are needed to improve implementation.
He stressed that the ultimate measure of the framework’s success should be its impact on the lives of Liberians.
According to Mukosa, this includes whether agreed priorities translate into improved public services, expanded opportunities and meaningful and sustainable development outcomes for communities across the country.
Deputy Minister Zuo concluded by reaffirming the Government of Liberia’s commitment to deepening its partnership with the United Nations and other development partners.
He emphasized that development resources must be transparently managed, effectively coordinated and converted into measurable results.
The government’s position, he said, is that stronger alignment between national priorities, development financing and implementation will be essential to achieving the objectives of the ARREST Agenda and improving the lives of Liberians.
The dialogue comes as Liberia prepares for its 2027 national budget and continues efforts to strengthen coordination between government institutions and international development partners.
About The Author
