IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

"For some of us, the future is now, therefore, sharing knowledge and investing in each other's capabilities will help us to chart the way through the extraordinarily complex labyrinth with which we are faced."

In 2007 when Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took over the affairs of Liberia, she explored every opportunity that could bring development to Liberia; a country that had just emerged from a devastating 14-year civil war. One of the opportunities Madam Sirleaf explored was the infusion of Information and Communications Technologies or ICTs in her developmental agenda. Hence, the Government of Liberia (GoL) decided to host the nation's first ICT Conference with the aim of formulating a national policy on ICT. That Conference brought together several stakeholders including: GoL's Ministries, Agencies and Commissions or MACs, Local Government officials; the Liberian business community; multinational institutions such as Georgia Institute of Technology (GeorgiaTech), Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems, OSIWA, ZTE Corporation, HAUWEI, the World Bank among others.

For the past 18 years I have advocated, studied/researched, written, worked, sacrificed to see our COUNTRY turn into a “KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY; AN INFORMATION SOCIETY; but most of all, A DIGITAL LIBERIA. Achieving any of what I just mentioned requires BRIDGING the glaring and unfortunate DIGITAL DIVIDE that exists in Liberia. During those 18 years, I have come to learn that there is a tendency of certain individuals or firms to retrogress strides made in our ICT sector by intentionally ignoring policies set by the Government through the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. This usually happens when a new regime (change of heads of institutions or government) takes over, where families and friends of new heads often persuade them (new heads) to award contracts or work that literally “RE-INVENTS the WHEEL” In “re-inventing the wheel” the policies and regulations of the sector are often advertently ignored. Another instance of this is when a new regime that lacks familiarity with initiatives of previous regimes takes over. Both lead to a waste of tax papers’ money, donor funding, and what is now known as donor fatigue in the sector. In today’s article, I discuss the need to align ALL ICT projects with the GoL ICT policies to ensure that we achieve President Weah’s Pro-Poor Agenda in an effective and efficient way. Hopefully, all stakeholders will take note of this as we move forward.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched the “Digital Liberia and e-Government Project in Liberia,” an information communication technology (ICT) program.

The project was launched on March 22 at a resort in Monrovia, and was witnessed by an array of government officials including Post and Telecommunication Minister Fredrick Norkeh, Defense Minister Brownie Samukai, Health Minister Bernice Dahn and USAID representatives.

President Boakai has launched Liberia's Digital Transformation Project, targeting 10,000 youths nationwide. This initiative fulfills his commitment made during his first state of the nation address in January. He emphasized the importance of leveraging Information Communication Technology (ICT) to create jobs for Liberian youths. The goal is to empower 10,000 young people with digital skills within the first half of 2024.

President Boakai expressed his excitement about leading Liberia's digital transformation, stating that adapting to the digital age is crucial for the country's progress. He highlighted ICT as a key player in Liberia's development, supporting various sectors and driving the nation's development agenda.