Diaspora Alert (DA), a Liberian group in the Diaspora has urged the international community to withhold aid to Liberia on grounds that the government has demonstrated a lack of commitment to transparency, accountability, and good governance. In a release issued this week, the group said it is troubled that the Unity Party-led government’s highly publicized 100-day plan has ended in spectacular failure, shattering the hopes and aspirations of Liberians. Diaspora Alert further said that despite lofty promises, the administration has failed to deliver on all 12 objectives of its commitments, including: fighting corruption, road expansion, curbing drug abuse, improving sanitation, prudent economic and financial governance, and revitalizing tourism amongst others. Even the deliverables strategic goal of ‘rebuilding public trust in public sector governance’ has been compromised by the very individuals responsible for implementing the plan, leading to a growing distrust in government. Diaspora Alert said it believes that continued aid without conditions, particularly to a government notorious for financial indiscipline and human rights abuses, will only serve to enrich senior government officials. Moreover, it will perpetuate a cycle of dependency and undermine Liberia’s ability to achieve sustainable development, thereby exacerbating the very problems that aid aims to address. Furthermore, Diaspora Alert wants the international community to withhold aid until the government takes concrete steps to address its failures. A government that cannot keep its own promises will not honor foreign obligations or manage foreign aid effectively.
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