MONROVIA – June 11, 2018: The Deputy Governor for Economic Policy of the Central Bank of Liberia, Dr. Mounir Siaplay has said thatwithout proper macroeconomic management, poverty reduction and social equity are just not possible. To manage an economy efficiently, he emphasized, there must be in place a set of government goals, rules and regulations to control or stimulate the aggregate indicators of the economy. These objectives, Dr. Siaplay indicated, form the macroeconomic policies, which in turn are framed to meet the macroeconomic goals.
The Deputy CBL Governor was speaking Monday, June 11, when he deputized for CBL Executive Governor, Milton A. Weeks, during the opening ceremony of the West African Institute for Financial & Economic Management (WAIFEM)regional course on macroeconomic and public financial management, which is taking place at the Head Offices of the CBL 11-22 June 11, 2018.
Dr. Siaplay pointed out that sound macroeconomic management is essential for growth and poverty reduction, a policy that is consistent with President Weah’s visionary Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development. He stated that the challenges to modern budgeting and planning were the lack of information to facilitate budgeting; poor integration of the public sector policy-making; budget over-runs; non-involvement of communities or beneficiaries in budget preparations; poor budget implementation and inadequate monitoring of programmes after implementation. He therefore called on the course organizers to address these challenges.
In concluding, Dr. Siaplay welcomed the continuous efforts by the Director General of WAIFEM Prof. Akpan H. Ekpo and his team, in building capacity for macroeconomic and financial management across the sub-region.
WAIFEM is a training institute located in Lagos, Nigeria. It was established in July 1996 by five West African Central banks including, the Central Banks of Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, the Gambia and Sierra Leone, to help enhance the capacity building process of professionals from member countries.