Naymote, IW-L, LIS Urge President Weah To Fast Track Submission, Passage Of  Revenue Sharing Bill

Press Statement

Monrovia, August 31, 2021: The Naymote Partners for Democratic Development, Integrity Watch-Liberia, and the Legislative Information Service (LIS) are, in a joint release, calling on President Weah to fast track the submission and passage of a Revenue Sharing Bill in fulfillment of Chapter 4 of the Local Government Act (2018).

The three organizations believe the passage of the Bill will provide much needed financial resources for counties to accelerate development projects and improve much needed service delivery at the counties – which is a major goal under the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD). As Liberians’ quests for sustainable development heightens, there is no better time than now for revenue sharing imperatives between central government and local government to address development and social inequalities.

NAYMOTE, IW-L and the LIS opine that with the signing of the Local Government Bill into law, which authorizes implementation of decentralization of governance consistent with the National Policy on Decentralization and Local Governance, a specific law on revenue sharing will serve as significant bolster to actual decentralization efforts in Liberia.

The three institutions maintain that legislated revenue sharing mechanism will help address several age-old challenging concerns including the over-centralization of governance in Liberia, which, for over a century-and-a-half have impeded popular participation of citizens in development oriented decision making, poor governance that created inequality and inequity in accessing social services and economic opportunities for majority of Liberians – societal vices that contributed to triggering the civil conflict.

With the local government Act in effect and establishment operation of county service centers, there is a need to develop a strategy that enables local governments to access direct funding for their counties to support development projects; something a revenue sharing mechanism, such as a Revenue Sharing ACT will achieve. True and genuine decentralization anchored on revenue sharing is pivotal to national reconciliation, peace building and sustainable development, NAYMOTE, IW-L and LIS stressed