MONROVIA, Feb.11 (LINA) – The Chief Executive Officer of the Liberia Maritime Authority (LMA), Lenn Eugene Nagbe, has underscored the need for the Government of Liberia and its people to take ownership of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) National Action Plan and the implementation of the plan itself.
Speaking at the official launch of the Open Government Partnership National Action Plan (OGP) held at iCAMPUS in Monrovia, Commissioner Nagbe said the OGP new national plan is not separate and distinct from the Government of Liberia own national development plan, citing that the plan only seeks to execute government existing developmental plans as such government and citizens should not just rely on stakeholders for its implementation.
The Maritime CEO noted that the production, development and crafting of plans and policies have not been the real problem in the country but the problem has been the implementation of the plans, strategies, policy, road map that are developed.
He believes that the participation of actors at the developing stage of the plan is important, something, he said, is commendable on the part of the OGP steering committee and secretariat.
According to him, many times when citizens are discussing the soft issues of policy formulation, implementation of action plans, they tend to see those as not important as the construction of roads but to implement projects, a proper plan and proper road map should be set up and every citizen should be involved.
He emphasized that the OGP is a unique concept that has now been transformed into practical ways of ensuring that countries are transparent, and integrity is imbedded in the governance process, noting that unlike the old traditional way of preparing a national action plan, the OGP held consultations with relevant stakeholders prior to the development of the action plan.
“It is very important because it is an organized way of tracking key thematic areas and tracking how transparent we are. For example, budget publication and circulation, making the budgeting process easily understood by the people and allowing the people to participate,” he added.
He further noted that once there is national undertaking of the budget process, the citizens will understand and have a take on how the national resources are being allocated and executed for their own benefits.
He commended the steering committee for carrying on consultation with the citizens, various ministries and agencies that would be relied on to execute the plan and also all OGP participating countries who have declared their commitment to increasing the availability of information about governmental activities, supporting civil participation, among others.
Liberia signed the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in 2011 with the commitment to adhere to all international standards relating to good, open and responsive governance.
Three (3) action plans have been formed; the first was from 2013-2015, the second was 2015-2017 and the third was from 2017-2019.
The current government under the leadership of President George M. Weah met the action plan at a midway and has since committed to continue to build on the work carried out through most recent 2017-2019 action plan, while also identifying and removing any gaps identified in the Liberia Implementation Report 2017-2019.
The Government of Liberia (GOL), with support from the World Bank, Multi Donor Trust Fund in collaboration with the OGP Secretariat and Civil Society Organizations and feedback from experts on relevant issues has drafted this Liberia Action Plan 2020-2021 to focus on delivering an open and inclusive government.
The OGP has five (5) thematic areas, namely: Transparency, Accountability and Integrity, Citizen’s Participation and Inclusion, Policy Reforms and Harnessing e-Governance and are based on principles and values of the OGP.
