The head of Liberia’s Public Procurement and Concessions Commission, Bodger Scott Johnson, says the imposition of harsh conditions by International Monetary Fund (IMF) while offering loans to developing countries is largely responsible for the worsening economic instability in Africa.
Mr. Johnson accentuated that the imposition of such conditionalities is leading to long-term dependency with potential consequences on sustainable development and increased hardship for the poor in Africa and other developing countries in the World. He cited the harmonization program in Liberia as a classic example of effects associated with the imposition of harsh conditions when offering loans. The IMF conditionalities for Asian countries is quite different from African countries, for example the IMF request Asian countries to increase taxes and low spending, while the request for African countries is harmonization of wages, creating hardship for African countries.
Drawing from his experience on the implementation of Liberia’s Public Procurement Reform Agenda, Mr. Johnson mentioned the ongoing public procurement modernization effort in Liberia, and how such effort seeks to address corruption in public procurement and delivery of basic services to the people and country. He explained that Liberia has configured, tested and rolled-out the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) System to six public sector institutions, and is in the process of deploying the System to 50 additional institutions through the support of the World Bank.
The e-GP System is an innovative public procurement enabler designed to enhance transparency, increase efficiency & effectiveness, and restore public confidence in the procurement processes, with the ultimate goal of ensuring best value for public money.
The PPCC boss made the assertions when he delivered a presentation at the high-level seminar organized by the IMF Legal Department and IMF AFRICTAC 2 in Accra, Ghana, from April 8-10, 2025. The Seminar was organized to support continued progress in improving governance and rule of law, promote constructive exchange and engagement in leading and developing well-governed institutions capable of effectively addressing macro-critical corruption vulnerabilities and rule of law deficiencies.
Drawn from different countries and sectors, the delegates at this Year’s IMF Seminar shared their experiences and highlighted success stories from the region while at the same time discussed responses that allow them to deepen their analytical skills and develop concrete approaches to addressing corruption.