Liberia’s Finance Minister has launched a three-day strategic retreat with senior ministry leaders and technocrats to revive spending policies and accelerate reforms after the International Monetary Fund trimmed the country’s 2025 growth forecast.
The retreat held in Margibi County aims to restore efficiency in the rollout of the administration’s $8.38 billion ARREST agenda—prioritizing agriculture, road infrastructure, energy and tourism.
It’s also intending to sharpen the Ministry’s medium‑term strategy for service delivery and institutional reform officials said.
“Participants include directors and technical staff who will undertake intensive strategy sessions, evaluations and planning exercises to shape the ministry’s development agenda for 2025–2029.”
Under the theme “Transforming Priorities into Strategies: Pathway to Efficient Service Delivery,” the meeting will also examine Liberia’s commitments to regional and international development frameworks, including the African Union’s Agenda 2063, ECOWAS Vision 2050 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The timing follows an IMF Executive Board report that reduced Liberia’s 2025 growth forecast to 4.6% from 5.6% projected in February — a one percentage‑point downgrade, roughly an 18% decline in the previously projected rate.
The revision followed the second review of Liberia’s program under the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility. The Fund reported real GDP growth of 4.0% in 2024, down from 4.6% in 2023, and noted that inflation accelerated to 10.7% in 2025 from 8.2% the prior year.
While the IMF acknowledged improvements in fiscal management and policy reforms, it pointed to persistent inflation and other headwinds constraining near‑term growth.
IMF directors urged Liberia to press ahead with structural reforms to unlock growth potential and bolster climate resilience, intensify anti‑corruption measures, enhance governance and pursue robust debt management to avoid new external arrears. They also recommended sustained efforts to preserve fiscal discipline, strengthen financial stability and support private‑sector development to raise living standards and reduce poverty.
The IMF forecast a brighter 2026, projecting growth of 5.4% driven by an expected expansion in mining—particularly gold and iron ore—and a recovery in agricultural production.
Full details of the second review remain limited: Liberian authorities requested that the IMF withhold the complete review, and the Fund said it will publish the staff assessment of the program after 28 days.
