The Government of Liberia at the just ended High Level forum in Abidjan, The Ivory Coast signed a Joint Country Program Agreement with Water and Sanitation for Africa (WSA),the Pan African Intergovernmental Agency valued at over Thirty One million United States dollars. The Agreement which has been negotiated by the WASH sector technicians from several Ministries including Public Works and Finance over the last year has secured the largest investment for the WASH sector from a non-traditional funding source.

As part of the agreement, the Government of Liberia will commit 25%   of the total Program amount while WSA through its resource mobilization strategies will fund 75% of the Country  program . Speaking during the signing ceremony the executive Secretary of WSA Mr. Idrissa Doucoure ,said the signing is a land mark achievement in the work plan for the Liberia program. He said the signing of the agreement will serve to catalyze many activities that are cued up o take place within the Country. Mr Doucoure noted that WSA following a CPA planning workshop will work with the GOL authorities to discuss how the funds can now be accessed.

Dr. Kimmie Weeks, the Head of The Liberian delegation in response said that the Government is as well very pleased to have finalized all issues relating to the CPA to the point of signing. The Head of the delegation noted that the Government is very much ready to move on with the critical next steps needed to begin implementation of the strategic instrument.

It can be recalled that The WASH sector in Feburary of this year launched a detailed Sector Investment plan costing over  400 million united states dollars needed to achieve the targets by 2017. The signing of the CPA costing over 31 million United States dollars will greatly boost resource mobilization efforts of the Government of Liberia and will in many ways solve the Water Sanitation and Hygiene issues the people of Liberia are currently faced with.

The Government of Liberia Official delegation to the High Level Forum included the following persons:

1. Dr. Kimmie Weeks                       Chairman ,Board of Directors, LWSC Represented the President of Liberia at the   HLF 2013
2. Hon. Christian G. Herbert           Deputy Minister of Public Works
3. Hon. Jordan Sulonteh                  Deputy Minister of Finance
4. Hon. Charles Allen                       Managing Director,LWSC
5. Mr. Patrick Sawyer                       Liberia Development Alliance
6. Mr. Abdul Hafiz Koroma             National WASH Coordinator

Other members of the Liberian WASH Sector In attendance included:

1. Mr. Alioune Faal                                 Chief Of Party,LMWP,USAID
2. Mr. Ambaye Erdillio                           Country Director, Living Water Int.
3. Madam Joele Gordon                         President, African Rain
4. Mr. Leroy Johnson                              Deputy Chief Of party, IWASH
5. Mr. John Kumeh                                 WASH R/E Network-Liberia

Liberia, under the leadership of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has prioritized water, sanitation and hygiene as necessities for its citizens in the new millennia. During the course of her first term in office the President participated in and authorized activities intended to improve clean water delivery in Liberia through pipe borne water delivery systems as well as protected well water for citizens in the rural and less accessible communities. In May 2011, the President signed the Water and Sanitation (WASH) compact that aligns the principles of the Sanitation and Water for All, (A Global Framework for Action) to subsequent sector planning that has brought improvement to planning in the sector.

Story By: National WASH Secretraiat