IBADAN, Nigeria — A delegation of senior Liberian fiscal officials has kicked off a high-level training in Ibadan, Nigeria, aimed at boosting the country’s push for fiscal decentralization—an initiative seen as essential to delivering services and autonomy to local governments.
The weeklong training, running from May 19 to 26 at the University of Ibadan, brings together key figures from Liberia’s Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) and affiliated institutions. The delegation is led by Deputy Minister for Fiscal Affairs Anthony G. Myers, who has described the effort as a “strategic step” toward meaningful institutional reform and local empowerment.
Speaking at the opening session, Myers stressed that fiscal decentralization is more than a technical goal—it is a political and developmental necessity. “Administrative decentralization without fiscal empowerment is performative,” he said. “If counties lack the financial autonomy to act, then our national decentralization strategy becomes a paper tiger.”
According to Myers, President Joseph Boakai’s administration has placed decentralization at the heart of its development agenda, recognizing that local governments must be empowered not only with administrative authority but also with the financial resources to deliver services, improve accountability, and reduce rural-urban inequality.
The training, which covers local government budgeting, revenue mobilization, and expenditure management, is part of a broader South-South cooperation initiative aimed at building domestic capacity across Africa. Myers said Liberia’s central fiscal institutions—such as the Liberia Revenue Authority and Internal Audit Agency—have made notable progress in institutional reform but stressed the urgent need to replicate such capacity at the county and municipal levels.
“We want our participants to return not just as beneficiaries, but as trainers,” Myers added, hinting at a planned national rollout of decentralization training across Liberia.
University of Ibadan Vice Chancellor Prof. P.O. Olapegba, delivering a fiery keynote address, challenged African nations to break the cycle of dependency on foreign aid and build systems rooted in homegrown solutions. “There is no free lunch—even in Freetown,” he said. “Aid distorts our sovereignty and leaves us vulnerable to policy capture.”
Prof. Olapegba urged African leaders to focus on developing institutions that can retain young talent and respond to the continent’s unique challenges. He warned that elite reliance on Western academic models, such as those from Harvard and Oxford, often fails to produce results relevant to African contexts.
“Harvard and Oxford won’t solve African problems—we must,” he declared. “We need systems built by Africans for Africans.”
The training is expected to deepen Liberia’s capacity to implement one of the most critical aspects of its national development strategy: shifting more authority and resources from Monrovia to the counties. Fiscal decentralization, officials say, is essential to building a more inclusive and responsive government capable of delivering on the Boakai administration’s promises of equity and grassroots development.
The weeklong session is being supported by development partners and is expected to conclude with a roadmap for localized fiscal reform, including recommendations for legislative amendments, intergovernmental transfers, and capacity-building measures tailored to Liberia’s needs.
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