Senator Amara Engages Yale Students on African Innovation and Partnership with Liberia
Yesterday, I addressed Yale students at the opening of the school’s annual Africa Innovation Symposium in New Haven, Connecticut. I am also teaching two sessions of an Economic Transformation Innovation Lab to undergraduate students majoring in Global Affairs and Economics at Yale, a one-time commitment I made immediately after the presidential election runoff. Our case […]
Revamping Liberia’s Electricity Corporation: A Call for Efficiency and Accountability
LEC Financial Picture LEC has 18 bank accounts with the following total end-of-November balances: Total LRD account balance LR$93.2m Total USD account Balance is US$9.764m Of the total USD account balance, only US$728,000 is the balance in project accounts. Debt obligations: CI-Energies/ CLSG electricity = US$13m Regulatory Levy = US$537,544 Total GoL appropriation for LEC […]
Urgent Call for Reform: Overhauling Liberia’s Electricity Corporation for Economic Growth and Accountability
The same journalists who caused significant reputational damage to our country in 2018 when they reported that two large containers of newly printed Liberian Dollars made their way from the Freeport of Monrovia to the former President’s house – without proving it – and later became basketball-playing buddies of the same former President they accused […]
Senator Amara M. Konneh’s Advocacy for Senate Reform: Reflections on the First Month
Update: Reflections on my first month as a Senator Former Pro Tempore Albert Chie facilitated a smooth transition, perhaps one of the best exercises of political leadership in the entire transition. Our leader, President Pro Tempore Nyomblee Karnga-Lawrence is off to a good start, respectful of colleagues, and shows promising signs of being a consensus […]
Urgent Call for Action: Revitalizing Liberia’s Energy Sector to Drive Economic Growth
While going through the Roberts International Airport yesterday, there was no electricity. All the flight systems and air conditioning units were down. The terminal was so hot that passengers and airport employees were fanning themselves with whatever was in their hands. This is unacceptable! Eighteen years ago, our country had zero megawatts of grid power […]
Strengthening Public Procurement: Collaboration with World Bank for Ethical and Accountable Practices in Liberia
I had the pleasure of meeting with the World Bank Liberia Country Manager Georgia Wallen (Left) and Ms. Nazaneen Ismail Ali, World Bank’s Practice Manager for Procurement in the West Africa Region (Right) and her team earlier this morning to discuss the Bank’s procurement process and transitioning to the use of the Government of Liberia […]
Senator Amara Konneh of Gbarpolu and Senator Francis Dopoh II of Rivergee Initiate Inquiry into Government Financing Impact on Development
The Liberian Senate has mandated a Joint Statutory Committee on Ways, Means, Finance and Budget, Judiciary, Human Rights, Claim and Petition as well as Public Account and Audits to conduct an inquiry regarding the Status of various Financing Agreements passed by the 54th Legislature. The Inquiry is to ascertain the impact on the development of […]
Saluting a Patriot: The Courageous Leadership of General Prince Charles Johnson III
An officer and a gentleman. He put his country first at a crucial moment when he refused to bow to pressure to get the army involved in the just-ended elections. Not many Liberians are aware of how close we came to that. Is he a victim of bad advice to the Commander-in-Chief or political machinations […]
Building Bridges: Strengthening Healthcare in Liberia with Operation Smile
Dr. Gaurav Deshpande, Associate VP of Operation Smile Global and my classmate at MIT Sloan School of Management, had this to say about Ops Smile’s recent work in Liberia. The Liberian people are grateful. I look forward to facilitating a sustained partnership between Operation Smile and Libetia’s health sector under the leadership of our new […]
My remarks at the confirmation hearing of the appointees to the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the Capitol Building
Local governments are essential actors in economic development. They play a key role in the implementation of national economic development programs, and they also pursue local economic development policies to strengthen economic growth and reduce poverty. The Local Government Act, passed by the 54th Legislature and signed by former President Weah, though a good law, […]