MPs examine Recovery and Development in Sierra Leone and Liberia
13 March 2014
Sierra Leone and Liberia have made remarkable recoveries since their civil wars. Ban Ki Moon was in Freetown this month to bring an end to the UN Security mission and set the UN presence on a conventional development footing from 1 April 2014. In Liberia there has been a gradual drawdown of the peacekeeping mission which will approximately halve the UN military presence by 2015. However both countries remain fragile with high unemployment and concerns about corruption.
Britain played a key role in securing the peace and has led the subsequent development effort. DFID has a substantial programme in Sierra Leone where it is the major bilateral donor and a small programme in Liberia where the US is the main donor. Uniquely for DFID, it maintains a small office in Liberia linked to the much larger office in Sierra Leone. In contrast, in nearby countries such as Mali, UK funded development assistance is monitored from the UK.
The Committee invites short written submissions from interested organisations and individuals on the following points:
DFID’s bilateral programmes
- The cost effectiveness of DFID’s bilateral programme in Sierra Leone and Liberia in assisting in*
o the provision of basic services;
o promoting jobs and livelihoods; and
o nation-building, including promoting security, parliamentary democracy, the transparency and accountability of government, the use of natural resources and efforts to minimise the impacts of corruption and mismanagement. - How DFID’s programmes should develop.
- How well the programmes in Sierra Leone and Liberia complement each other.
- Whether there are any lessons DFID could learn for Sierra Leone from USA programmes in Liberia.
Working with others
- How effectively DFID
o staff have used their l access to politicians and public servants
o influences the multilaterals working in the region
o works with the FCO and other UK Government Departments and other UK actors
o Works with other donors in both countries; including new donors in Sierra Leone - The effectiveness of the Conflict Pool and the lessons to be learnt
Lessons
- Should the model of a small country programme and office in Liberia linked to the bigger office in Sierra Leone be replicated in other countries
- Should the office in Sierra Leone have a role in monitoring multilateral programmes in nearby francophone countries?
- How effectively DFID has applied the lessons from its programmes in other post conflict countries to Sierra Leone and Liberia. And what lessons DFID offices working in other post conflict environments can learn from DFID’s work in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
*The Committee is particularly interested in areas which will be the subject of future inquiries: the health systems strengthening, parliamentary strengthening, development policy coherence, gender and jobs and livelihoods. It will also be following up its inquiry into violence against women, including FGM
The Committee invites written submissions from interested organisations and individuals. The deadline for these is 7 April 2014.
Please note
As part of a scheme to encourage paperless working and maximize efficiency, the Committee is piloting a new web portal for online submissions of written evidence. Written submissions for this inquiry should therefore be sent via the International Development Committee inquiry page on Recovery and Development in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Written evidence submitted should:
Have a one page summary at the front
Be no longer than 3000 words in length
Have numbered paragraphs
Avoid the use of colour or expensive-to-print material
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