Fulfilling Government’s Commitment to the 2021 Census Funding
Commitment description:The 2021 Census of Liberia costs more than $18,000,000 ( Eighteen Million United States Dollars). Partners at raising 2/3, while Liberia is to raise the balance 1/3. I am to use my legislative oversight to lobby for the inclusion of the amount in the National Budget. The process has already started and I hope to see it to a logical conclusion. Creating awareness among partners is also another strategy I am using to mobilize resources for the census. Already, some level of success has begun to be recorded.
The process started with passing the necessary legal instruments to legitimize the Census , followed by the allocation of half government’s share of the counterpart funding in Fiscal Year 2018/2019. Similar lobbying led to the allocation of the additional funding in the current 2019/2020 Fiscal Year. Of late I have participated in the establishment of relevant institutional framework fir the exercise; beginning with the constitution of the Census Commission and Secretariat. These were followed by the signing of the Census Project Document. Currently, recruitment and training of Maping Assistants are underway, while international experts are being mobilized.
Our oversight role is being accentuated because of the significance we attach to quality data. With quality data, it is easy to gauge the success of the implementation of POA of the ICPD. Owing to the indispensable role of data to measuring progress in human development index, the need to have a relevant disaggregated data stock cannot be overemphasized. This is jus exactly what I am committing myself to achieving along with my colleagues of the Lehislature.
Mode of engagement:
- Budgetary and financialAs my country, Liberia, prepares to hold its Population and Housing Census in 2021, I will continue to lobby with the Legislature to fund the process through the National budget. A reliable data stock is critical to achieving the POA of ICPD.
Value: The Government is committed to providing $6,000,000.00 ( Six Million U.S. Dollars. I hope to lobby for that to come to pass.
Mobilize the required financing to finish the ICPD Programme of Action and sustain the gains already made(6) Using national budget processes, including gender budgeting and auditing, increasing domestic financing and exploring new, participatory and innovative financing instruments and structures to ensure full, effective and accelerated implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action.
