IFPRI Forum

March 2006

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FORUM: Your election as a female president is unprecedented in Africa and much of the rest of the world. What difference do you think being the first female president will make to Liberia and to Africa?

President Sirleaf: I have often said that our elections by the people of Liberia, most especially the women, have been a truly humbling experience for me. At the same time it has awakened and challenged my resolve that I must rise to the task of rebuilding a broken and shattered nation. As a female with the requisite competence and credibility, I will work to ensure that social equity, equal opportunity, and fundamental human rights protection are extended to all our people. I must also ensure that women are particularly targeted in this regard and that the quality of life of all Liberians is improved during my tenure. I believe that with God as my guide and the source of my strength, I will be able to lead a team that will meet these challenges.

FORUM: Does being a female president bring different perspectives for accomplishing economic and political goals? If so, how would you characterize these differences?

President Sirleaf: I have often prided myself on being a technocrat and professional who happens to be a woman. That said, as a woman president, I certainly believe that I can bring a motherly sensitivity to the office, thereby ensuring that there is a human face in all that we do. I can be a true African woman-resourceful as always.

FORUM: What do you see as the most pressing problems confronting Liberia, and how will you be addressing those problems?

President Sirleaf: First, there is the problem of achieving peace and security, which we must tackle through the principles of inclusion and participation. There is a need to reduce the vulnerability of our war-affected youths through education and job creation. There is a need to promote reconciliation and justice through the processes established by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Second, there is a problem of development that we must tackle-balanced development through social and economic policies, decentralization, infrastructure rehabilitation, and the promotion of an environment to attract private capital and investment for sustainable growth and job creation.

FORUM: What is your vision of the role government should play in reducing poverty and hunger?

President Sirleaf: The Government of Liberia must take a lead role in reducing poverty and hunger through agricultural policies that are aimed at food sufficiency and security and through empowerment programs aimed at enhancing the quality of life of a great number of the population. This requires access to education for skills training and literacy. As an agricultural nation, Liberia has an urgent need to support the repatriation of refugees and internally displaced persons to their communities and rural areas to enable them to produce food for self-sufficiency.

FORUM: The NEPAD initiative and the developed countries have focused a great deal of attention on Africa in the past year. In your view, how have Africans benefited from these activities? What are the next steps for maintaining beneficial attention and action?

President Sirleaf: The NEPAD initiative, which involves a compact between governments and their people on the one hand and between governments and their external partners on the other hand, is a sound development initiative that has yet to reach its full realization. Those African countries that have endorsed the initiative and its innovative Peer Review System have benefited from more transparency and accountability in matters relating to governance. If NEPAD is to reach its potential, much more needs to be done by governments, and even more by their external partners, who are called upon to provide a significant increase in resources to countries prepared to promote the processes that will lead to significant progress in political, economic, and corporate governance.