In a letter dated August 16, 2024, addressed to the Director General of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), Hon. Emma Metieh Glassco, the Liberia Office of the World Bank has expressed concerns about the usage of funds allocated for the Liberia Sustainable Management of Fisheries Project (LSMFP).
The Bank is alarmed about the content of a report submitted to it by the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) claiming that the document contains factual inaccuracies and weighty allegations that fundamentally mischaracterize the role, priorities, and actions of its institution.
“This letter serves as a formal expression of our concern with the report’s content. The document contains factual inaccuracies and weighty allegations that fundamentally mischaracterize the role, priorities, and actions of the World Bank. The report also represents the nature of the World Bank’s working relationship with the LSMFP Project Implementation Unit (PIU) and refers to reallocations under the project for which no formal requests have been received,” the Country Manager of the World Bank, Georgia A. Wellen, said.
The Bank said it takes very seriously its obligation to ensure that Bank funds are used for clearly defined activities for the benefit of the Liberian people and to achieve project development activities while at the same time emphasizing that its policies and legal agreements are meant to ensure that project funds are used for the purposes intended.
“World Bank Task Teams maintain a rigorous approach to implementation support in compliance with Project Appraisal Documents, IDA Guidelines, and fiduciary procedures…We conduct regular missions to monitor project implantation, assess progress against project development goals…As discussed during our meeting, a standard stocktaking and progress assessment is scheduled for October 2024. It will focus on beneficiaries reached and value for money,” the World Bank stated.
As the World Bank flags the potential ‘misuse’ of its project funds by the current management of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), the Director General of NaFAA, Hon. Emma Glassco, claimed while responding to media reports back then in June 2024 that there was no disbursement of funds made from the LSMFP project without the explicit approval of the World Bank even though the Bank has denied Glassco’s claim in its rcent letter dated August 16, 2024.
Glassco characterized media reports in June as “baseless and potentially damaging to Liberia’s fisheries sector,” even though this latest World Bank’s letter proves otherwise, pointing to possible mismanagement and misappropriation of project funds.
It can be recalled that the World Bank approved new financing to improve Liberia’s fisheries sector management, enhance livelihoods, and increase government revenue on September 22, 2021. The US$40 Million LSMFP project (US$20 million in grant and US$20 million in credit) was designed to improve conditions for 11,000 fishermen and women using 3,300 canoes, increase value addition for export, and help address economic vulnerability
