World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz wrapped up a visit on Saturday to the war-shattered West African nation of Liberia, where he has praised economic progress led by the country’s new head of state, but warned there is ”a lot of work to do”.
Wolfowitz arrived in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, on Friday and addressed lawmakers examining the first annual budget proposal submitted by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s government. It totaled $120-million.
Johnson-Sirleaf took office in January after winning elections that made her Africa’s first democratically elected female president. Many hope her rise to power will mark the end of years of fighting and oppression in the tiny country founded by freed American slaves in the mid-1800s.
”Liberia stands today at a critical crossroads,” Wolfowitz told lawmakers on Friday. ”As Liberia joins the ranks of African nations coming out of long-running wars and conflicts, you have much to celebrate, but you also have a lot of work to do.”
Wolfowitz has been touring African countries this month, including Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Benin and Sierra Leone. He was due to visit Ghana after leaving Liberia on Saturday. – Sapa-AP