LIBERIA: PRESIDENT TURNS TO YOUNG TECHNOCRATS FOR NEW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONROVIA 000612

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12598: N/A
TAGS: ECON EFIN PGOV PINR LI
SUBJECT: LIBERIA: PRESIDENT TURNS TO YOUNG TECHNOCRATS FOR NEW
ECONOMIC TEAM

REF: MONROVIA 591


1. (U) President Sirleaf has promoted Liberia Reconstruction and
Development Committee (LRDC) Coordinator Natty B. Davis to Minister
of State Without Portfolio to oversee overall coordination of
economic policy. She also has nominated two young American-educated
officials to build her new economic team. The Finance
Minister-designate, Augustine Ngafuan, is currently Director of the
Bureau of the Budget. Amara Konneh, nominated as Minister of
Planning and Economic Affairs, was previously Deputy Minister of
State for Communications and Public Affairs. Both nominees signal a
commitment to diversity, as Ngafuan is a Gbandi and Konneh is a
Muslim Mandingo. Other appointments, including a new Minister of
Commerce, are expected shortly.


2. (SBU) Reception to the nominations has been positive, with
concerns about the new Ministers' age balanced by recalling the
President's promise that she would bring the next generation into
government. Both Ngafuan and Konneh are extremely well-respected,
worked on Sirleaf's campaign, and have recently returned from
studies at Harvard University. Ngafuan's ability to take on the
entrenched interests at Finance is still an open question but in our
discussions with him last week (reftel) he provided us a detailed
rundown of what he views as the major problem areas. During our
conversation he showed a sharp understanding of the importance of
improving internal operations and reducing opportunities for
rent-seeking.


3. (U) Included in the announcement was the nomination of Nathaniel
Barnes, currently Liberia's Permanent Representative at the United
Nations, who has been nominated as Ambassador to the United States.
(Note: The USG has already granted agrement. End note.) In
pro-forma changes, Amos Sawyer was named Chairman of the Governance
Commission, successor organization to the Governance Reform
Commission, which he currently heads. Betty Saway was re-nominated
to the board of the Central Bank of Liberia. All except Saway
require Senate confirmation.


4. (SBU) Comment: We had been told the President is aiming for a
more balanced and well-coordinated economic team. Former finance
minister Antoinette Sayeh was a tour de force in the government, and
her departure has temporarily taken the wind out of the government's
economic sails. Natty B. Davis, currently coordinator of the
Liberia Reconstruction and Development Committee (LRDC),has some
qualities Sayeh lacked, most notably an ability to build consensus
within the government and to interact with the Legislature. Davis'
promotion to Minister of State Without Portfolio will allow him to
coordinate GOL economic policies. Ngafuan's intentions to improve
operations at MOF should complement our efforts, from improving tax
administration to streamlining customs and the port. It is likely
his appointment reflects the President's realization that internal
housekeeping is necessary if poverty reduction initiatives are to
succeed. Although she has indicated she intends to eliminate the
Ministry of Planning, it would require legislation that is a long
way off, and Konneh will be a strong team player with a solid
background who will not block any future reorganization.
End comment.



5. (U) Biographic information
--------------

-- Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan

Currently Director of the Bureau of the Budget, Ngafuan signals a
change of emphasis at MOF. His predecessor, Antoinette Sayeh, was
an internationally-known official who brought tremendous energy,
experience and focus to tackling debt relief and launching the
affiliated Poverty Reduction Strategy. Ngafuan, based on our recent
discussions with him, will focus much more on improving the internal
operations of the Ministry of Finance (reftel).

Augustine Ngafuan was born in 1970 in Lofa County. He graduated
from the Booker Washington Institute (BWI) in 1989 and studied
accounting, earning a Bachelor's degree in 1998. While a student at
the University of Liberia, Ngafuan became President of the
University of Liberia Students Union. Liberians still associate him
with his leadership during his student days.

Upon graduation in 1998, Ngafuan was drafted by the Central Bank of
Liberia upon its formation in 1999 to serve as Assistant Head of
Domestic Banking. Ngafuan was awarded a scholarship by the Central
Bank of Liberia to study Accounting at the University of Rochester
in the United States. Upon his return to Liberia in 2004, Ngafuan
was appointed Head of International Banking, a position he occupied
until his appointment in 2006 as Budget Director by President Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf. The BOB has been a GEMAP success story and Ngafuan
has been a strong proponent and example of greater government

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transparency.

Ngafuan was an official of the Sirleaf campaign in 2005. He is
married and has two children. Ngafuan is honoring a long-standing
invitation to speak at the Embassy's cultural evening August 7,
where he will be reading and discussing his poetry.

Ngafuan is an ethnic Gbandi and his family is from Lofa County.

-- Amara Konneh, currently Deputy Minister of State for
Communications and Public Affairs, has been nominated as Minister of
Planning and Economic Affairs. Konneh lived in the United States
from 1990 until 2005, when he returned to Liberia and worked on the
Johnson-Sirleaf campaign. His polling expertise is considered a
foundation of her victory. Several in the Embassy have worked
closely with him over the past years and have a very favorable
impression.

He was appointed Deputy Minister of State for Public Affairs and
Communication by President Sirleaf in 2006. Konneh resigned the
post in 2007 to attend Harvard University where he received a
Master's degree in public policy and management in June 2008. He
had previously obtained a Master's degree in management information
systems from Pennsylvania State University, a Bachelor's degree in
information systems from Drexel University, and an Associate degree
in business administration from Delaware County Community College.
Konneh is a Muslim and a member of the Mandingo ethnic group.

ROBINSON