Amara Mohamed Konneh

Amara M. Konneh
Minister of Finance and Development Planning
In office 2012–2016
President	Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Preceded by	Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan
Succeeded by	Boima Kamara
Personal details
Born	(1972-12-07) 7 December 1972 Gbarpolu County, Liberia
Nationality	Liberian
Alma mater	Drexel University Penn State University Harvard University
Occupation	Economist

Amara M. Konneh (born 7 December 1972) is the Manager of the World Bank Group's Global Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV) Hub in Nairobi, Kenya. He joined the Bank after nearly a decade of service with the Government of Liberia, most recently as Minister of Finance and Development Planning and National Coordinator of the Liberia Development Alliance from February 2012 to April 2016. Prior to this, he was Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs and Head of the Presidential Office of the Liberia Reconstruction and Development Committee. Earlier in his career, he worked for the Vanguard Group of Investment Companies as well as the International Rescue Committee in Guinea as Education Coordinator.

As Manager of the Bank's Global Fragility, Conflict and Violence Hub, Mr. Konneh’s top three priorities will be to: (i) implement the Bank's Cross-cutting Solutions Area's (CCSA) strategic priorities, as part of the GCFDR Management Team, and in close coordination with GPs, CMUS, IFC, MIGA and development partners on the ground; (ii) lead the Nairobi-based team of the CCSA to provide operational and analytical support on FCV issues and to disseminate best practices and lessons learned; and (iii) represent the Bank and manage relationships with the donor community in Nairobi.

He was a core member of President Johnson Sirleaf's Economic Management Team and is credited with helping to stabilize the Liberian economy from the effects of a protracted civil war and the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) that almost brought the Liberian economy to its knees. Mr. Konneh is also the architect of Liberia's long term development perspective and first national vision, known as Liberia RISING 2030 and current five-year development agenda (Agenda for Transformation - 2012 - 2017) that achieved average growth rate of 6% during his tenure. As Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs, he also successfully coordinated the successful implementation of the Lift Liberia Poverty Reduction Strategy, the administration's three year post-conflict plan from 2008 to 2011 that achieved an average growth rate of 7.5%. He is a graduate from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he received a master's degee in public administration with a concentration in political and economic development. He also holds a master's degree from Pennsylvania State University and a bachelor's degree from Drexel University.

Mr. Konneh provided leadership for several continental, regional and sub-regional organizations. He most recently served as Chairman of Africa Group I Constituency of the IMF. Previously, he served as Chairman of the Mano River Union (MRU) Ministerial Council and the African Peer Review Mechanism's Ministerial Council. He was the coordinator of all the Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) activities in Liberia.

He is the recipient of Harvard University's Kennedy School 2016 Alumni Public Service Award and was named Africa's Finance Minister of the Year 2014 by The Banker magazine, a subsidiary of the Financial Times for his efforts to reform, stabilize and grow the Liberian economy.

Early life and career

On December 7, 1972, Amara Konneh was born in Balla Bassa, Gbamah District, Gbarpolu County, Liberia to the late Majumah Konneh and the late Mamadee Konneh. He spent his formative years in Balla Bassa Town then moved to Monrovia in 1985 in order to continue is formal education having completed elementary school. He graduated from Monrovia College (high school) in 1990.^[1]

Shortly after graduating high school, Amara Konneh became a refugee in Guinea, and established a free school for Liberian refugees with proceeds from corn and beans he harvested from his farm. His leadership at the school led to an offer by the International Rescue Committee to serve as the Education Coordinator for Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugee schools throughout Beyla Prefecture in the Guinea Forest Region. He served in this capacity from 1991 - 1993 and supervised the development of 18 community schools, including the first high school in the Beyla Prefecture, and coordinated curriculum development, teacher training, and resource mobilization.^[2]

Upon emigration to the United States in 1993, he enrolled at Drexel University where he was awarded the Anthony J. Drexel Academic and Leadership Scholarship and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in information systems with distinction, following which he earned a graduate degree in Management from Pennsylvania State University. He worked at Vanguard Group of Investment Companies, a Fortune 500 Company in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania where he was recruited into the highly competitive and prestigious Smart Leadership Program upon graduation. After more than a decade of working with development foundations and as a policy, financial systems analyst and project manager in Guinea and the United States, Konneh returned to Liberia to serve his country in 2006.

Deputy Chief of Staff

Upon the election of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2005, Mr. Konneh was named Deputy Chief of Staff to for Policy and Communications within the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs. In this role, he spearheaded several initiatives including:

• Reforming the management practices at the Ministry of State through a performance improvement program;
• Coordinating the development of policies and communications strategy;
• Organizing Liberia’s first conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D); and
• Improving the Executive Mansion’s relationship with the Liberian Media by giving them increased access to the Presidency and creating better working conditions.^[3][4]

After a year and a half of serving in this capacity, Mr. Konneh took a sabbatical in order to enroll at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he earned a Master’s degree in public administration with an emphasis in political and economic development and a certificate in Public Policy.

Upon completion of his studies at Harvard, Minister Konneh returned to Liberia and was appointed by President Sirleaf as the 16th Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs of the Republic of Liberia.^[4]

Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs

In August 2008, Mr. Konneh was sworn in as Liberia's Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs. He also served concurrently as the National Coordinator of the Liberia Reconstruction and Development Committee and the National Authorizing Officer of the European Development Fund for Liberia. Under his leadership, the implementation of the three year Lift Liberia Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS I) was accelerated resulting to a successful conclusion. Mr. Konneh is a core member of President Johnson Sirleaf's Economic Management Team and is credited with helping to stabilize the Liberian economy from the effects of a protracted civil war. His accomplishments included rebuilding the Ministry of Planning's internal capacity to support Liberia's post-war reconstruction; unscrupulously implementing Liberia's three -Year development strategy (2008-2011) Poverty Reduction Strategy that sought to enhance security, revitalize the economy after years of conflict, rehabilitate infrastructure and resume the provision of basic services such as education, healthcare, water and sanitation services to the population; and improving governance and the rule of law. He is the architect of Liberia's new long term development plan the Liberia RISING 2030 Vision, and a five-year Medium Term Development Strategy - the Agenda for Transformation ( PRS II 2012-2017), both of which seek to make Liberia a lower middle income country by 2030 by focusing on inclusive growth through enhanced security, justice and the rule of law; economic transformation through increased investment in energy, roads and ports; human development through education, health, water and sanitation; improving governance and public institutions; and addressing unemployment. He is also credited for strengthening aid coordination mechanisms that has seen increased aid on budget; developing a ten-year National Human Capacity Development Strategy to reverse Liberia’s brain drain; harmonizing the activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with the national development agenda; and promoting the use of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) that led to the landing of a $25 million African Coast to Europe (ACE) fiber optic high speed Internet cable in Liberia.^[5]

As Liberia's Alternate Governor to the World Bank and African Development Bank, Mr. Konneh played a key supporting role in the waiver of Liberia's US $4.6 billion debt. He also played a key role in the cancellation of Liberia’s US $170 million debt obligation to the Paris Club, a small group of creditor nations. One of Konneh's major accomplishments as Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs was the development of Liberia’s three-year Millennium Challenge Account Threshold proposal which he negotiated with the United States Millennium Challenge Corporation for a US$15 million grant to reform land rights and access, increase girls’ primary education completion rate, and develop a trade policy regime consistent with regional standards. He is also credited for leading the efforts to restore to the Government of Liberia full authorizing authority over budget support garnered from the European Union (EU) that was previously administered by the EU office in Abidjan as a result of the Liberian conflict.^[5]

Minister of Finance

Upon the re-election of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2011, Mr. Konneh was nominated to the post of Minister of Finance and was confirmed by the Liberian Senate in February 2012. Since becoming finance minister, Liberia’s post-war economic growth was sustained in 2012 and 2013, with estimated real GDP growth of 8.9% and 8.7, respectively, led by mining, buoyant construction, and strong performance in services. Growth was projected to be impressive in 2014, due in no small measure to macroeconomic stability and supported by further mining and agriculture related Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) but was affected by a health crisis - the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) - and the global commodity price shock. Consumer price inflation moderated to 6.9% in 2012. This strong performance also reflects higher-than-anticipated acceleration in non-mining activities boosted by robust private and public investments in line with the government’s five year development strategy, the Agenda for Transformation (AfT) for which he is credited formulating. As Finance Minister, he has advocated the following priorities for the government:

• Investing in infrastructure - especially electricity, about $1 billion to restore power destroyed by the war. Liberia has the highest cost of electricity in the world which constrains private investment;
• Investing in human capital formation;
• Accelerating economic growth via a clear strategy to leverage Liberia's agricultural potential;
• Investing in developing the private sector, especially Liberian-owned businesses;
• Address the issues and concerns of Liberia's youth through technical and vocational education; and
• Investing to create economic and political opportunities for all Liberians.^[6]

To support the growth envisioned in the government’s medium-term growth strategy, the Agenda for Transformation, Minister Konneh quickly introduced a Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), a multi-year rolling budget framework that began in fiscal year 2012/2013 that saw an increase in public investments from a mere 7 percent of the budget to about 25 percent to finance critical infrastructure projects. Through an aggressive mobilization of domestic and external financing, he has led the government’s efforts that have raised more than $2 billion US Dollars to support the Agenda for Transformation. The most significant projects are the restoration of electricity to the country, construction of major highways to connect Liberia’s main economic corridors and rehabilitation of the country's sea and airports. Most of the funding secured so far constitutes grants with about 20% in concessional loans from various lenders including the World Bank, the African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, Kuwaiti and Saudi Funds and other bilateral financing. Through his leadership, he has ensured full compliance with the Public Financial Management Act under difficult circumstances, by implementing its core regulations. Through his administration, Liberia produced for the first time a mid-term budget performance report and a year-end report that is being audited by the General Auditing Commission, a crucial compliance requirements of the Public Financial Management Act which has become a tradition now by the Ministry of Finance and Development. Konneh has also worked to improve Liberia’s tax administration through a major reform he championed with the creation of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) and has automated the chaotic voucher processing system at the Ministry of Finance that has improved the payment process and significantly reduced duplication. During his tenure, the Ministry of Finance has made great strides towards the decentralization of payroll though more challenges remain. He introduced for the first time in Liberia, the “Open Budget Initiative”-a platform through which citizens can access the budget and government spending, making Liberia the first country where ordinary citizens can now track spending to various sectors including health, education, infrastructure, etc. via mobile phones, on the Internet, through community radio stations and on an electronic billboard. This reform is also complemented by the publication of the Citizens Guide to the Budget, a yearly publication that is distributed nationwide to empower citizens to hold spending entities accountable for results. ^[7] He has made headlines for rooting out corruption within the Ministry of Finance and for championing the Open Budget Initiative.

Minister of Finance and Development Planning

In July 2014, Amara M. Konneh was appointed Liberia’s first Minister of Finance and Development Planning, having previously served concurrently as Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs and Minister of Finance from January 2012 to June 2014. He is credited for stabilizing the Liberian economy from the effects of the most recent effects of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak that almost brought the Liberian economy to its knees.

With the EVD having halted the implementation of the AfT and dropped the nation’s economic growth rate from a projected 5.9 to zero percent, Minister Konneh worked with stakeholders in government, development partners community, private sector and civil society to maintain macroeconomic stability during the crisis, resulting in stable exchange rate and inflation in spite of a sharp decline in economic growth; availability of essential goods and services in the country given that Liberia is an import intensive country; and instituted fiscal policies that prioritized financing the fight against Ebola early during the outbreak when international response was slow. He tightened coordination within the economic management team with strong support from the President and took the actions that were necessary to avert an eminent economic collapse. Under his leadership, the team at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning formulated a post-Ebola Economic Stabilization and Recovery plan (ESRP) that is currently being implemented by Government to achieve optimum impact for the last two years of the Johnson Sirleaf Administration. The Plan was an off-shot of the existing Agenda for Transformation (AfT) but incorporated additional programs and interventions to specifically address the impact of EVD on the economy and the population; and the commodity price shock that has affected two of Liberia's main commodities - iron ore and rubber.He also coordinated the robust Ebola response effort along with key stakeholders, and spearheaded the mobilization of financial and non-financial resources for the fight against Ebola effort from government, bilateral and multilateral partners, NGOs, state owned enterprises and the private sector.

He also established and provided oversight of the Ebola Trust Fund, ensuring that all Ebola response agencies received timely resources and accounted for them; while also leading his team to maintain consistent salary payments for the entire civil service (including furloughed staff) throughout the crisis.

Leadership

• Liberia’s Governor on the Board of Governors of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and African development Bank, 2012 - 2016.
• Chair, IMF Africa Group I Constituency, 2014 - 2016.
• Chair, Board of Directors, Liberia Bank for Development and Investment, 2012 - 2016.
• Member, Board of Commissioners, Liberia Investment Commission: helped to attract over US$16 billion in Foreign Direct Investment commitments in iron ore, forestry, rubber and palm oil, 2014 - 2016.
• Chair, Board of Governors, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development.
• Former Chair, African Peer Review Mechanism Committee of Focal Points, 2013-2014.
• Member, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Ministerial Council, 2008 - 2016
• Chair, Mano River Union Ministerial Council, 2008 - 2012.

Awards and professional recognition

• Admitted: Order of the Star of Africa with the Grade of Grand Band^[8]
• 2016 Alumni Public Service Award, Harvard University Kennedy School of Government
• Minister of Finance of the Year 2014 for Africa, The Banker Magazine, a subsidiary of Financial Times;
• Featured in Africa’s New Leaders^[9]
• Mentioned in the book ‘Emerging Africa: How 17 Countries Are Leading the Way;
• Featured in ‘Africa’s Reformers: Re-Writing Governance’ by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Africa Governance Initiative.

See also

• Ministry of Finance, Liberia

References

External links

Media related to Amara Mohamed Konneh at Wikimedia Commons