BY Martin K. N. Kollie
Sweden’s Sudden Shutdown is a Big Sore (A Loss of over US$149 million) – A Call for President Boakai to Shift Gear from Aid Dependency to Self-Sufficiency
The attached table simplifies everything.
I) Introduction:
All of a sudden, Sweden is exiting. Make ko no mistake, it’s not only their embassy. They are also leaving with over US$149 million. President Boakai should be concerned/worried because thousands of Liberian families are about to lose their jobs and incomes (direct and indirect), adding on to the thousands that are now jobless as a result of the USAID shutdown.
II) Method:
Data used in this brief analysis were captured from 32 ongoing projects as reflected on the Website of the Embassy of Sweden near Monrovia. Can be accessed here: https://www.swedenabroad.se/en/embassies/liberia-monrovia/about-us/swedens-development-cooperation/. A total of 39 projects, but 7 expired before and in 2024. We only considered ongoing projects in 2025 and projects running up to 2028.
Current Conversion: We converted Swedish Krona to United States (kr1 SEK = 0.1063 USD). The output is reflected in the attached table.
III) The Economic Impact (The Projects):
The Swedish Government is funding over 30 projects across Liberia valued at over US$149 million. This is 12.4% of Liberia’s entire 1.2 billion budget. This is a big leakage to Liberia’s economy. It’s going to affect dozens of organizations and thousands of families. This sudden shutdown is going to heighten unemployment, negatively impact consumption, lead to job, HH income and tax losses, increase poverty, etc.
1) Coordinated Action on Disability in Liberia
$3,689,800.00
2) Blue Oceans Programme
$4,763,673.60
3) Beyond the Grid Fund (Sustainable Energy) $10,633,200.00
4) Budget Strengthening Initiative
$6,065,651.63
5) Support for National Statistics
$7,581,471.60
6) National Integrity Building Anti-Corruption
$1,594,980.00
7) Forestry and Protected Areas Program
$8,293,896.00
8)Liberia Decentralization Support
$2,126,640.00
9) Rural Development Program (Feeder Roads) $5,848,260.00
10) Support to Land Rights and Management
$5,391,032.40
11) Support to Prepare National Plan (ARREST) $425,328.00
12) Private Sector Development (Value Chain) $5,848,260.00
13) Strengthening CSO and Media
$1,594,980.00
14) Women’s Empowerment and Rights
$6,275,883.50
15) Support to Tax Authority
$2,445,636.00
16) Economic Transformation (16,400 urban youth) $5,103,936.00
17) Democracy Advancement Program
$1,275,984.00
18) Excellence in Independent Journalism
$691,158.00
19) Renewable Energy (AECF REACT)
$5,316,600.00
20) Resilience and Climate Change
$1,594,980.00
21) Strengthening Peace and Rule of Law
$11,839,390.12
22) Strengthening Citizen Voices (Electoral Reform) $1,258,906.03
23) Promoting Youth Employment through TVET $5,848,260.00
24) Economic Empowerment for Women
$8,028,066.00
25) Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health $6,698,916.00
26) Child Protection Services
$6,964,746.00
27) Increasing Income for Farmers in Poverty $8,400,228.00
28) Supporting Climate-Smart Agriculture
$2,126,640.00
29) Youth Peace Building and Social Inclusion $2,126,640.00
30) Just and Equal Communities
$4,465,944.00
31) Informal Sector Employment
$3,189,960.00
32) Media-based Support to Social Norms
$2,073,474.00
33) Total Ongoing Projects (*2025-2028)
$149,582,520.88
Furthermore, under annex 3 of the government’s US$1.2 billion draft budget, the Ministry of Finance projected that Sweden will provide US$3,752,204 through grant as budget support. This is highly unlikely to happen anymore. This is another loss.
Recommendation:
Most countries are no longer giving out handouts (aid). The government needs to stop waiting for aid, grants, and loans from the MCC, IMF, World Bank, etc. Stop waiting for Manna from Heaven. This is a “Hallelujah Economic Approach”. Be proactive and innovative. It’s time to innovate new economic frontiers for growth and development. Shift from aid dependency to self-sufficiency through diversification and export-manufacturing-based model (value additon).
Cut down on public waste. Cap all salaries and benefits across GOL’s spending entities, including The Legislature, at US$5,000 per month. Mr. President, tthoroughly review and renegotiate ALL concession agreements, shift towards profit sharing, compel all companies to pay for long-term compliance breaches/violations, review ‘unjustified’ tax holidays and credits which is allowing us to lose over US$300 million every year, amend the revenue code, and impartially enforce all MDAs, EITI regulations, and MM and Natural Resource Laws to ensure full compliance and public interest.
These are tough times, Mr. President. Therefore, tough decisions must be taken.
