Liberia Targets 70% Electricity Access Under New MCC Compact Effort - FrontPageAfrica

Monrovia – The strong push to transform Liberia’s electricity sector has now moved into a decisive dimension with senior Liberian government officials, key policymakers and development partners declaring energy access as the single most important thing for economic growth, job creation and long-term prosperity.

By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway

At the official launch of the concept notes development process under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)–Government of Liberia Compact, the Minister of Finance and Development (MFDP), Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, zoomed in on the assessment of the country’s development challenge.

He stated that without fixing electricity, little thing else will work.

Minister Ngafuan framed Liberia’s energy deficit as the “foundational problem” constraining the economy, arguing that decades of limited access to reliable and affordable electricity have slowed private sector growth and discouraged investment.

“The biggest constraint or cost driver for most businesses is power. Without reliable and affordable energy, we can’t make progress,” he said, explaining that high electricity costs continue to suppress expansion and job creation.

The government, he revealed, has made a strategic decision to direct potential MCC funding primarily toward energy infrastructure, an approach he described as essential to unlocking the broader economy.

“Why did we choose energy? Because if we do not solve our energy problem, we will not make progress.”

Liberia’s electricity access rate, historically among the lowest in Africa, has begun to improve, with recent gains pushing access to around 40 percent.

But Minister Ngafuan outlined a far more ambitious target of increasing access to roughly 70–75 percent within four years.

That goal, he acknowledged, comes with enormous pressure.

Despite being just over two years into its term, the administration faces what the MFDP described as “adult expectations” from citizens eager for rapid results.

The disconnect between timelines for infrastructure development and public impatience, he said, is one of the government’s greatest challenges.

“This government is young, but the expectations are already at six-year levels.”

Central to Minister Ngafuan’s message was urgency. He repeatedly urged members of the newly established technical working group to abandon bureaucratic delays and adopt a “sprinting” mindset in executing their tasks.

“This is a 100-meter race. We have no space for walking.” The group, composed of experts from government, the private sector, and civil society, has been tasked with developing concept notes that will shape Liberia’s second MCC compact.

These proposals will determine which projects move forward to feasibility studies and eventual implementation. Minister Ngafuan stressed that while some processes are inherently time-consuming, others can and must be accelerated. “We have impatience for delay,” he declared.

Throughout his remarks, the  Minister of Finance and Development Planning  drew a direct connection between electricity access and employment. While governments often position the private sector as the engine of growth, Minister Ngafuan argued that energy is the engine behind that engine.

“If businesses get affordable power, they expand,” he said. “When they expand, they employ.”

This logic underpins the government’s broader development strategy, which prioritizes investment in energy and roads as the twin pillars needed to reduce the cost of doing business and stimulate economic activity.

Beyond macroeconomic arguments, he highlighted the human dimension of electrification, recalling scenes of communities celebrating the arrival of electricity—people “dancing for light.”

He further that these moments capture the real reward of public service: not recognition, but the tangible improvement of citizens’ lives.

“You may not be known, but you will know you contributed to something good,” he told the technical team.”

Also speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Samuel A. Stevequoh, reinforced the importance of energy to Liberia’s development agenda, describing reliable electricity as a key driver of productivity for businesses and industries.

Through the MCC compact, he said, Liberia has an opportunity to transition from planning to execution by turning ideas into real infrastructure that can transform livelihoods.

“The compact is more than funding. It is about partnership, discipline, and results,” Minister Stevequoh noted.

He emphasized that the concept notes must go beyond theory, requiring rigorous data, realistic assumptions, and scalable solutions. The quality of this work, he said, will determine which projects receive funding and ultimately shape their impact on ordinary Liberians.

Minister Stevequoh stressed that success cannot rest solely on the technical working group. Instead, he said it will require coordinated effort across government institutions, private sector actors, development partners, and civil society.

“In our proverb, it is said that one hand cannot tie a bundle,” the President’s Chief of Staff propounded as he called for unity, transparency, and continuous engagement to ensure the process delivers meaningful outcomes.

In his welcome remarks, Alieu Fuad Nyei, National Coordinator of Liberia’s Compact Development Team, described the concept notes phase as a critical bridge between identifying national challenges and designing bankable investment projects.

The technical working group, he explained, includes representatives from key energy-related institutions such as the Liberia Electricity Corporation, the Rural and Renewable Energy Agency, and the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission, alongside private sector and civil society stakeholders.

Mr. Nyei underscored that the stakes are high, stressing that the proposals developed in this phase will determine which interventions advance to full feasibility studies and eventual implementation under the MCC compact.

“The quality of the concept notes will determine our development trajectory,” he said.

Taken together, the positions of Liberia’s top government officials and private sector representatives are a clear signal for shift in development strategy, one that places electricity at the heart of economic transformation.

From reducing business costs and enabling industrial growth to improving everyday life, energy is being positioned not just as an infrastructure priority, but as the foundation of national progress.

Liberia’s first compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) focused on improving access to reliable and affordable electricity, including the rehabilitation of the Mount Coffee hydropower plant. Building on this foundation, Liberia has continued its partnership with the MCC as it moves forward with the development of a second compact. Liberia’s journey toward a second compact has seen steady progress over the past year.

The country became eligible for a second compact in 2024, but the process was briefly paused for US Government’s review of its development programs globally. In 2025, Liberia’s eligibility was reaffirmed, reflecting continued confidence in the country’s reform efforts and commitment to good governance. This set the stage for moving forward with the development of a new compact.

Since the reaffirmation, the compact development process has gained momentum with a renew focus on the energy sector, which Liberia selected as a top priority for economic growth and poverty reduction. In late February and early March 2026, an MCC mission visited Liberia and worked with the Government of Liberia (GoL), the private sector, and civil society, to carry out a root cause analysis of key challenges in the energy sector.

This was followed by a Gol delegation’s visit to Washington, D.C. in April 2026 to review the Gol’s proposed compact priorities with the MCC. The proposed priorities, with GOL high-level approval, will be developed into concept notes for presentation to the MCC. This event is the official launch of the concept notes development process, which marks an important step in developing clear and actionable projects for MCC funding.