"Liberians themselves must set the example for all who reside and operate in our country, a higher level of tax consciousness and compliance is required, especially on real property and personal income," President Sirleaf said.

Delivering her final Annual Message to the nation on Monday, the Liberian leader emphasized that Liberia still faces a high level of unverifiable domestic debt, on account of questionable vendor claims, as well as a large potential domestic debt surge arising from judicial decisions, adding, "This could lead to major spending cuts in priority areas."

President Sirleaf said as required by the Agenda for Transformation, the private sector which was designated as the engine of growth needs more support in capital and technology, noting, "Liberian business entities need support to make them the core private-sector actors.”

She maintained that although benefits have accrued from the 20 percent set aside for procurement, specifically for Liberian-owned businesses, government needs to think about additional measures aimed at encouraging Liberians to go into the business sector.

Towards this endeavor, the Liberian leader emphasized that, government needs to implement land rights policies and laws, as they are the only means to attract investment in large-scale agricultural operations which have export potential to earn the foreign exchange required to achieve diversification goals.

According to her, this will also define the rights of citizens who, by land ownership, will be able to access credit, thereby becoming active participants in investment and operations involving land.

President Sirleaf said this will also address negative consequences of labor problems which investors have faced.
LINA WSG/TSS/PTK