VZCZCXRO5753
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHMV #0612/01 2201654
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071654Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY MONROVIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0253
INFO RUEATRA/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

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 
 
MONROVIA 00000612  002 OF 002 
 
 
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