US Ambassador to Liberia Mark Toner has reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Liberia’s energy sector during a recent tour of the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant.
According to a release by FrontpageAfrica, he expressed satisfaction with the progress made, highlighting the plant’s potential to attract significant foreign direct investment to Liberia.
Toner emphasized that the plant’s success will attract more investments, stating “Nothing attracts investment like success. What they’ve built here is a successful operation, and that is going to attract other investments”.
Toner, who assumed his role in August 2024, has been engaging with key government figures and institutions to gain insight into Liberia’s governance and development activities.
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During the tour, he was hosted by Monie Captan, CEO of the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), and visited key areas of the plant, including the intake, Substation Control Room, Spillway, and Centralized Control Center.
The Ambassador called for a relationship shift from assistance to strategic partnership, emphasizing Liberia’s need to move forward. He praised the progress made at Mount Coffee since Liberia’s civil war ended in 2003, citing it as a testament to Liberians’ resilience and capability in managing their own affairs.
Toner reiterated his focus on short- and medium-term goals for Liberia’s energy sector, committing to work with international partners like the World Bank.
The US government has been a key supporter of Liberia’s energy sector, particularly through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which signed a $257 million partnership agreement in 2015.
The agreement included funding for the rehabilitation of the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant, the development of a training center for electricity sector technicians, and the creation of an independent energy regulator.
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LEC CEO Monie Captan appealed for additional US support, including from the private sector, to enhance Liberia’s energy infrastructure.
Captan emphasized the need for sustainability, stating “The energy sector must be sustainable, and sustainability isn’t built through grants. We need businesses and independent power producers to come in.”
The World Bank has also highlighted the importance of reliable energy in fostering sustainable growth in Liberia, with its Liberia Economic Update report emphasizing the need for substantial investments to achieve universal energy access by 2030.
