Liberia

Building an Inclusive, Responsive National Police Service: Gender-Sensitive Reform in Liberia, 2005-2011

Author
Laura Bacon
Country of Reform
Abstract

After Liberia’s 14-year civil war ended in 2003, the government began to overhaul its security sector. The Liberia National Police (LNP), whose capacity was ravaged and reputation tarnished during the war, sought to improve its services and build the community’s trust. Gender-sensitive reform at the LNP was high on President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s agenda, given low numbers of women in the security sector and high rates of sexual and gender-based violence. Between 2005 and 2011, LNP reformers Beatrice Munah Sieh, Asatu Bah-Kenneth, Vera Manly and others led innovative efforts to make the police service more inclusive and responsive. In particular, they sought to recruit female officers at a rapid pace and to launch a Women and Children Protection Section. By July 2011, although the police service still identified shortcomings in capacity and the justice system more broadly, it could boast an increased percentage of female officers (17%, compared with 2% in 2005), 217 specially trained officers deployed in 52 Women and Children Protection Section units across Liberia, more women in leadership positions, and improved responsiveness and public image. This case chronicles police reform in a post-conflict setting, examining the challenges of promoting diversity, building capacity, conducting community outreach and awareness, and delivering services to remote areas.

 
Laura Bacon drafted this case study on the basis of interviews she conducted in Monrovia, Liberia, in June and July 2011, interviews conducted by Arthur Boutellis in Monrovia in May 2008, and text prepared by Christine MacAulay. Case published April 2012. A companion piece, “Building Civilian Police Capacity: Post-Conflict Liberia,” addresses broader police reforms from 2003 to 2011. 
 
Associated Interviews:  David Beer, Paavani Reddy

Building Civil Service Capacity: Post-Conflict Liberia, 2006-2011

Author
Jonathan (Yoni) Friedman
Focus Area(s)
Country of Reform
Abstract

Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took office in January 2006 knowing she had much to do to rebuild her country. Liberia was one of the poorest nations in the world. A 14-year civil war had destroyed most of the country’s physical infrastructure. The health-care system had collapsed. Few people had jobs. Sirleaf had ambitious plans to develop Liberia’s economy, but she knew she would have to rebuild the government itself in order to move forward. Many skilled Liberians had fled during the war, and those who remained did not have access to regular schooling. Lack of training and experience at all levels of government, from ministers to office helpers, threatened the president’s ability to translate plans into action. But paralysis threatened to trigger popular discontent and might even reignite conflict. Sirleaf needed to recruit highly skilled people for top leadership positions and build capacity in the middle and lower ranks. Fast action was crucial—and every option available risked increasing levels of inequality and suspicion if not managed carefully. The president persuaded three distinguished Liberians to help her attract and develop talent. Minister of Finance Antoinette Sayeh was the first to arrive, followed by C. William Allen, who became director general of the Civil Service Agency, and Harold Monger, who led the Liberia Institute of Public Administration. During the next five years, that team recruited more than 200 highly skilled professionals, trained over a thousand civil servants, and made government a more attractive place to work. Although substantial gaps remained in 2011, the Liberian government was on its way to escaping a problem that often rekindled violence in other post-conflict countries.

 
Jonathan Friedman drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Monrovia, Liberia, during December 2010 and July 2011 and on interviews conducted by Summer Lopez in Monrovia during August 2008. Case published August 2012.
 
Associated Interviews:  Shadi Baki

Improving Decision Making at the Center of Government: Liberia's Cabinet Secretariat, 2009-2012

Author
Michael Scharff
Focus Area(s)
Country of Reform
Abstract
When Momo Rogers became director general of Liberia’s Cabinet Secretariat in June 2009, he thought the office could begin to support President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her team of ministers much more effectively than it had done previously. Cabinet offices generally aimed to improve the quality of decision making and coordination at the center of government. That function was especially important in Liberia, where President Sirleaf wanted to advance an ambitious development agenda—six years after the end of a protracted civil war—yet before Rogers stepped into his role, many Cabinet meetings were long and unfocused and often yielded few tangible results. For example, policy decisions reached in the Cabinet meetings were not often communicated to the people responsible for implementing policy. Moreover, the relevance of decisions about the government’s priorities was sometimes unclear even to those who had participated in the meetings. Recognizing those challenges, Sirleaf tasked Rogers with responsibility for making the office—and the Cabinet itself—work better. Rogers built a team at the Secretariat and introduced procedural changes like circulating agendas and policy papers in advance of Cabinet meetings. By 2012, the Cabinet was functioning more effectively: agendas circulated in advance, discussions were more focused, and the Secretariat followed up on action items agreed to in the meetings. But shortcomings remained, including a persistent need to improve the quality of policy proposals submitted to Cabinet.
 

Michael Scharff drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Monrovia, Liberia, and the United States in April and May 2012. Case published in September 2012. 

Associated Interview(s):  Momo Rogers

Bruce Baker

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Focus Area(s)
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1
Interviewers
Gordon Peake
Name
Bruce Baker
Interviewee's Position
Professor of African Security
Interviewee's Organization
Coventry University
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
British
Town/City
Coventry
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

Bruce Baker draws on his policing experience in a number of African countries.  He talks about community policing and the vital though sometimes controversial role of non-state security actors in areas where the police struggle to extend their authority.  He also discusses the intersection of non-state security groups and customary justice, and he offers reflections on donor and host-country partnerships.

Case Study:  Building Civilian Police Capacity: Post-Conflict Liberia, 2003-2011

Profile

At the time of this interview, Bruce Baker was a professor of African security and director of the African Studies Centre at Coventry University, U.K.  He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Sussex and master's and doctoral degrees from Coventry University in the U.K.  He has lectured at Coventry University and been a Research Fellow at Rhodes University in South Africa.  He ran research projects on security issues in a number of African countries and conducted research for government and private organizations in the U.K.  He wrote numerous articles and books, including "Escape from Domination in Africa: Political Disengagement and its Consequences" (James Curry, 2000), “Taking the Law into Their Own Hands: Lawless Law Enforcers in Africa” (Ashgate, 2002), and “Security in Post-Conflict Africa: The Role of Nonstate Policing” (Taylor and Francis, 2009). 

Full Audio File Size
34 MB
Full Audio Title
Bruce Baker - Full Interview

Mark Kroeker

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Focus Area(s)
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11
Critical Tasks
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Gordon Peake
Name
Mark Kroeker
Interviewee's Position
Former Police Commissioner
Interviewee's Organization
United Nations
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
United States
Town/City
New York
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
Yes
Abstract

Mark Kroeker, the former head of policing for the United Nations, draws on his experiences on policing missions in Liberia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haiti and other countries. He talks about the challenges of recruitment and other key functions after years of war have destroyed the institutional fabric of a society. He details the importance of anti-corruption strategies that focus on the positive aspects of integrity rather than the negatives of corruption, and he reflects on the immense challenges posed by vetting in low-information environments.  Kroeker also shares thoughts on mechanisms for integrating different factions into a unified police service.

Case Study:  Building Civilian Police Capacity: Post-Conflict Liberia, 2003-2011

Profile

Mark Kroeker served as the civilian police adviser in the United Nations' Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the top policing post in the U.N.  His other U.N. posts included that of police commissioner for the U.N.'s mission in Liberia and deputy commissioner of operations for the U.N. International Police Task Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  He was also chief of police in Portland, Oregon, and consulted for the U.S. Department of Justice in Haiti.  He was also a member of U.S. police development projects in Rwanda and Burundi.  He came to international policing after a 32-year career with the police department of Los Angeles, California.
 

Full Audio File Size
32 MB
Audio Subsections
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2MB
Title
Mark Kroeker on Recruitment
Full Audio Title
Mark Kroeker - Full Interview

Dan Hymowitz

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2
Critical Tasks
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Michael Scharff
Name
Dan Hymowitz
Interviewee's Position
Program Manager
Interviewee's Organization
Philanthropy Secretariat
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
American
Town/City
Princeton, NJ
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
In this interview, Dan Hymowitz discusses the creation of Liberia’s Philanthropy Secretariat, a unit in the Office of the President designed to attract and coordinate philanthropic funding across sectors in Liberia. Hymowitz notes that the idea for a Philanthropy Secretariat took root in the wake of a prolonged civil war, in which Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, eager to rebuild, sought to match foundation funding with local organizations that were addressing her top priorities. Hymowitz discusses the critical steps that ensured the early success of the Philanthropy Secretariat: namely, support from the President, a dedicated staff led by a high level civil servant who won the respect of donors, and a group of funders eager to support the President’s efforts to rebuild.  
 
Profile
From 2008 to 2009, Hymowitz was Special Assistant to Mr. Natty Davis, then Minister of State without Portfolio, through the Scott Family Fellows Program. Hymowitz’s position gave him access to the discussions between the government and foundations and the opportunity to develop the Philanthropy Secretariat as both sides brainstormed the creation of a government office dedicated to working with foundations. From 2009 to 2011 he was the program manager for Liberia’s Philanthropy Secretariat. In these positions, he played a central role in planning Liberia’s 2008 Partners’ Forum, which raised nearly $300 million in foreign assistance. Dan Hymowitz holds a master’s degree of Public Policy from UC Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University. 
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80 MB
Full Audio Title
Dan Hymowitz - Full Interview

Momo Rogers

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Focus Area(s)
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1
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Michael Scharff
Name
Momo Rogers
Interviewee's Position
Director General
Interviewee's Organization
Cabinet Secretariat, Liberia
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Liberia
Town/City
Monrovia
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

Momo Rogers describes his work as Director General of Liberia’s Cabinet Secretariat. He traces the changes he made to improve the cabinet’s processes and his office’s relationships with the ministers. Staff from the African Governance Initiative (AGI) helped throughout the work he describes. His first order of business for the new ministry was shortening cabinet meetings. He implemented processes such as including indicative timing in the meeting’s agenda, producing a manual for cabinet ministers, and improving communication with the cabinet, and he details each change in this interview. By providing two to five page summaries of the lengthy policy documents, Rogers says he helped the cabinet ministers be more prepared for their meetings, make their work more efficient. As he explains, he improved the communication between the Cabinet Secretariat and the ministers by utilizing email and text messaging as well as by establishing personal relationships. He describes the trust and positive working relationships he set up, and how these contribute to his working and the cabinet’s overall functioning. For the future of the Cabinet Secretariat, Rogers hopes in addition to maintain their role as a facilitator, his office can be more involved in policy planning, particularly the early stages. In describing his own work, he talks about fostering a positive, productive relationship between the president and the cabinet and between the president and him, which he says improves as he becomes more familiar with those with whom he works.     

Case Study: Improving Decision Making at the Center of Government: Liberia's Cabinet Secretariat, 2009-2012

Profile

Momo Rogers was Director General of the Cabinet Secretariat at the time of this interview, after President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf called him to this position in 2009. Prior to this homecoming, Rogers was a journalism professor at several U.S. institutions, including Middle Tennessee State University and Delaware State College (now Delaware State University). He had previously taught at the University of Liberia, where he developed the department of Mass Communication. Early in his career he worked at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism. He received his doctorate in journalism and mass communication from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, with an emphasis on international communication and media history. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from Ohio State and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Lincoln University.       

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