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| NEWS ARTICLE |
Oct. 23, 2006
To support the efforts of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and form a strategic partnership between Marquette University and Liberia,
Provost Madeline Wake announced Monday that the university would grant a four-year, full-tuition scholarship beginning in fall 2007 to a
Liberian woman of the president’s choosing.
The announcement came at the conclusion of a ceremony at which Marquette President Robert A. Wild, S.J., conferred an honorary Doctor
of Laws degree on Johnson Sirleaf, noting her commitment to “ethical reform for the people of Liberia.”
Focusing on what has been accomplished in the 10 months since she took office but acknowledging that her country has a long way to go,
Johnson Sirleaf told a crowd of more than 700 students, faculty and community members that her African nation needs additional assistance
to “build a new Liberia from the ashes of an old and turbulent past to a future of hope and promise.”
“The challenges are so daunting and the needs and expectations of our people are so massive that the Government of Liberia cannot
satisfactorily respond by itself,” she said, citing the country’s high poverty rate, huge external debt and infrastructure needs. She said 75
percent of Liberians live below the poverty rate of $1 per day, with the majority of people unemployed or employed “in the informal sector.”
Johnson Sirleaf said that poverty reduction strategies in Liberia focus on “four pillars of reconstruction and development:” enhancing security
and consolidating the peace; revitalizing the economy; improving democratic governance; and improving the country’s social and physical
infrastructure.
Johnson Sirleaf, the first democratically elected female head of state in Africa, said her government had begun recruiting and training a new
army and was restructuring the police force to prepare for the withdrawal of U.N. forces. Decrying the corruption that preceded her
administration, the president said the judicial system is being reformed and a legal and regulatory framework is being developed. “We are
working towards decentralized decision-making and allocating appropriate resources to county and municipal governments to support
identified projects,” she said. “We are placing emphasis on empowering the people, especially the poor and vulnerable, to become active
participants in the development process.”
To rebuild the Liberian economy Johnson Sirleaf is concentrating on the nation’s natural resources, including forestry and mining, and
agricultural crops such as rubber. She advocates full universal primary education and adult literacy programs, noting that, “Education is
central to renewal and revitalization.” She also called for improving Liberia’s health facilities; only 10 percent of the population has access to
health care. She said roads, water and sanitation facilities and electrical systems all require improvement.
“We need to work together with both strong planning and rapid and effective implementation to ensure that we take advantage of this critical
moment in Liberia’s history to put the conflict to rest and speed the process of reconstruction and development,” Johnson Sirleaf said.
Read Her Excellency President Johnson Sirleaf's speech
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| Liberian president says additional help is needed |