MONROVIA, LIBERIA–A Liberian government delegation has arrived in Kigali, Rwanda, to study the East African country’s local governance system, as Liberia seeks practical lessons to strengthen decentralization and improve public service delivery across its 15 counties.

The delegation’s arrival marks the beginning of a study mission focused on understanding how Rwanda distributes administrative responsibilities, manages public finances and empowers local authorities to respond to the development needs of their communities.

However, the mission brings together senior government officials and technical experts from the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), the Liberia Revenue Authority, the Internal Audit Agency and the United Nations in Liberia.

During the visit, the Liberian team is expected to hold discussions with Rwandan policymakers, visit local government institutions and examine the country’s approaches to revenue generation, fiscal transfers, development planning and public accountability.

The visit comes as Liberia works to move decentralization from established laws and policies to practical results, particularly in ensuring that county and local authorities have the financial resources, technical capacity and decision-making powers needed to improve the lives of citizens.

Also, Liberia has established a legal foundation for decentralization through the Local Government Act of 2018 and the Revenue Sharing Law of 2022.

The government has also established a dedicated Ministry of Local Government and pursued public financial management reforms to strengthen local administration. Additionally, efforts are underway to expand treasury services to six counties, alongside plans for the construction of a dedicated treasury facility.

Despite these measures, effective implementation remains a key challenge, especially in ensuring that local authorities can access and manage resources to address the priorities of their respective communities.

Rwanda offers the delegation an opportunity to examine how local administration, public spending, revenue mobilization, and performance monitoring function in practice.

A major area of interest is Rwanda’s Imihigo performance contract system, which establishes measurable targets for public institutions and local authorities and assesses progress against agreed development commitments.

The Liberian delegation is also expected to explore Rwanda’s mechanisms for intergovernmental fiscal transfers, local revenue generation, county-level development planning and coordination between national and local government institutions.

Dr. Romeo Gbartea, head of the mission’s secretariat and Director for Fiscal Decentralization at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, said the exchange is intended to strengthen the technical capacity of Liberian policymakers and identify practical approaches that could be adapted to Liberia’s decentralization framework.

The mission includes consultations with policymakers, reviews of relevant laws and policies, field assessments and technical discussions with Rwandan counterparts.

Dr. Gbartea indicated that Liberia does not intend to replicate Rwanda’s system wholesale but rather to understand the approaches that support effective local governance and determine which lessons are suitable for Liberia’s legal, institutional and economic realities.

The visit is also expected to create opportunities for continued cooperation between Liberia and Rwanda in local governance, fiscal decentralization and public service delivery.

For Liberia, the central objective is to bring the government closer to the people, improve the management of public resources and ensure that development decisions reflect the needs of communities across the country.

The experience gained in Kigali is expected to inform Liberia’s ongoing decentralization efforts, particularly initiatives to strengthen local institutions, improve fiscal transfers and promote greater accountability in the use of public funds.

Ultimately, the success of the mission will depend on how effectively the lessons gathered in Rwanda are translated into reforms that deliver measurable improvements in governance and service delivery across Liberia’s 15 counties.