Only three of the 378 planned interventions in Liberia’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID) were fully implemented between January and December 2025, according to a recent assessment by civil society watchdog Naymote Partners for Democratic Development, raising grave concerns about the program’s effectiveness and pace.
The yearly report depicts a picture of sluggish growth in several important areas, with ongoing shortcomings in service delivery, particularly in rural regions, and inconsistent outcomes in governance performance. Naymote believes that overall execution is still far short what is needed to accomplish the agenda’s aims by 2029, notwithstanding the government’s moderate progress in digital reforms.
The results show that the three finished interventions only make up 0.8% of the whole plan. 76 interventions, or 20.1 percent, have not yet started, while another 165 interventions, or 43.7 percent, are still underway. Regrettably, the lack of implementation data prevented the assessment of 134 interventions, or 35.4%. When considered together, the data shows that over half of the ARREST Agenda initiatives are still either unrated or unstarted.
The three completed treatments barely account for 0.8% of the whole plan, according to the results. While 165 interventions, or 43.7 percent, are currently in progress, 76 interventions, or 20.1 percent, have not yet begun. Unfortunately, 134 interventions, or 35.4%, could not be evaluated due to a lack of implementation data. When taken as a whole, the data indicates that more than half of the ARREST Agenda projects are still either unstarted or unrated.
Despite the overall slow pace, the report acknowledges areas where progress suggests political will and institutional capacity. Advances in initiatives such as the proposed war crimes court, the establishment of an office of the ombudsman, biometric national identification enrollment, and selected legislative reforms are cited as evidence that meaningful implementation is possible when priorities are clearly defined and resources aligned.
However, Naymote warns that the current rate of implementation is unsustainable. To meet its 2029 commitments, the government would need to increase its completion rate by at least 22 times. Without such acceleration, the majority of AAID targets are likely to be missed.
Naymote emphasises that while certain AAID efforts show a good move towards bolstering systems, increasing economic possibilities, and enhancing public accountability, these benefits are nevertheless brittle. As Liberia moves into the next cycle of the ARREST Agenda, the report serves as a warning that the agenda could fail to deliver on its promise of inclusive development for Liberians in the absence of prompt corrective actions, increased institutional capacity, and enforceable accountability mechanisms.
