Listen to SDI Radio. This edition of Development Talk features a 30 minute interview with the founder of the Sustainable Development Institute discussing accountability, natural resources in Liberia and the ten years of Reforms in the Liberian Natural Resource Sector. The second part of the program features three managers at SDI reflecting on the tenth Anniversary, linking the discussion of SDI's ongoing work to the hostile comments made by the President of Liberia labelling NGOs as "Super-National Bodies" that are challenging state sovereignty.

Listen to the latest installment of our Radio Program Development Talk. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf stated that some NGOs have acted as "Super-national Bodies" that are undermining the sovereignty of the State. Several NGOs, particularly those that work in Land Rights and natural resources, feel that these statements are a politically opportune attacks that may make the relationship between government and civil society more tenuous and even hostile.

A number of weeks ago, there was a mass demonstration at the China Union concession by members of the Bong Mines community, as well as students from the area attending university in Monrovia. The demonstration became quite heated, with insults and physical abuse directed towards the Minister of Internal Affairs, Rep. Korpu Barclay, and the district commissioner. The demonstrators blocked the entrance to the China Union mine, stating that they refused to allow iron ore shipments to leave the area until the company fulfilled its social obligations.

Development Talk is the Sustainable Development Institute’s new radio program that aims to provide a platform for debate on development issues confronting Liberia and Liberians. Focusing on how decisions are made about natural resources and how those decisions impact on Liberians’ development aspirations, the program aims to sensitize the population and stimulate informed public debates on development challenges across the country.