MOTORCYCLE TAXIS, SELF-EMPLOYMENT AND GOL BANNING: A PEDESTRIAN REVIEW-By Seltue Karweaye

Pem –Pem ( also known as pen-pen or pehn-pehn) is a local parlance for commercial motorcycle taxis in Liberia, where public transportation is non-existent, traffic snarls up in Monrovia, and its environ and potholes mark most roads. The privately owned motorcycle taxis are the main mode of transport throughout the country and are considered especially useful in secondary and rural roads where public transport service is not available. The motorcyclist taxi drivers are mostly ex-combatants who fought during the Liberian civil war. At the end of the civil war, many of the combatants had not had any education, but had to find a means of living. As they engaged in the process of disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation, and reintegration, many of the ex-combatants became pen-pen drivers. Since most of the roads were destroyed during the civil war, pen-pen riding became a useful way of transportation. As of 2012, there were around 500,000 drivers in the country, according to Liberia’s Ministry of Transport. During the 2011 Presidential election, politicians even use the pehn pehn drivers in their campaign. President Sirleaf ruling Unity Party went as far as issuing helmets and vests to the Pem-Pem riders. The Pem-Pem riders were behind Madam Sirleaf and UP campaign team everywhere they went to campaign, then they were not armed robbers and they were not riding recklessly and causing accidents. After the 2011 election and in 2013 the Liberian government banned the operation of these commercial bikes on the major roads of Liberia. So why now? The news of this bans has not gone down well with Pem-Pem drivers, and reactions have echoed in Monrovia. According to BBC, Police set up roadblocks at key intersections to enforce the ban forcing hundreds of commuters to walk to work in Monrovia. Is this the solution to the Problem? Is quick fix solution the Answer? Are these actions from GOL going to lead to more unemployment in our society? Can GOL work out the necessary mechanisms in assisting city motorcycle taxis driver seek employment? Is GOL action going to lead to increase crime rate in Monrovia and its environs? Unemployment and poverty are two basic problems plaguing Post-War Liberia recovery. High rate of unemployment especially among the youths in Liberia is as prevalent as the rate of under employed which are the major factors responsible for low standard of living in Liberia. Poverty is, therefore, widespread both in the cities and urban areas in Liberia. For instance, Liberia was known to have been ranked as one of the middle-income, rubber and iron ore countries in the late 1970s, but her ranking plummeted to that of one of the lowest-income countries in the early 1990s and 2000s. Liberia is one of the poorest of the poor among the nations of the world, confronted, not just with pockets of poverty, disadvantaged or marginalized areas, groups and individuals but with the situation in which most of the population exists at standards of living below those required for full development and enjoyment of individual and societal well-being. In her effort to create jobs for the unemployed and promote economic growth, the Government of Liberia put in place a number of economic reform programs which have very minimal impacts on employment creation, poverty reduction and growth of the national economy. In order to provide them with means of support, many of the unemployed have no choice but to exploit the income and self or casual employment opportunities in the informal sector of the economy. The informal sector has thus become a major provider of employment especially in developing and transitional economies. The types of work available in the informal economy are diverse and multifarious. It stretches from casual and unstable employment like garbage picking, street trading, domestic help, and so on; to self-employment as master-craftsman in any given trade. While many articles have been written about the employment generation potentials of the informal sector in Liberia post conflict Liberia; not much is known to have been carried out on the income and employment generation as well as the poverty reduction implications of commercial motorcycle taxi (popularly called ‘Pem-Pem’) operations. The purpose of this article is to critically analyze how informal Pem-Pem transport mode has contributed to income, employment generation and poverty reduction in selected Liberia. Poverty is a multidimensional concept. The World Bank defines it as ‘pronounced deprivation in well-being’, some Scholars maintains that poverty describes a state of ‘lack of key capabilities which may be income or education, or poor health, or insecurity or low self-confidence or a sense of powerlessness, or the absence of rights such as freedom of speech.’ In the empirical literature, poverty has been measured in terms of consumption or level of income. A person is, therefore, regarded poor if she/he lives below a certain level of consumption or income. The World Development Report reported that 63.8% of Liberians are living below the international poverty line of $1 per day. One important contributory factor to poverty is the dearth of formal employment to absorb the rural-urban migrants as well as graduates from the educational system that are unemployed and seeking wage work in the urban informal sector. For Liberia, the rate of unemployment has been on the rise while various policy measures aimed at restructuring the economy has destroyed more jobs than it created. The global economic crisis has also worsened the employment situation as massive layoff became inevitable as aggregate demand plummeted. An important implication of high unemployment rate in the formal sector is the rapid growth of the informal labor market that is characterized by earnings flexibility and hence high absorptive capacity for labor. In other words, both earnings and employment level in the informal sector behave in the neo-classical tradition, and this makes the sector an employer of last resort for most workers who would have otherwise remained unemployed in the formal sector. Thus, the informal sector has become a source of employment generation, and hence a means of fighting poverty by many innovative micro-entrepreneurs in Liberia. The commercial motorcycle taxis operations is a source of employment and income for many Liberian youths and this has shown the importance of the informal sector in the labor absorption process in the urban informal sector of Liberia. If you do an earnings’ analysis, I am sure it will confirm that the majority of operators are earning more than the (then) minimum wage, and that, perhaps has made the sector be attractive to many educated youths (even up to University level) who would have remained openly unemployed. Many of the operators are former combatant whole some are non-combatant that have acquired some technical skills prior to their engagement in the Pem-Pem riding business while some of them are graduates of universities who had to get involved in auto-cycle riding due to lack of desired formal sector employment. For those with previous skill training, the lack of financial resources to set up own enterprises is the main reason for their involvement in Pem-Pem riding. Some had viewed the position of the government as noble and laudable, no matter the circumstances. This is especially in view of the nature of Pem-Pem riders generally in Monrovia and presents the argument: they are simply irresponsibly and reckless. Indeed, the Pem- Pem riders are the most unsafe means of transportation in Monrovia considering the manner of riders: wear a flimsy plastic helmet, which hardly protects the head from the impact on the road in the event of a crash, or no helmets in some cases. Also, the riders are barely well kitted in such a manner that if they fall off the bike they will be protected from burns, injuries, etc. This is all the more so as the riders compete with the vehicles for the space on the roads. Worse still, these riders are so reckless that they do all kinds of death wish to ride that the one wonders whether they have regard for life at all. No doubt, the nature of job provided has been shown to be risky given the rate of accidents reported. Apart from the fatalities, the injuries sustained by such accidents are so terrible that people are denied the use of their legs or hands. They either have to be in casts or use crutches, or even spend months in the hospital just because of the recklessness of o Pem-Pem riders. From my personal experience: the riders would see a tiny space between cars and they would just go in between unannounced such that the drivers of the vehicles do not even know they are about to come in. Also, they would even go between articulated trucks or trailers and so on. Thus, quite a number have caused accidents for car owners, etc. Regrettably, this has led to deaths of so many riders of the Pem-Pem and their passengers. Unfortunately, when one tells them that they should be careful some will tell you that you are a scared cat. They would even say they have been riding for so many years, and as such nothing will happen to them, worse still, some would say that you only live once. But then, is that enough reason to take life anyhow. What then happens to people who have wives, children, etc. at home? Indeed, this recklessness is seen mostly among the young riders, especially of the northern extraction, who are quite a nuisance both to other vehicles on the road and their passengers. These riders don’t recognize road rules; they just ride as they deem fit: to them everything goes, and they just ride obliviously of others but whom do you blame? Is it the Pem-Pem riders or the agency of government that issue the license? Pem-Pem drive doesn’t go for riding lessons, know the road rules, and go for a test and so on. They simply get approve because of the cold water syndrome in Liberia. This is why there are so many of them on the roads, and on some major roads they are like a swarm of bees in movement. Thus, they are always struggling with vehicles etc., on the roads to overtake, and from the wrong side of the road, etc. Also, the authorities do not bother to verify whether such person is fit psychologically or physically to operate on the roads. It is for these reasons that people lives are put at risk. Effective safety education and improvement in the enforcement of all safety measures by the relevant authorities are important to reduce the already high accident and fatality rates arising from Pem-Pem operations. In addition to safety education is the need for more rigorous enforcement of licensing requirement for the operators to ensure that only those that are qualified are certified as commercial riders. Though the commercial motorcycle operation provides a fast means of transportation in the usual urban traffic hold-up as well as provide motor access to areas linked with bad and often flooded motorways (especially during the long rainy season in Monrovia) yet the importance of safety cannot be overemphasized. For one, the ban on bikes on major road has come at a time when there seems to be endless incidences of public transportation scarcity in Monrovia. And this has contributed to the madding traffic situation in Monrovia in terms of shortages, etc. So the government should perhaps have waited for the situation to normalize. Importantly, concerning the economy of these riders, who for most of them, riding is their only means of survival. The alternative sources of income have to be made available before such a ban comes on such people. After all, they have been experiencing a particular standard of living which has suddenly been upset by the ban. Therefore, the question is raised: is there enough facility available for these people to earn a business or get a decent job in Liberia? For most of them, they cannot do anything apart from artisan work. They can’t really get any job that would give enough to keep them and their families. Indeed, I am aware that these riders can look after their families and still save at least monies per month .This will not be possible with the minimum wage in Liberia. So, for there to be alternatives, it must be such that gives these ones a decent income monthly. Otherwise, the implication for the public is that the rise in crime in terms of burglary’s, armed robbery, muggings and so on should be anticipated. And indeed, the citizenry or populace will be worst hit. This prospect has tremendously incensed the public against the government as they recognize that they are within the region of these people and do not have any means of real security, as opposed to the high end people have good security. There was a time in Monrovia that people in traffic would have their phones, wallets, bags, etc. dispossessed, and people could hardly do much about it. We can’t afford to go back to those days! The onus therefore lies with the riders. The ball is in their court. So they should, rather than react violently to the situation or get themselves into some real order, and make a case to the government. After all, the transportation problem in Monrovia without the Pem-Pem is such that there are not enough options for the populace. And this is borne out of the complex of demand outstripping supply as well as poor transportation system in Liberia

Understanding Liberia’s Debt Relief – by Seltue Karweaye

As a Liberian, I was filled with joy when I read that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) have decided to SUPPORT US$4.6 billion of debt relief for Liberia. I was discussing with a friend of mine on the debt relief issue and his response was “our country was awarded debt relief by the international Financial Institutions (IFIs) and so what?” Indeed many other Liberians are asking similar questions given the high expectations that had been created by senior Government officials on the possible benefits to Liberia of reaching the Completion Point and getting debt cancellation in the amount of US $4.6 billion. These questions are many and need candid answers from all of us but particularly from Government. For instance, what does the Debt Relief really mean for a Liberian man, woman and child? What are the current debt levels after the Completion Point? What are the specific timelines for the delivery of debt relief to Liberia by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the other creditors? Is debt relief part of direct budget support? Is there conditionality attached to the HIPC and the G8 debt relief packages? How can Liberia avoid another debt trap in future? Brief History of IFIs Dealing With Liberia In the 1960s and 1970s, Liberia debt was largely incurred by corrupt, unaccountable regimes. Many loans were officially targeted toward large, wasteful infrastructure projects, but often the money went into the pockets of the top 100 or 200 people surrounding the regime leaders and ended up in private Swiss bank or American accounts back in the first world. Much of the Liberia’s total external debt of US$ 4.6 billion is from accrued interest on the original loans or on refinanced versions of them. Over a period of just over four years, between September 1980 and December 1984, the IFIs approved no less than five stand-by agreements with the Doe’s military dictatorship, the then Liberian government under the Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP). As a consequence of these agreements, outstanding credit (excluding Trust Fund loans) of the IMF to Liberia increased from 30 Million in 1979, to a peak of about 121 Million by the end of 1984. These loans provided by the IMF were short-term loans issued on non-concessional terms. For a tiny country like Liberia, the loans were large-scale in size. These loans were accompanied by rigid schedules for repayment, and rapidly led to the emergence of arrears on repayment of the given debts. The effect of these loans in my opinion was to significantly increase Liberia’s external dependence. The country had been drawing on the IMF’s finance since the early 1960s, the stand-by-arrangements of 1980-1984 importantly increased the country’s dependence on the world financial institution. Further, it needs to be noted that the stand-by-arrangements dramatically failed to achieve their principal target, namely to support the country’s economic growth. Liberia in the past had witnessed high growth rates, for instance in the decade of the 1950s. For example, the IMF projected a positive growth rate for Liberia as a consequence of its proposed stabilization measures, agreed under the stand-by-arrangements, Liberia saw a decline in its real GDP (Gross Domestic Product) averaging 3.6 percent per year between 1980 and 1985. The cumulative decline in real GDP, according to the author Mills-Jones, amounted to more than 18 percent between 1980 and 1985. There is thus a pressing need to analyze why the Liberian government failed to achieve the IMF’s targets, and understand whether the then military government of Liberia is to be blamed, or the IMF, or perhaps both before Liberian get in another trouble. The negative growth rate throughout the period when stand-by-arrangements were signed brings out that these arrangements did not help the Liberian economy to resume its process of growth. Liberian economy suffered from the same kind of external constraints that affected many other Third World countries in the given period. From the late 1970s onwards, the terms of trade for most raw materials traded by Third World countries on the world market fell, and this was also true for the raw materials on which Liberia depended at the time, i.e. rubber and iron ore. Moreover, contrary to Middle Eastern countries possessing rich oil and natural gas resources; and similar to other Less Developed Countries (LDCs) which are exporters of non-fuel raw materials, Liberia was dependent on the importation of oil, the price of which skyrocketed at the time of the second oil shock in 1979, i.e. on the eve of the first stand-by-arrangement. Thus, throughout the years when Liberia implemented the IMF’s prescriptions, the country’s terms of trade deteriorated. This again is brought out well by the chart on the terms of trade published alongside Mills Jones’ essay on structural adjustment programs and Liberia. The IMF’s prescriptions were aimed at helping the Liberian government to ‘stabilize’ the situation through a combination of measures. On the one hand the measures included devaluations, which presumably would help to stimulate the exports of raw materials. On the other hand, the government was also put under pressure to achieve a better budget balance (Sound like the HIPC Initiatives right?). Neither of these prescriptions, however, bore the country convincing results. The second half of the 1970s, the budgetary surplus of $ 3.4 million in 1975 turned into a deficit of $ 16 million in 1976. The deficit reached the figure of $ 141 million by 1979. And the problem worsened under the IMF’s structural adjustment programs of 1980-1984. According to Mills- Jones, the budget deficit was higher in 1985 than it had been in 1980, and was equivalent to more than 12% of Liberia’s GDP. The ineffectiveness of the IMF’s policies towards Liberia was clearly stated by Mills-Jones, the biased nature of the prescriptions of the IFIs was revealed in his analysis. Mill-Jones revealed in his publication that the Liberian government was obliged to undertake certain measures. Firstly, these measures included savings and taxation schemes, such as a compulsory national savings scheme, a national reconstruction tax and higher excise taxes, proposals which targeted Liberian citizens, instead of Liberia’s foreign concession-holder. This was a grave injustice to the Liberian people, as research undertaken by the Dutch academician van der Kraaij brings out crystal clear. In his comprehensive investigation of the role of concessions in the Liberian economy completed in 1983, van der Kraaij argues that the Liberian treasurer lost potential revenues of nearly $ 300 million during the period from 1975 to 1979. According to him, $60 million or 40% of the average annual domestic revenue was foregone in consequence of poor taxation policies vis-à-vis foreign companies. Secondly, the austerity measures imposed by the IMF also comprised cuts in the salaries of state employees. And the cuts were major cuts. They amounted from 16 2/3% up to 25% in January, 1983. From the IMF’s ideological point of view these cuts may have seemed a very logical step. The IMF believed and believes that the role which government institutions play in Southern economies should be restricted, and that bureaucracies need to be ‘slimmed’. Yet whereas the salary cuts obviously served to weaken the morale of Liberia’s civil servants, they did not serve to strengthen the key function which Liberia’s state functionaries were supposed to play, namely to oversee the activities of the foreign concession holders. Liberia’s bureaucracy suffered from management deficiencies, the deficiencies were most marked with regard to supervision of the operations of the foreign concession holders present in Liberia. A close review of the structure of the Liberian economy at the beginning of the 1980s, then, brings out that the IMF’s structural adjustment policies were not only ineffectual and helped aggravate the crisis which the Liberian economy already was suffering from. It also brings out that these policies were heavily biased against the interests of the Liberian people, and were implicitly biased in favor of the foreign concession holders. Liberia’s ‘Open Door Policy’, under which foreign companies were granted ample privileges – tax exemptions, the freedom to repatriate profits, etc., was exceptionally lenient towards multinationals investing in the Liberian economy. Instead of addressing these biases in policymaking, the IMF designed policies which precisely played into the hands of the concession holders. In short ill-designed structural adjustment measures contributed tremendously towards the downslide of the Liberian economy in the decade preceding the outbreak of civil war. They distinctly contributed to the dramatic collapse of the Liberian state in 1989. Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiatives In 1996, the World Bank and IMF launched the HIPC Initiative to create a framework in which all creditors, including multilateral creditors, can provide debt relief to the world’s poorest and most heavily indebted countries, and thereby reduce the constraints on economic growth and poverty reduction imposed by the debt-service burdens in these countries. One measure used to reach debt sustainability in HIPCs has been the HIPC Initiative. The Initiative was modified in 1999 to provide three key enhancements: 1. Deeper and Broader Relief- external debt thresholds were lowered from the original framework. As a result, more countries have become eligible for debt relief and some countries have become eligible for greater relief; 2. Faster Relief- a number of creditors began to provide interim debt relief immediately at the “decision point.” Also, the new framework permitted countries to reach the “completion point” faster; and 3. Stronger Link between Debt Relief and Poverty Reduction- freed resources were to be used to support poverty reduction strategies developed by national governments through a broad consultative process. The Monterrey Conference in Mexico in 2002 called for “continued efforts to reduce the debt burden of heavily indebted countries to sustainable levels”. Up to now, 35 countries have started the program and 22 sub-Saharan African countries have reached completion point. Liberia accessed the Initiatives in 2008 after reaching the Decision Point. The country further reached the Completion Point in June 2010 after an “on-off-on-off” experience with the IMF and the World Bank prescribed policies. The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) HIPC states. The G7 Finance Ministers (G8 minus Russia) agreed in principle to write off US$40 billion to US$55 billion of nominal debts mainly owed to the World Bank, the IMF and African Development Fund (AFDF). The MDRI is meant to free up additional resources for Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to make particular efforts in Africa, which on current rates of progress will not meet any of the MDGs by 2015. The G8 debt cancellation proposal through the MDRI attempts to do three major things: 1. Pledges to unlock resources urgently needed in selected HIPC countries for poverty reduction and development in general; 2. Pledges to deliver US$25 billion in foreign aid to mostly Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by 2010; 3. Pledges to relieve by 100 percent 18 post- HIPC countries of their heavy multilateral debts. Special Features of the MDRI First, cancellation is done upfront and so is irrevocable 100 percent write-off of IDA, AFDF, and the IMF debt stocks for HIPCs that have reached (or once they reach) the Completion Point. Second, for the IDA and the AFDF, additional resources would be provided by donors to ensure that their financial capacity is preserved, with resources being allocated across all low-income countries (LICs), whether post–completion point HIPCs, pre-completion point HIPCs or non-HIPCs. This is in accordance with the existing modalities of implementing performance-based allocations (PBAs). It is worth noting that the MDRI provides a framework that commits to achieve two objectives: deepening debt relief to HIPCs while safeguarding the long-term financial capacity of IDA and the AFDF; and encouraging the best use of additional resources for development by allocating them to Low-income countries on the basis of policy performance. Debt relief to be provided under the MDRI will be in addition to existing debt relief commitments by IDA and other creditors under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative. Potentially, up to 46 countries could benefit from the debt cancellations under the MDRI and these are: 18 post-completion HIPCs (14 in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and 4 in Latin America). These have fulfilled certain conditions on macroeconomic management, poverty reducing strategies (PRS) implementation and public expenditure management (PEM). So far the MDRI has generated a lot of interest among HIPC countries as they see it as the final effort by creditors to entirely relieve them of their heavy debt burdens. Magnitude and Composition of Debt Cancellation Under MDRI Concerning the magnitudes of the debt cancellation, cumulative debt servicing obligations of the 38 HIPCs entailed by the G8 cancellation initiative has been estimated (assuming debt outstanding and disbursed as at end-2004 would be eligible for cancellation) to be US$42.5 billion in respect of IDA. For the AFDF and the IMF, debts to be cancelled under the MDRI stand at US$9.1 billion and US$6 billion respectively. For the 18 post-completion point HIPCs, the amount stands at US$30.3 billion for IDA and US$4 billion for the IMF credits. Categories of Liberia Debts To Be Cancelled According to the IMF press release No. 10/267 dated June 29, 2010, IMF and the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) have decided to support US$4.6 billion of debt relief for Liberia: 1. The IMF will provide debt relief of US$730 million—the IMF’s biggest ever HIPC contribution for a single country; 2. The World Bank’s IDA will provide debt relied of US$374million; 3. The African Development Bank will provide debt relief of US$17.2 million; 4. EU Special Debt Relief Initiative has already written US$ 0.9 Million of Liberia debt. Under the MDRI Arrangement: The IMF is expected to deliver SDR117.4 million or US$173 million to Liberia under the MDRI debt relief package. This will be financed by resources in the HIPC Umbrella Account, the Special Disbursement Account (SDA), and bilateral contributor resources in the Subsidy Account of the PRGF Trust. Part of the cost will finance through the HIPC Initiative; the incremental cost is about (Special Drawing Rights) SDR 2.1 billion” (See IMF Website i.e. www.imf.org). Please note that different creditors have devised different cut-off dates for debts. Issues of Conditionalities and Timelines Is the picture on debt relief for Liberia really rosy? A critical analysis of the current debt relief measures reveals that debt cancellation is not automatic, even for the existing 18 post-Completion Point countries that would be required to go through some final and one-time checks. As a Liberian student I am very concerned that Liberia and other poor countries will still continue to implement trade and economic liberalization policies before they can receive debt relief from the multilateral creditors. For instance, the post Completion Point HIPCs will only receive their debt relief under the MDRI if performance in three “key completion point areas” has not deteriorated since reaching Completion Point. This means that Liberia and other HIPC ‘graduates’ will be assessed regarding: 1. Satisfactory macroeconomic performance under an IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) program or its equivalent, as assessed by the IMF staff; 2. Satisfactory implementation of their poverty reduction strategies (PRS), as assessed jointly by the World Bank and IMF staff; and 3. The existence of a public expenditure management (PEM) system that meets minimum standards for governance and transparency in the use of public resources, as assessed by the World Bank staff. If Liberia lapsed in any of these three areas, debt relief under the MDRI would be delivered only after the World Bank Board determines that appropriate remedial steps had been taken. When these actions are implemented, all three criteria would be re-assessed to determine eligibility for debt relief. The IMF, has, however, waived this requirement and has already delivered most of its relief under the MDRI arrangement. As a development practitioner, I strongly believe that stringent measures tied to debt relief are likely to dilute potential positive impacts of donor aid. For example, debt relief conditionality essentially means a strong control of Liberia economy by the IMF and the World Bank. The MDRI especially for Completion Point HIPCs means further calls for free market reforms, budget cuts in order to control inflation, promotion of financial and trade liberalization, strict adherence to macroeconomic stability, etc. The deal in its current form falls far short of what is needed on debt (deeper and broader cancellations), aid (more and better aid) and trade (fair trade and not free trade) and also ignores the flight of capital in Liberia or African economies. The new money promised by the G8 can be likened to pouring small cups of water into a bucket when what were needed were jugs full. What is more, the G8 failed to notice that the bucket is leaking. The time frame for any public policy in Liberia should be determined by the gravity and urgency of the situation it is meant to redress. Current debt relief packages do not seem to be moved by desperate poverty situations in many HIPC countries as can be seen by their lengthy delivery periods. What most Liberian failed to realized is that our debt relief is not automatically but will spread over a number of years. Most developing countries that completed the HIPC (UGANDA, GHANA, Tanzania, Mozambique, etc.) debt relief spread for number of year e.g., 20 years, for the World Bank, 3-5 years for the IMF and 14 years for the African Development Bank (AfDB). Will Debt Relief Benefit Liberia? Liberia still owes bi-lateral debt to the Paris Club, which represents many European creditors. We need to meet the Paris Club and ask some of their members to forgive their bi-lateral debt. The benefit of the HIPC decision is that Liberia can become credit-worthy again and secure sensible, manageable loans to pay for development projects if necessary. The attainment of the HIPC completion point debts in most African countries a number of economic phenomena and key among them is the appreciation of the local currency. A trend analysis of selected post-HIPC countries such as Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique reveals that they all experienced an appreciation of their local currencies against major convertible currencies. Other factors behind the appreciation of according to the analyses , are the increased donor inflows, increased foreign direct investment portfolios, reduced demand for foreign exchange by government (government no longer requires huge sums of forex in order to service foreign debt since a significant portion of it was cancelled at Completion Point), and international businesses moving into these countries due to attractive interest rates on government securities—treasury bills and bonds. I am not go in the ‘pros and cons’ of a strengthening our local currency because I already wrote about the effect of capital flight in Liberia but merely will make very general observations. Why are we still using two legal currency (one been the Liberian Dollar and the other been the US Dollar? For instance, Liberia had always pursued an export-led development strategy. What does this mean? This means that the economy is to be anchored on the promotion of exports to generate the required revenues for development. How is this to occur when the exporters have become ‘victims’ of a strengthening local currency and thus are getting less and less for each ‘Dollar earned through exports? Isn’t the Liberian government contradicting itself by pursuing an export-led strategy while at the same time eroding its very foundations through an appreciation? How do we strike a delicate balance between a genuine need to have a strong currency and the desire to promote exports? How did Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique and Ghana, etc handle their appreciations without destroying their export competitiveness? While debt relief is generally meant to help in fighting poverty, however, it is sad to note that rich countries continue to protect their firms to help them maintain a firm grip on international markets but are not allowing poor countries (including Liberia) to do the same. Farmers and producers in rich countries get government subsidies to overproduce goods and then sell them cheaply (dump) in poor countries thus putting African farmers and manufacturers out of business. There need for fair trade and greater access to markets in rich countries for the exports of Low-income Countries (LICs)’ goods and services. If this is done and done now trade could generate substantial gains in real incomes and thus reduce poverty in Liberia and Africa in general. Without addressing current trade imbalances in the international arena, all efforts aimed at promoting trade for development in poor countries will not yield much in terms of tangible results. The Risk of Liberia Sliding Back Into the Debt Trap The risk of Liberia sliding back into the debt trap due to lack of adequate legal, administrative and institutional checks and balances in the decision-making processes is real. Fiscal space created by debt cancellations should not be used to acquire unnecessary new loans that might lead to debt unsustainability again. It is for this reason that I am calling upon government to implement prudent loan contraction procedures with Parliamentary oversight. Parliament need to form or amend authorization for loan from IFIs. The current on the book empowers the Executive Branch through Minister of Finance without parliamentary approval to contract foreign loans. This is a recipe for economic and financial mismanagement. Parliament also need to enact a Debt Reform Plan which should clearly be link to the human needs-based debt sustainability analysis and a host of other international civil society organizations involved in the debt cancellation campaigns. Basically, the human needs- based should calls for frameworks that go beyond economic indicators to the inclusion of social indicators in determining levels of debts that Liberia should be allowed to carry. Policymakers in Liberia should bear in mind that reaching debt relief or sustainability without addressing fundamental problems of trade access and financial capacity of HIPC, will not resolve Liberia developmental challenges. I am calling for the parliament to enact a plan called the Debt Reform Plan. I am also calling on the Constitutional Review Commission (if any) on the need to put constitutional restraints on foreign borrowings through Parliamentary oversight. As debt relief began trickling into Liberia, my position is that the current debt initiatives are not a substitute for total debt cancellation demands anchored on clear monitoring and evaluative mechanisms. When you fight debt without resolving corruption and monitoring how funds are used, you cannot get far. In Liberia, corruption wide spread and is a function of poverty and a loose societal value system. There is therefore need for the Liberian Government to target more resources at areas that directly eradicate poverty. The Liberian Government should equally strengthen its investigative arms such as the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) while at the same time ensuring that the Auditor General’s office is capacitated to be able to carry out audits of government accounts in an efficient and effective manner without executive branch intervening. It is also important for the Liberia Government and non-state actors to work together to ensure that debt relief is properly utilized and accounted for in a transparent manner. The Way Forward From the foregoing and as Liberian, I put forward the following policy recommendations: 1. There is urgent need to reform the international financial institutions (IFIs) and make them more democratic to include poor countries like Liberia in their decision-making processes; 2. Debt relief should immediately be delivered to other deserving African countries without further delays; 3. The donors should quickly make their pledges available to the IMF, IDA and the AFDF to enable them begin effective implementation of the MDRI debt relief package; 4. Future aid to poor countries like Liberia should be delivered on predictable terms and in a transparent manner; 5. There is need to broaden the list of debt relief recipient African countries, not based on stringent conditionality but based on unique country situations; 6. Debt relief should be aligned to national development plans and priorities within the context of country budgets; 7. The Liberian Government should develop a set of monitorable indicators to be able to measure impacts of aid and debt relief on development; 8. The Government should move towards full information disclosure on public finance to make monitoring by stakeholders much easier; 9. The Government should use debt relief resources to increase investment outlays in the social and physical infrastructure; 10. The Government should quickly move towards parliament in implementation of the proposed loan contraction procedure that includes parliamentary oversight; 11. As much as possible, Government should go for grants instead of loans; 12. As much as is possible, Government should desist from contracting foreign loans without a clear exit strategy; 13. Debt relief alone will not significantly respond to the problems of low income countries like Liberia unless this is tied to a reform of the international trade arena—to make trade fair. 14. Liberian Government needs to meet with the Paris Club to seek bi-lateral debt cancellation from some of their members.

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s Choices in 2014

According to the recent World Bank report, Liberia is nation of over 3 million people without electricity with 0.58% of those living in the country having access to it, far below the regional average of 28.5% and possibly the lowest rate of access to public electricity in the world (FURTHER READING). In Monrovia, electricity is currently supplied by massive generators using expensive high-speed diesel oil that drives the cost of power up to $0.54 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), one of the highest rates in sub-Saharan Africa. Infant and maternal mortality are among the highest in the world. Education has practically collapsing as evidence in student massive failures. Infrastructure, where it exists is broken and neglected. Yet this new year of 2014, the government will spend more on administrative capital than on power, roads, education, police and health care combined. This perverse prioritization is indicative of the political economy of today’s Liberia – and the tough choices facing President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2014. At stake is whether Liberia remains a "Clique Democracy" or a real, people-driven democracy. It might interest Liberian and our friends to know whether the current leadership has the character, vision and will to defy vested political and business interests to govern decently and develop the economy. A review of Madam's Sirleaf 7 years at the helm indicates that this is unlikely to happen. President Sirleaf's politics of deliberate patronage has pitted Liberian against Liberians to the point that obtaining the cohesion and social harmony necessary for economic development will be difficult in the short and medium terms. The elections of November 2011 and violent aftermath, as well as increasing cases of police brutality and attacking opposition political party and killing partisans have placed Liberia at a crossroads once again. It is up to the President to either make tough choices; to either muddle through the next 3 years - or to continue with business as usual, with the risk of propelling what should be Africa’s leading economy towards disaster. In the last 7 years, the Johnson-Boakai and the ruling parties have spent billions of taxpayer money as well as foreign aid money with little to show for it. Not content with spending our taxes, the administration had started borrowing massively. Liberia domestic and external debts have increased rapidly. According to the Ministry of Finance Debt Management Office, our domestic and external debt increased from USD 573.94 million in September2012 to USD 580.37million at the end of December 2012. President Sirleaf’s administration ramped up domestic borrowing within a year to USD 287.7 million. Our external debt has also increased from USD277.69 in September in 2012 to USD 292.61 Million. No one can point to a new power station, seaport, rail network or interstate road, school, hospital initiated or completed during this profligate period. Worse still, Liberia's budget for 2013/14 shows that the entire budget is full of gimmicks and was meant to please the selected few at the helm at the expense of the majority. This is in a country where estimates show that 1.13 million is the labor force of the country, and only 195,000 people are in paid employment. According to ILO 70% of Liberia’s population is under the age of 3- a demographic time-bomb waiting to explode. There is little or no investment in physical and human capital, even with the very high over USD 19 Billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) the administration has enjoyed, the country comfortably lies at the bottom of the UN Human Development Index--among the poorest countries in the world. But what should be President Sirleaf’s focus? Obviously, internal security should be her first priority, especially since in fighting among security apparatus are fighting for her affection. Armed robberies and the regular spate of Pem Pem drivers protestation fuelled by youth unemployment, worsening economic conditions across the country point towards a failed state. Today, Liberia is a highly fragmented country. A movement away from the politicization of national security to the hard work of intelligence gathering and crime prevention will be more helpful than blaming innocent others. Macroeconomic stability is another area the administration has to deal with. Food prices have been rising and rental levels escalating in response to the cartelization of building materials production, importation and pricing. The choice before the Central Bank of Liberia is either to defend the value of the Liberian dollar and lose reserves faster monthly we have experienced so far, or allow the exchange rate to float, reduce the purchasing power and exacerbate inflationary pressures. Under President Sirleaf's watch, massive election spending, fiscal expansion, policy reversals and falling exchange rates have pushed inflationary trends upwards, left the economy unproductive and scuttled domestic and foreign investments in many sectors. Addressing the infrastructure deficits is also an urgent priority. Electricity shortages have crippled both small businesses and multinational corporations. Yet more funds are allocated to run the legislature and Executive branches than on genuine investments in electric power provision. Virtually every infrastructure deficit suffers the same depreciated attention. Few countries have road networks that are as poorly-maintained as Liberia’s; however, the country has no functional railway system; seaports are decrepit and inefficient - and in need of massive investment and yet, there is no sense of urgency in government to attract much needed private investment in these critical sectors – and to take advantage of the employment opportunities they create. The result is one of the most underdeveloped infrastructure system in Africa – and one of the most expensive countries in the world to set up and run a productive business. Even if President Sirleaf develops the vision and will to implement these urgently needed developmental strategies, she still has to contend with corruption and a broken public service. Corruption drives up the cost of doing business, derails government policy and is a major disincentive to foreign investment – which is critical to the country. An over-bloated, dysfunctional and poorly paid public service makes government both inefficient and costly! But does our President have the wherewithal to fight corruption, after she and her cronies continue to rob the country? Does the President have the impetus to induce the governments to invest in human development and fight mass poverty on the one hand, and resist them and other vested interests on the other? Many of Her supporters think President Sirleaf 's legendary “the First Female Head of State President in Africa and Nobel Laureate “ will somehow turn things around, but governance requires more than just been the first Woman President or Nobel Laureate. The immediate future depends on the choices President Sirleaf makes in the pending three year. While many cheerleaders are optimistic, the records of last few years show otherwise. We have to wait patiently and see how things unfold. And as we always do in Liberia, pray. While we are praying however, the signals are very scary. Because of the nature of Her ascent to power, President Sirleaf is beholden to several vested interests from whose grip she may not be able to escape. By all accounts, she spent the last 7 years pandering to those interests to secure her election as President. Shockingly, even before she was sworn in for her first term, she indicated that six years would not be enough to achieve much. The import is that she may spend the last four years working for her re-election – and the entailing squandering of resources, including racking up massive debts. Just muddling through the next three years and preserving the nation she inherited may turn out to be a major achievement-if she is able to do just that.

What do Liberians Have to Celebrate after 166 years of Independence?

Liberia, by any standard, is a blessed nation. With abundant natural resources, talented population, good climate, you wonder why it is occupying the unenviable position it is today amongst the countries of the World after the post-Independence brief spell as an internationally acclaimed African country. Liberia, today, has more resources than most emerging nations of the World such as Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and arguably even Brazil. With the recent exploration of oil in 2012, Independence in 1847, and having survived the Civil War in 2003, the achievements we recorded as a Sovereign Nation are far below average when you compare the achievements of other countries in Africa such as Botswana, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Morocco, Ivory Coast or against other emerging countries like Brazil, Singapore, Malaysia, or, for that matter, Venezuela. With the departure of the dominated so-called Americo-Liberian’s True Wing Party (TWP), and the truncating of the First Republic as well as the emerging of the second Republic things started going wrong politically, socially, and economically as the nation started a tortuous drift into a deep abyss. Liberia’s became squandering riches as all other sectors of the economy started experiencing abject neglect. The money was not the problem, but how to spend it. That was the mantra of the leaders back then. Expensive jamborees (President Tubman was noted for such) and elephant projects that were never completed or are allowed to disintegrate after elaborate commissioning became the order of the day. The little genuine efforts made in agriculture in some areas were later abandoned as the projects were starved of funds and research. This is in spite of the key role the agricultural sector, though largely subsistence, played immediately after our Independence declaration. With the introduction of the military into the political life of the country after the bloody coup d’état of 1980, which decimated the pioneer administrative and military leaders of the country; the Military shifted its constituency from the Barracks to the Presidential Mansion, and like they say, the rest is history. Coup or no coup, civil war or no civil war the military is still claiming relevance in the political equation of the nation. Since the demise of the First Republic administrative structures, infrastructures, as well as the economy have degenerated into their present state. The only thing the country could boast of is the geometrical population explosion, from a mere 1 million to 4.2 million (UN, 2012). The national income per capita of Liberia today is less than what it was in 1960s or even the 70’s. We were happier, richer, were able to live a better life in the 60s and 70s than today. There are few people who have made a lot of money and living well today but the generality of Liberians presently are living in abject poverty. Out of the 166 years since Independence the Military ruled the country for a total of ten years, or thereabout. In my opinion, the issue of whether it is a democratic or military regime is only a matter of franchise. Some civilian presidents, particularly in Africa, are worse than military dictatorships, while some military dictatorships perform better than the so-called democratically elected presidents in terms of meeting the needs of their citizens and running the economy as evidence of Madam Sirleaf’s government. In Liberia, we simply choose to make a mess of any type of system with each regime ending up worse than the previous one. In our case it is not the system yet, but the people. As a people we need re-orientation from how to discharge our responsibilities to queuing up for funds at the Money Gram at the LBDI or staying on the right lane in a traffic jam. We are bad as that. Period! Maybe our abundant resources are a curse rather than a blessing, because come to think of it, it is the center of all our present political, economic, and social predicaments as a nation. Otherwise why should limited natural resources and land-locked countries like Botswana be more habitable than our country? Even where we copy systems religiously, sold, or imposed on us hook, line and sinker, we never seem to get it right first time. The international communities are making a mockery of us after seeing the level of corruption, nepotism and wasteful spending under a highly educated President who graduated from the prestigious Harvard University and had graduate previous administrations. Why? This is a BIG why! Think of any big name in companies that existed in the 60’s period up to the beginning of the Civil War, you will find out that they have either closed shop long time ago or are just there in name only, their buildings weather beaten and in ruins and yet the country have not learn not even under the Harvard’s educated Economist leadership. Liberians has opted for the easiest and quickest way of “making it” through contracts, concession agreements, poor policies implementation, etc. With Madam Sirleaf’s government, it seems this is the continuity of the “get- rich- quick- syndrome” as were in previous administrations. Overnight-wealth is nothing strange and therefore conveniently accepted by the society and overlooked by the government. The few Liberians with genuine desire to contribute to the political economy are frustrated one way or another. Government structures became convenient conduits of enrichment. Most, if not all public officials see their position or appointment as a convenient avenue of making money: they will either convert government funds entrusted to them for their personal use, or use their position to make money, one way or another, or both. They are no longer public servants but public masters: “Chief or Bossman” as they are called in some quarters. As we speak, Liberia is ranked number one in the World for corruption according to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). The CPI is the Transparency International world famous index for corruption and is determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys. What does this say about our country? Our universities have since deteriorated from half-baking to sub-standard and our hospitals changed from mere consulting clinics to mortuaries. When the lecturers are being forced to stay and contribute only 20% towards a student’s performance, our medical doctors slip out of the country for greener pastures even if they will end up doing professional nurses’ job. With population explosion, un-employment soared as our graduates could not find jobs – any jobs! Some will continue to blame the deplorable state of affair on the civil war but we had those problems even before the conflict. Religion groups are busy competing with one another to establish their own universities, in most cases without thorough professional feasibility studies. My dear reader, visit your Alma mater today and you will be shocked at the sight of the structures you left behind. This is the sorry state of our education system today, even prior to the conflict our super administrators were either “Middle” or “Teachers’ College Graduates”. Experts have said it time without number that education is the bedrock of industrialization just as industrialization is the path to the Promised Land for any country. This has been proved by many countries of the world – ask Germany, Japan, Brazil, India, China, Brazil, and closer home, South Africa. It is beyond a theory. Unfortunately education does not top the priority lists of the previous regimes and as we speak history is repeating itself under Madam Sirleaf regime. The situation is even worse with the economy. Since the introduction of Plantation Economy in Liberia in the 60’s (Open Door Policy), our leaders back then picked up the mantra of money not being our problem but how to spend it, most of the governments to date spend money impulsively, budget or no budget. No expenditure discipline as most of the expenditures are outside budget, priorities are lopsided and more often than not, the governments do not get them right even though from time in memoriam, Liberia has been blessed with renowned economists, accountants, lawyers, bankers, etc., since Independence. While the genuine attempts by some to chart a course for the country are just filed away to gather dust, others are too lily-livered to challenge the government of the day for fear of persecution or termination of their appointment, or both. As the few companies that remain continue to operate far below their capacity utilization under the heavy pressure of high exchange rate, infrastructure decay and heavy importation, among others, the GDP of the country continues to deteriorate in absolute terms even where exaggerated, and often indices are always released by the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank at the beginning of each financial year to convince Liberians otherwise. While the country is groaning under the heavy weight of foreign debt repayment (even though we just had debt cancellation) and interest recapitalization, the revenue being generated from natural resources was squandered through misappropriation, corruption, nepotism, patronage and elephant projects while other productive sectors of the economy such as agriculture, education and manufacturing are abandoned. Misplaced and often poorly executed projects such as Jallah Town, SKD Boulevard, and Poverty Reduction Strategy come to mind. Liberia is about the only rubber country among rubber producing countries that has rubber but relies on importation for local consumption! The adverse effect of all these are the social decay, lawlessness, insecurity, and above all, pervasive corruption that characterize our polity today, 166 years after the declaration of Independence. Armed robbers strike at will in broad daylight and night, 419 transactions are prevalent, economic and financial crimes are the order of the day; drug smuggling, bootlicking are some of the “professions” we thrive on. Tribalism, nepotism, sycophancy, praise singing, religious bigotry, as well as laziness are our common characteristics as individuals. While some are like this by choice, the system and environment forced others to acquire these infamous characteristics. It is no surprise then that our nation occupies the unenviable among the top position of the list of anything negative in the World: from Transparency International, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, or Travel Advisory Watch list from previous administrations and arguably the present administration of Madam Sirleaf. Are we going to remain like this? Is there no hope? Don’t we as a Nation aspire to drop the shackles of underdevelopment and catch up with even the emerging nations of the World? If the answer to this last question is in the affirmative, then from where do we start? And how do we start? Liberia has the potentials of becoming one of the great nations in the World – the human and material resources are there in abundance to achieve this. What we need is the fighting spirit of the Japanese, the determination of the Germans, the I-can attitude of the Chinese and the nationalism of the Americans. Sounds uphill but we can do it and change things for the better in our country. First and foremost, we have to get our priorities right. Pervasive corruption, nepotism, illiteracy, mismanagement and waste, lawlessness, and dishonesty are the main vices militating against our progress as a nation. In overcoming these vices our leaders must show the way – political, religious, traditional leaders and civil society all have a key role to play in this immense task. When they lead by example without secret or dishonest activity or maneuvering, sleaze, and fear or favor the path will be clear for all and sundry to copy and follow. Our leaders, and indeed other citizens of the country, beseech countries in Europe and the Americas daily where they see firsthand how administrative structures are run, how efficient infrastructures are, and how law enforcement agents and agencies operate but make no attempt to change things back home. Funny enough, they often compare and contrast how inefficient and backward our own systems are (or how efficient the systems in those countries are) – from the system of government we adapted to the corrupt and ill-equipped immigration and custom agencies we operate. Our politicians will do well to start by seeking for political office to serve and not as an investment with upfront and compound interest payments. Their desire should be to serve the nation and make life better for its citizens – value-adding laws should be of more interest than their salaries and allowances. Contracts that will directly impact on the lives of the citizens should be awarded to professionals through vigorous due diligence process instead of sharing it amongst themselves or their cronies. They, or indeed any Liberian, should not pay lip service to thinking of what the nation can do for them but what he or she can do for the Nation. It is as simple as that! Should this be the case the politicians would not spend a whole four-year term discussing their salaries and allowances; and wasting the tax payers’ money in financing posh accommodations, sleek cars, designer mobile phones, lap tops, etc. If you are a keen watcher of the Senate or Representative, you are by now familiar with our honorable legislators carrying excess weight, spotting pot bellies, or outright obese! The cameras have caught many of them sleeping! Little wonder then that winning elections and re-elections in Liberia today are a matter of life and death: it is either how deep one’s pocket is, how ruthless he or she is, the caliber of his sponsor/godfather/lovers, or both. Some of them have never visited their constituencies for the better half of the first term and yet they collect constituency allowances and nobody will ask questions because the whole system is rotten and therefore stinks! Or, come to think of it, why must the Executive “lobby” with “White Envelope” before a Budget is passed? In any civilized polity in the World it is the legislature that appropriates and not to collect money and rubber-stamp proposals submitted by the executive, or for that matter, any ministry or agency. Why should the legislators be settled before they screen and pass political appointees? Why should the welfare of committee members like those of Committees on Ways and Means or Maritime be taken care of before they can do the job for which they were elected? Any serious debate you hear about or executive-legislature squabbles that come to the open more often than not, border on making money through contracts-sharing, travels or money exchanging hands. Maybe we should make the legislator’s job part-time. If the effort of the Government of Liberia on the so-called monetization is a serious one, we should start eliminating waste from the National Legislature by making their job a part-time one. The Presidency should also shed weight. They may even perform better by achieving more this way. It will really be interesting to know exactly how much is spent in absolute terms on each legislator in a year. In other words since his position is a permanent one, what is the “Compensation Package” of each legislator? Within the first and second term of this present administration the turnover of the leadership in the legislature and the ruling party is unprecedented anywhere in the civilized World. A learning process indeed! This is the genesis of our problem as a nation and it must be tackled decisively. All other economic and social maladies revolve around it; once we get it right it will have a direct positive effect on our socio-economic life as a nation. The government must create an enabling environment for local and foreign direct investment through Industrial Economy not the same old Plantation Economy that failed us in the past and continue to fail us. It really beats the imagination of any right thinking human being why our leaders should be globetrotting looking for foreign investors when back home the environment is, to say the least, not investment friendly. The mere fact that they waste their energy in this venture by running helter-skelter suggests that all is not well with our economy. Leaders of other countries of the world do not glob trot looking for investors – their economies and the enabling environment sell themselves. If they have to visit other countries of the world is to discuss things like trade quotas, tariffs, trade barriers, custom duty, etc. How many times have we received the visit of the South African or Ghanaian leaders in Liberia calling us to come and invest in their countries? The basic infrastructure that is necessary and therefore key to the survival of any industry such as uninterrupted power supply, water and communication are non-existent and a foreign exchange regime that defies all theories is the order of the day. The few that come to do business in our country even under these poor operating conditions milk our economy dry with exorbitant prices and tariffs for their products and services. Government must also address the serious issue of security of life and property as it is as critical as the other two. Liberia’s image abroad in terms of security of life and property is nothing to write home about. If countries like South Africa, Botswana or even Ghana within our Continent can attract investors and tourists there is no reason why Liberia cannot do it, despite the fact that crime rate is higher in South Africa than in Liberia, if the available statistics are to be believed. The only difference is that while the South African government has an efficient system in place that tackles the problem, in Liberia it is either in a sorry state or non-existent. As Liberians we should have confidence in our country as we have no other place of abode. Only few Liberians have genuine productive investments in popular companies across the shores of this country – the rest stash the money (ill-gotten?) in popular banks in Europe and America either in real estate, checking accounts or term deposits that they can easily have access to when on their shopping sprees with their families and girlfriends. Personally, I think we are just wasting our time and energy in this venture. Europe and America have records of our earnings as natural resources country, have records of the ill-gotten wealth our leaders stashed in their banks and have full intelligence reports of our mismanagement and wastes on a daily basis. Each and every Liberians, no matter how low and high, has a contribution to make in turning things around, but our leaders must show the way by setting good example and bringing out policies that will add value to the lives of citizens in the areas of manufacturing, education, agriculture, infrastructure, among others. We as a Nation must make an earnest resolve to change from a heavily import-oriented country to an export one to give our economy the necessary stimulant for growth. Our politicians should put the nation and its citizens first in whatever they do even at the expense of their own welfare or benefit. Other public officials should operate as the “public servants” they are and not to turn their positions into money spinners. Corrupt and scandalous politicians or public servants should be investigated, prosecuted and flushed out of the system no matter how highly placed. One of the ways that will help us reach the Promised Land is for us to de-emphasize voting for a political party and look at the individual and vote for integrity, professionalism, proven track record, and personality: reject money politics and band-wagon liberation. Each and every citizen should swallow the seeds of patriotism, nationalism, self-sacrifice, law and order and above all the I-can attitude. There is enough wealth in this country for it to go round the 4.2 Million people, not necessarily as a “National Cake”, instead of the ugly lopsided income distribution of a privileged 5% monopolizing 95% of the nation’s wealth, while the remaining 95% are left with a paltry 5%. It is not late but if you consider what the United States has achieved since it declared independence in 1776, the success of Japan since Hiroshima, the emergence of Germany after WW II as the leader of the New Europe, Singapore since the attainment of independence in 1965, or indeed what South Africa has achieved so far since the demise of apartheid with what we have so far recorded in all spheres of life in Liberia since our Independence 166 years ago, there is cause for concern. Unless We make an honest resolve in owning the future and stop focusing on criminals, crooks masquerading as politicians and technocrats, Our Country will become very a sad place; a Country with enormous potential; with natural resources, our mineral resources, human resources and yet underperforming our potential. We must not allow this to happen! Therefore we have to start NOW. Every generation needs a new revolution (Thomas Jefferson) Be a lamp unto yourself. Work out your liberation with diligence (Buddha) One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived (Niccolo Machiavelli) Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it (Frantz Fanon) Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable (John Fitzgerald Kennedy) Revolution is not the uprising against pre-existing order, but the setting up of a new order contradictory to the traditional one (Jose Ortega y Gasset) Happy July 26, Folks

The Level of Political Prostitution in Liberia is Sickening

My trip to Liberia was a great success and I want to use the opportunity to extend my thanks and appreciation to my hard working organizing staff and the people of Montserrrado County District # 3 for making my trip a success. While in Liberia I observed the resurfacing of political prostitution in post Liberia reconstruction and this trend had motivated me to write this article and engage fellow Liberians on the issues. The spate of politicians abandoning one party for the ruling Unity Party (TWP) is a cause for concern, an issue which the civil society body in the Liberia as well as the media must peer into due to its apparent implication for the health of the Liberia’s political culture. These are interesting times. These are disconcerting times.This is not a UP problem but problem that had existed in the Liberian political culture since the days of the True Wing Party (TWP). The political space we find ourselves in Liberia is called the window of opportunity but in reality, it is the window of opportunism. It is time for broke politicians to march for offers from the ruling party (the highest bidder). It has now become the usual occurrence for so-called prominent political personalities aligned with the ruling party in Liberia by declaring their support and abandoning their old parties just because they are no longer in power or may see need to cross carpet for rosy but insidious reasons. Although this is not strange in democratic dispensations the world over, the way and manner in which it is carried out in Liberia is morally disingenuous and smacks of greed and political incredulities. One certainly cannot stop any one from exercising his or her political right to associate whenever one feels doing so; but to do it with awkward and greedy motives is very inimical to the health of the Liberia’s political processor the democratization process unfolding in Liberia. Most often than not, these political infidels shift tents for reasons that can only be described as selfish rather than pitching tents to effect changes that their former parties could not get them to do as per their usual allegations. We saw the trend during the regimes of the True Wing Party (TWP), National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL), National Patriotic Party (NPP) and now observing the trend in post Liberia reconstruction under the Unity Party (UP). Political prostitution is not appropriate for consolidating democracy in Liberia. What we are witnessing is the liquidation of democracy. It is actually 419 scams dealing because people are made all kinds of secret offers. So-called opposition members including member of the national legislature who have no integrity sell themselves into a system of patronage. These individuals are thieves. They steal and use property that is not theirs for their own selfish ends and personal aggrandizement. Political prostitution encourages corruption, self-interest and patronage politics. It violates the electoral right of the voters. The voters mandate is treacherously betrayed with impunity in the name of democracy which means political prostitution pass as democracy in Liberia. As I write this article, a group of supporters have already left the Congress of Democratic Change (CDC), Alliance for Democratic Change (ADP), Liberty Party (LP), Free Democratic Party (FDP), Liberian National Union (LINU), etc and have and have surreptitiously taken membership forms for the Unity Party(call it survival tactics). These are the ones that are often used as Trojan horses of political warfare and mischief making. Political prostitution is entrenching corrupt politics in Liberia and will eventually destabilize our country. People will lose confidence in the democratic process andfind another mean of assuming state power. The politics of jumping from one party to the ruling party undermines the values and principles that the broader citizens believe in. Politicians are not pledging the supports or joining Unity Party because they believe the ruling party can deliver poverty eradication, free education, health for all and the right to work. Political prostitution is shredding the values and issues that matter to the masses of our country. In the case of the CDC, a lot of people initially joined with the expectation that George Manneh Weah will win the elections hands down. However, when Weah ended up second, a mass abandonment of the party ensued. In most cases, those who abandon their parties usually do so because it is no more in power (as in the cases of TWP, NDPL and NPP) but rather it is in the opposition and therefore not economically viable to survive in opposition parties in Liberia. Beneath the shades of shifting to the ruling Unity party lies the aspect of greed and that is accompanied by political mischief and corruption of the highest degree. In Liberia, people join other parties (most importantly the ruling party) because they want to benefit, benefits they can’t presently get being in the disadvantaged position (opposition). Political prostitution is creating a new political, economic and social hegemony in Liberia. It is privatizing freedom of expression, and constructing a culture where it is objectionable to offer alternative thinking and ideas. When one examines closely the ruling parties that had benefited from political prostitution in Liberia one will concludes that after the ruling parties of President Tolbert, President Doe, and President Taylor left the presidency, their own high ranking officials started establishing links with the person that was in power in Liberia with the hope that they might be considered for jobs, and even though there were a lot of malpractices and evils being perpetuated, these so called personalities were only interested in protecting their economic interests. In conclusion, political prostitution encourages corruption, self-interest and patronage politics. It violates the electoral right of the voters. The voters mandate is treacherously betrayed with impunity in the name of democracy which means political prostitution pass as democracy. It is also entrenching corrupt politics in Liberia and will eventually destabilize our country.

A Tribute to Tom Kamara: A Liberian Giant

Tom Kamara, the Managing Editor of the New Democrat newspaper, who became one of Liberia best known journalist for his role in promoting freedom of speech, human rights, and justice, died on Friday. Mr. Kamara died in the Netherlands after he was rushed there to seek medical attention after been ill for couple of months. A journalist with the gift of writing, Mr. Kamara went head to head with warlords, presidents, celebrities and con politicians for decades in Liberia. Both his style and the substance of his work drew criticisms from Samuel Doe regime to Taylor and even Ellen Johnson Sirleaf presidency as well as partisans of arguably the leading opposition political party, Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), and others. Critics argued his style of journalism was one sided, but Uncle Tom never conceded to their criticisms because his goal was to educate the Liberian people by bringing the information home. Uncle Tom started as a reported in 1970 with the Liberian Star Newspaper and after high school went to the United States for further studies and came back in 1981, becoming the editor of the New Liberian a pro government newspaper. He served there briefly, and was dismissed for act incompatible with the aims and objectives with the military junta, the People Redemption Council (PRC) headed by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe. Uncle Tom was sacked after he carried a picture of Master Sergeant Doe and picture of the gigantic house Mr. Doe was building in his home town of Tuzon, Grand Gedeh County. He was arrested and thrown in prison without charge. The junta leader asked than Justice Minister, the late Jenkin Scott to prepare confinement paper for him, and Scott concocted charges that were never read to him. The next day was plan for Mr. Kamara to be flown to the notorious Belleh Yellah Prison where he could have been subsequently murder but he later escaped and left the country. He resided in Freetown, Sierra Leone and Ghana for sometimes and later move to the Netherlands. In 1990, as the Liberian violent armed conflict was raging, Uncle Tom was asked by Dr. Amos Sawyer, a close friend of his to come and organize the Liberian media since the Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU) headed by Dr. Sawyer was returning to Liberia. When IGNU landed in Freetown, Liberians were fleeing Liberia and Freetown was over crowded with Liberian refugees. Mr. Kamara, and others suggested that it could be good with the ongoing turmoil in Liberia that IGNU contacted the Sierra Leonean authorities to grant Liberian airtime on Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SSBS) on which they could air programs by Liberian journalist already in Freetown among them Cyrus Badio. The Sierra Leone authorities agreed and the idea was given to the government but at the time Dr. Sawyer government didn’t find any relevant in it and it was discarded. Mr. Kamara and others felt at the time that there were misinformation particular coming from the National Patriot Front of Liberia (NPFL) side about the war, false pronouncements made to enhance their military standing. Uncle Tom and others felt if they had air time once or twice a week they could try to counteract those misinformation and also to assist families locate their family members behind rebel lines or vice versa. When Mr. Kamara arrived in Monrovia with IGNU in 1990, the entire city was a ghost town. Men and women who had status were seen at the Ducor Hotel (the home of IGNU) with plate and spoon looking for food to eat. His job was to organize the media infrastructure. An information process was vital since the peacekeeper was here, they needed an information infrastructure as well as the IGNU to counteract whatever was coming from the NPFL media, remember the NPFL had seize the only state short waves transmission station was broadcasting in the entire country as well as abroad. The enclave of Monrovia never hand any counter measure with the level of information that was coming from behind the lines. Uncle Tom, along with his junior colleagues, Cyrus Badio, the late Gabriel Gwelakaju and others went to the Liberian Broadcasting System (LBS). There were lot of equipment’s at LBS but the building was under bombardment from the NPFL. Mr. Kamara and his team took some equipment to salvage them and headed toward Bushrod Island where Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL) leader Prince Yomie Johnson (now Senator in the Liberian Senate) almost shot him but missed him by inches after asking him series of question where he was going because he (Prince) was advancing toward central Monrovia. The next stage was what next to do? Mr. Kamara gathered some journalists at the Coast Guard base to reorganize the state media and also private media. The Nigerian information officer than attached to the Field Commander of ECOMOG and Mr. Kamara had a bitter argument because the Nigerian felt the name of LBS should be change to Liberty Radio. Some Liberian journalists were in agreement with the Nigerian officer but Mr. Kamara position was LBS is LBS and is a state entity and the Nigerian officer have no right to change the name of a government radio station. Mr. Kamara and his team sought to organized journalists but that didn’t work. Tom and his team organized private newspapers and it took some time for the Nigerian to bring in FM transmitter but under their control. Been a giant, Mr. Kamara never relented in organizing the media structure. He was shot in 1990 while transporting media equipment on Bushrod Island during the INFPL infamous attack on central Monrovia. He was transported to a clinic in Monrovia (at the time there was no functioning hospital in Monrovia) and later transported to Holland where he remain in hospital. Mr. Kamara’s career path meandered after he formed the New Democrat. He set his sights on making the New Democrat newspaper the best informative newspaper in Liberia. Mr. Kamara and his teams— who researched, reported and wrote the stories — took on Warlords like Charles Taylor, George Boley, Ahaiji Kromah, and others along with his patented brand of exposés. His famous fictional column “The Trial of Charles Ghankay Taylor” which he started in the 90’s was phenomenon and very popular. He started Taylor’s trial long before even any one dream that Mr. Taylor was going to go to The Hague for war crimes or be sentence to 50 years in prison. That was Uncle Tom at his best!! He tried putting Mr. Taylor entire career into a friction. By coincidence, the indictments that were issued for Mr. Taylor arrest are almost same indictments issue in his frictional tale. Most of Mr. Taylor support thought the trial was personal and wanted he to stop but Uncle Tom been Uncle Tom never give in. His work tried to put into perspectives the horrors and insane destructions, the shield savages all in the name of politic. He wanted for the Liberian populace to see through it and reinforces that the likes of Taylor need to face justice. The New Democrat office was looted and burned in 1996 by those that antagonized his work of informing the Liberian public. His paper was shut down and his life threatened. Mr. Kamara went into exile in the Netherlands. While in graduate school abroad, I often sent articles to News Democrat for publication and Uncle Tom was so generous in publishing those articles by even editing some before publication. I remember last year, when I was contesting for a seat in the house of representative, my father (a close pal of Uncle Tom) and I met Uncle Tom on numerous occasions. He was very supportive of my decision to contest and even allowed me to advertise on his newspaper free of charge during the 2011 legislative campaign. He was very optimistic about the future of Liberia and the ongoing process of transferring our country from war to peace and democratization process. Mr. Kamara created enough such moments to become a paragon of journalism in Liberia. He was a fearless Journalist and a prolific writer who always wrote about the truth; this is great loss to country whose lacks qualified and highly educated professionals. Uncle Tom success often lay in the questions he hurled in his numerous articles, not the answers he received. Mr. Kamara was a journalist to the bone. He was a great man who crossed many hearts and left his footprints forever in Liberia. Rest in Peace, Uncle Tom!!

Is Liberia's 2012/13 Draft National Budget full of Gimmicks?

In the course of defending the 2012/13 Draft National Budget on a local talk show in Monrovia, June 25, 2012, the Deputy Minister for Revenues, Dr. James Kollie argues that the draft budget is aim at improving the infrastructural component of our country to include the reconstruction of roads and bridges, as well as the provision of electricity through the reconstruction of the hydro. Dr. Kollie even went further by stating that the current Draft Budget for the fiscal year 2012/13 is highly reflective of the interests of the Liberian people, adding that it is not a bad budget as perceived by some critics. He also stated that the budget will help to reduce unemployment for the job seeking population as it explores job creation for the unemployed. Dr. Kollie believes the draft budget aims are improving the infrastructural component of our country and this is the sacrifice the government is asking Liberians to make for the overall interest of the country. In short, the 2012/13 Budget proposal comes with the themes of People center & Improving the Infrastructural Component of Liberia. The Government has declared its intention to cut down waste and focus resources on those priorities that would alleviate the sufferings of Liberia, enhance infrastructure, macroeconomic stability and improve fiscal governance. However, a good part of the allocations do not support the logic of cutting down waste but takes provisioning for wasteful expenditure to new heights. While Mrs. Madam Sirleaf’s government is calling on Liberians to sacrifice for a better future, the government itself is not willing to curb its own extravagance and waste, as components in the 2012/13 budget proposal currently awaiting the approval of the National Legislature have shown. The detail of the proposed budget of US $649,723,473.80 million (LD$48,014,564,710.13) t for 2012/13 is reek of waste. Most importantly, the 2012/13 draft concentrates spending on administrative capital (wasteful spending on government ministries and agencies) instead of developmental capital that directly impacts on the people living in abject poverty (pro poor policies). For this reason, over the ensuing weeks, this article will undertake a detailed sectorial analysis of the 2012/13 budget proposal submitted by the President to the National Legislature. My objective is to raise awareness and start the discussion on the provisions contained in the budget and suggest areas to reduce waste, question spending priorities and cut out what appears dysfunctional. It is my hope that the National Legislature will in the end make the budget work for the people of Liberia. Today, I will look at the revenues profile for 2012 and issues arising there-from, and then throw a searchlight on the much-headlined expenditure for the Public Administration sector. Details of the budget are available online https://docs.google.com/a/mopea.gov.lr/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=bW9wZWEuZ292LmxyfG10ZWYtYnVkZ2V0fGd4OjI4MTg2YTVlNjVjMjA2M2U&pli=1. According to the 2012/13 Draft Budget, the Liberian government expects to generate about US$ 542,329 million in revenues, consisting of about US$ 117 million on individual taxes & profit, US $3 million on unallocated income & profit, US $ 64million on corporate entities, US $72 million on good and services, US $164 million on international trade and US$45 million grant from our international partners for budgetary support. The 2012/13 budget also has a capital budget proposal of US$68 million (5.4 percent of GDP) slightly above that of the FY2011 out-turn. Starting with projected revenue of about US $542,329 million, the budget envisages a total spend of U.S$ 649,723,473.80 Million (LD$48,014,564,710.13), meaning that we intend to spend US$ 104 million more than we expect to earn in the FYI 2012/13. It seem the budget contains a deficit of 1.4% of GDP (The nominal GDP has been estimated by the World Bank to be about USD $1.32 billion in 2012), so where is the extra cash coming from? The Government of Liberia (GOL) hopes to finance the deficit by borrowing some US$ 80 million. Who are we borrowing from? These are items that need to be detailed for us as citizens to know, and for the National Legislature to decide upon. What are the implications of these pieces of information? How does the plan to borrow an additional US$ 80 million sit with the Sirleaf’s administration’s desire to reduce our borrowing and stop wasteful spending? What does the projected medium term expenditure framework reveal about our revenue and spending patterns? Are these consistent with the desire of our people to see a smaller, less expensive and more efficient government? I am asking Liberians to bear these in mind as they reflect on the numbers presented herein. Looking closely at the spending proposals, we will spend US$175m Million on the Public Administration sector, US$34.4million on Municipal government, US$20.4 Million Transparency & Accountability, US$71million Security & Rule of law, US$69.8million on Health, US$16.1 million Social Development Services, US$76.8million Education, US$63.7million Energy & Environment, US$20million Agriculture, US$82.7million, Infrastructure and Basic Service, and US$37.2 Industry & Commerce. In the draft budget, the provision for the salaries and allowances of government ministries and agency has risen by about US$ 177 Million from the 2011/12 levels to US $185Million. This increase cannot be due to the usual annual salary increment. There is something more and it contradicts the goal of reducing the cost of governance. The National Legislature should scrutinize this more closely! Other items of expenditure that need closer review are the overheads – the US $45.3 Million for Energy Development Fund, US$58 million for General and Special Allowance, US$ 30.3Million on Budgetary Policy and Execution at the Ministry of Finance, US $ 25 Million for Gas Slips and lubricants for vehicle & generators, US$20 Million for the National legislature, US$ 10 Million for the so-called National Capacity Building Fund, US$7.5 Million on Community Development Fund, US$4 Million for Entrepreneur Business fund, US$ 3.5 for Agriculture Produce Buy Back fund, US $ 9 Million for Repairs and Maintenance of Vehicles and Generators, U.S$ 7.5 million on the so-called County Development Funds, US $ 6.5 Million for Celebration of State visit, US$5 Million for Reconciliation, US$2.1million Office building rental lease, US$3million residency property rental property lease, US$5Million for Reconciliation (can reconciliation be bought and what happen to TRC report?), US $4 Million for the so-called Young Entrepreneurs Business Fund, US $2.8 million for foreign travel and additional US $3 million for daily subsistence allowance, US$ 3.4 Million Intelligence Services, US $2.5 Million for the construction of the bridge to nowhere (the Du river Bridge), US$2.5 on skill training and development via TVET (whatever that mean), US $2million for domestic travel daily subsistence allowance, US$3 Million for stationery, magazines & newspapers, US$ 3 Million for telecommunication, Internet, Postage, US$ 1.4 Million Other Specialized Material and Services, US$ 1 Million Societe General de ’Surveillance (whatever that mean!), US$ 604,000 Media relation and intelligence promotion, US$533,750 National Security Expansion(whatever that mean!), US$ 312,503 Advertising and public relation, US$ 312,504 Personal Insurance, US$424,473.00 Security Operation, US$200,000 National Reconstruction and Monument. Within the budget of the Office of the President, US $ 2.7 million is earmarked to keep the President happy which include US $240,000.00 for catering and feeding the President, US$367,999 for compensation, US $51,800 for the rent of the residential property of the President, US $475,000 to hand out as welfare packages, US$ $400,000 for Strategic support of the President 10 outreach projects (whatever that mean!), US $ 225, 000 to compensate the so-called “President Young Professional”. There are other items I will highlight in each sector but these broad areas are indicative for the time being of the need for close scrutiny by the citizens and the National Legislature. I will briefly look at the provisions for the Public Administration Sector beginning with the Ministry of Finance Ministry (MOF). Budgetary allocation for the Public Administration sector is US$ 158 Million. The equivalent tally for 2011 was US$ 75.8 million about US$82.2 Million higher. The MOF proposes to spend about US$81.2Million. A cursory look at the MOF capital project is even more revealing because there is 0 for Capital and over US$ 30.3Million will be spent on budgetary policy and execution (the equivalent tally for 2011/12 was US$ 2.2million, about US$ 28million higher), US$ 8.6 on revenue management, US$4 Million on expenditure & debt management, US$34 Million on General Claims and US$ 5Million on Administration and Management. The Ministry of Finance also proposes to spend USS$9.5 Million on employee compensation, US$28 Million on goods and services, US$12 Million on grant and subsidies, US$ 32.2 Million on GOL and Donor projects, U.S 7 Million on the Department of Revenue, US$ 1.2 Million on the technical and professional support to the Ministry of Planning and Ministry of Finance Merger, $1.7 Million on budget office at Finance, US$450,000 on County Budget office while the rest is cover in gas slip, local and international travel; stationery, magazines, newspapers; maintenance of vehicles, furniture; generators; refreshments, meals, computer software, general and special allowance, entertainments, etc. Are the amounts spent on the MOF is really managing, directing and coordinating the financial affairs of our country, or are they making a few ministers and their appendages so stupendously rich, thereby exacerbating the income disparities, inequalities and injustice amongst us which in turn have contributed to the insecurity in our land? What should interest citizens and our National Legislature members is that similar provisions were made in the 2011/12 Budget for all these items at the Ministry of Finance, so what have we spent so far and when will the budgeting cycle end and the "ongoing projects" completed? Are we getting value for money? There is an incredible request for gas slip, allowances, local and international travel; stationery, magazines, newspapers; maintenance of vehicles, furniture; generators at the MOF. Previous budgets also show this massive demand. The legislature should take steps to confirm the available vehicles, generators, software’s and office equipment’s, etc. at the MOF by asking the officials to bring an inventory. They should use this to determine the reasonableness of these demands. Or, do they throw them away every year to buy new ones? It appears these demands are meant to ensure “job for the boys” through a contract. This unnecessarily shoots up the cost of governance – not through recurrent expenditure but by concentrating spending on administrative capital instead of developmental capital that directly impacts on the people. The central question to ask is how do these bloated and unnecessary expenditures contribute to fiscal consolidation and macroeconomic stability, improved fiscal governance, create jobs or make resources available for infrastructure upgrade? Unless we target our resources to real needs, increase transparency and accountability at the Ministry of Finance spending, and eliminate duplications and copy-cat procurements in our budget, we will continue to lose the value of these investments. When the spending is supposed to be for the Ministry of Finance, it might simply end up in the pockets of officials and contractors. The Ministry of Finance must not be seen as an easy, money- making machine. This is what it appears to citizens these days. We can do better. Our leaders must do better. There is no better time to act than right now!!