If Liberia Will Progress, We Must Stop Making Decisions Based on "Congua" and "Native" Sentiments

Fellow Liberians:

As we watch our country's economy retrogress speedily, I have endeavored to find the root cause of this giant-size economic problem and backwardness we are confronted with as a nation. I have come NOT to blame President George M. Weah led government, its officials or their predecessors, but to highlight a major misstep and a slipup we have taken/made many years ago and continue to make as a country. For a clearer understanding, let's take the discussion from the genesis which can be traced as far back as 1847.

Liberia gained her independence in 1847, making her the first and oldest independent African nation. The nation’s founding fathers and first set of leaders, unfortunately, failed to set a clear vision of inclusive political and economic governance within the new Liberian State. This lead to a path of social, political and economic division, where the indigenous population were marginalized for almost a century.

As history has shown us repeatedly, marginalized societies or individuals tend to fight back against the system suppressing them. At the same time, the elite or privileged class are likely to do all they can to maintain the status quo, because of the enormous benefits they, and their families and cronies enjoy. The Liberian State, accordingly, was no exception. As more and more indigenous Liberians and their sympathizers gained enlightenment many years following our independence, the indigenous revolted against the elite, leading to the 1979 Rice Riot, the 1980 Military Coup d’ tat and the 1989 Liberian Civil War, which lasted for 14 years, claiming many lives and displacing others both internally and externally in the process.

The administration of Liberia’s former President William V.S. Tubman, which lasted for 27 years (1944-1971), came and was highly criticized, though was delivering impressive economic growth amid the turmoil. During the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s, the important iron ore sector attracted substantial foreign investment; and by 1975, Liberia had become the world’s fifth largest exporter of iron ore. I consider this as a Tubman-Tolbert hand work. This placed Liberia on a very high level on the world's market! From 1946 to 1960, the Tubman Administration also attracted over US$500 million in foreign investment; while exports rose from US$15.8 million in 1948 to US$82.6 million in 1960. This was an increase of 422.8 percent! Government revenue during this period also rose from US$32.4 million in 1960 to US$69.9 million in 1971. This was an increase of 115.7 percent! History tells me that the nation's economy was growing at a very high speed! The world was applauding Mama Liberia among other nations in the subregion! Undebatably, this period saw the face of Liberia's best economy since the formation of this country. Look it up! The records are clear!!

Critically, this was a “growth without development” as huge sum of money ended up in the pockets of government officials. This remarkable miraculous economic growth that took place in Liberia was not translated into inclusive economic development, which set the agenda for future political and social instability (and the subsequent 14-year civil war from 1989 to 2003). As successive leaders and governments went on without correcting the wrongs of the past, our country went from a period of prosperity to becoming one of the most underdeveloped and poorest nations in the world today. Liberia, while still rated as the world leading host for TIMBER and other resources, we remain the poorest country in the world.

Today, while Liberia remains one of Africa's hub of natural resources, Liberians are the hungriest and poorest of all men roaming this earth. This is paradoxical; yet it is true and a prevailing reality! Interestingly, this situation (rich country, poor people) is not only found in Liberia. Many countries experienced this situation with same magnitude and even worse as Liberia. But they were able to get out of it! An example is Botswana. Botswana was able to escape this by taking some hard but necessary approaches! But how can we do when we are divided between this congau and indigenous sentiment? How can we when our leaders are highly corrupt, unpatriotic, and morally bankrupt? How can we do? After taking what belongs to the state for their personal benefits, they manipulate the minds of our people using the long term congau and indigenous argument. This is sad!

For Liberia to break the spell of the rich country-poor people phenomenon, the following measures, which are not exhaustive, must be advanced. These measures, I presume, are likely to have a significant positive impact on the Liberian State if prioritized and mainstreamed into policy decision making.

First and foremost, the culture of wealth grabs and rent-seeking (CORRUPTION) must be discouraged in the Liberian society at all levels, since these are potential indicators for conflict and high determinants of poverty. To make this a reality, wealth grabbers and rent-seekers must not be allowed to go with impunity to enjoy their loots. They must be brought to book and held accountable for their actions under a transparent and accountable governance system. This means the judicial system and rule of law enforcement mechanisms through statutory institutions established to fight against corruption and rent-seeking (like the Anti-Corruption Commission, General Auditing Commission, etc.) must be strengthened. Along this path, investors must be compelled to follow all investment terms enshrined in all signed agreements, including payment of taxes and royalties and corporate social responsibilities to beneficiary communities and residents.

In addition, a performance management system must be introduced in the public sector with well defined job descriptions for all public servants who must be assessed on a (periodic) or yearly basis against their performance and results achieved. Moreover, the acts of opportunism, nepotism, patronage, and vested interests must be discouraged and detested at all levels of governance, while at the same time institutionalizing a robust merit-based system of recruitment in the public sector.

Secondly, it is a known fact that high dependence on earnings from primary products is not sustainable. Sustainability is only ensured if the economy is diversified and investment is made in other sectors such as the agricultural sector (where modern methods of farming will ensure food security) and the manufacturing sector, with a focus on imports-substituting industries. In addition, efforts must be made to create a value chain with primary products, where more benefits to the nation and its people will be maximized. This would entail moving away from exporting products in their primary forms in favour of secondary/tertiary products. As a way of buttressing these efforts, government should endeavour to invest substantially in a knowledge-based economy, tapping from the nation’s best talents to ensure and guarantee sustainable development in Liberia. This can only be achieved when our country's money stops entering the deep pockets of government officials!

Last but not the least, efforts should be made to put in place systems and institutions to facilitate migration from obsolete ways of doing business in the public sector. This will largely minimize and/or eradicate malpractices in the public sector. However, this will highly depend on strong political will, commitment and robust leadership at the highest political level (including the presidency). In addition, in order to break the spell of the rich country-poor people in Liberia, we should also include the right combination of committed politicians and bureaucrats; appropriate policy analysts with available and reliable information (wizards); management of hostile and apathetic groups (demons); and insulation of the policy environment from the vagaries of implementation (systems). This definitely suggests a good governance approach as the prerequisite for Liberia to escape the spell of the rich country-poor people phenomenon and repair our crumbling economy. This cannot be done when we hold firmly the congau and indigenous (native) sentiment!

Liberia is a great nation with world demanding resources including timber, iron ore, gold, etc. Trust me, With an honest government, the monetary value of the timber in the forest of Grand Kru only is sufficient to transform the lives of many Liberians. We MUST rethink, and act as Liberians NOT as indigenous or congau. If a congau is inept and corrupt, he/she must not be protected because he's or she's a congau, likewise an indigenous. By this, the nation will rise!!

About the author:

Thomas Wilbur Davis is Chairman and Political Leader Emeritus of the ruling Student Unification Alliance (SUA), a student based political party at William V. S. Tubman University. He is the Founder of the Anti-Repression Allies (ARA), a youth based pressure group in Southeastern Liberia. He is currently studying for a Master's Degree in Sweden.

Contact: [email protected]