Helping Liberians Build Their Country

The cry from Liberians trying to venture into business in that country is that foreign investors are given more incentives than their Liberian counterparts. I am incensed to hear that. It sucks, I think. I have to get it out:

It is sad that those in power will continue to make “honest errors” when it comes to the interest of the Liberian people. This kind of thing has been going on for years and it is time for Liberians in government to take care of their own. These are the simple things people look at when you think about the type of impact a government makes on the lives of its citizens.

How will a Liberian business person employ a father or a mother whose kids are not in school but are out there in the scourging sun crushing rocks to sustain the family? In times like these when the President herself is deeply concerned about the high unemployment rate in the country, why would the Ministry of Commerce or Finance give 70% duty-free privilege to foreign business persons and not give the same privilege to a Liberian businessman or businesswoman? It just does not make sense.

If Liberians are capable of importing equipment to process pure drinking water for public consumption, why in the world would we want to discourage such a venture? How can the President go around asking Liberians to come home and help build their country and yet, her ministers are picking and choosing who to grant duty-free privileges to? How will the government reduce unemployment if everyday, Liberians are being laid off because Liberian employers are constantly being put at a disadvantage in the marketplace? Why are foreign investors selling water anyway if Liberians can handle the water business?

Why do we prefer giving more leeway to foreign investors than we do to our own local investors? Why is it so difficult to encourage our people to do for themselves? It is no secret that years ago, Ghanaians and Sierra Leoneans and Nigerians, even Cubans were brought into the country to take up positions that Liberians should have had. Then, I read, those in power did not trust their own people. Those who complained about such malpractices yesterday are the same ones who are involved in undermining the hopes and dreams of their own people today.

The other day, reading the Daily Observer Online, I saw Mary Broh, the Acting Mayor of Monrovia, holding her nose, vomiting, and almost fainting on the beach of New Kru Town. I said to myself: That real it, yah! The condition of places like New Kru Town, West Point, Clara Town, Red Light, Duala, the BTC Area, has been that way for generations. What she experienced on that beach is what thousands of Liberians experience everyday in these areas. I want to suggest that the entire Cabinet of the government take a walk on these beaches in these areas, kicking into the sand as they go along. Let these Ministers and Directors of Public Corporations tell the Liberian people and the world what their experience was.

The President had to sneak behind SKD before she got to know that children of school age were crushing rocks to feed their families. People who really cared would have brought ELTV to these places and make a big deal about the abuse these young kids are experiencing. I just wish President Tolbert or Tubman had done the same for us kids who were born in Firestone when they were in power. God indeed has a place in His heart for the underprivileged in society! It is amazing how some of us made it this far and this long.

Yet, there is a story of a Liberian who left America, took portable latrines to the country to be contracted out in the entire city of Monrovia. What was the result? Those he encountered or contacted, the story goes, wanted “cold water” before he could begin presenting his business plan. If that story is true, then I really don’t know what to make of those who have been crying and carrying on in the “cause of the people”.

It is good to encourage foreign investors wanting to do business in Liberia. They have the money and they have the expertise to negotiate better deals for themselves. They exploit our natural resources and leave when what they want is depleted, leaving our country worse than they met it.

To create that middle class in Liberia, we need to encourage those Liberians who have decided to venture into business. We must give them the same opportunity or better that we dish out to foreign investors. We cannot afford to suffer in foreign countries and then come home to face the same rigmarole or worst in our own country.

Why do we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot? When will we learn to take care of our own? Now is the time to redirect the future of our country into the hands of Liberians who dare to venture into the unknown. Foreigners may play their role, but it is Liberians who must eventually build their own country.