Background

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Liberia was founded since 1822 and had its independence in 1847. Since then, there have been several political administrations with less development in the country. Compared to other west African countries, Liberia is far less developed given when it was founded and became independent. Since JJ Roberts (the first president), leaders have come a go with each putting forward a plan of action for development. The land of Liberia is rich with natural resources.
Foreign companies traveled from distance, settle in Liberia to invest only because we have the resources. These companies export our resources without developing the country or improving the living conditions of the local people in the region of investment. Example, the Bong Mining Company started business in Liberia in 1964, but the road leading from Bong Mines to the Liberia capital remained unpaved until in late 2000s, 2006 or 2007. LAMCO in Nimba Yekepa is the same story, this company started operation in Liberia in the late 50s or early 60s.

 

A foreign national from Sweden and his Liberian counterpart drove to Nimba Yekepa in 2006 and the vehicle they were riding broke down because of bad road condition. Their car road over a small bridge made from timber and one of the vehicle’s tires slipped out of the timber on a road leading to concession area where LAMCO made millions of dollars as the result of investing in this area. Amazingly, road leading LAMCO Yekepa from the Nimba County Capitol (Saniquille) was not paved. You imagine, a country founded in 1822 with independent in 1847 and several presidents most of them who have lived and visited developed countries. The million dollar question is why these concessions could not develop the road themselves?

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Some answers are that the government took the money from the companies with the understanding of fixing the roads themselves but did not. Prior to the 1980 coup d’état in Liberia, there were lot of investments, shoe factory, Matches Factory, Battery Factory, Glass factory, Chicken Soup Factory, you name the rest, mostly in the Gardnersville area. What happens to the taxes these companies paid? Why we can not have factories in Liberia today with the resources that are being exported, example, Iron ore, rubber, cocoa, coffee. Despite the long years of existence and the several presidents that have come and gone, the country is still faced with enormous challenges. The road leading to the major international airport is still being constructed in 2025. Imagine the road that every Liberian president and visiting presidents or dignitaries travel through from the airport looks like a death trap at night. Very narrow, and no streetlights with abandoned cars parked on the shoulder. Why are we doing this Available data reveals that diaspora Liberians remit between $300 million to $800 million to the Liberian economy annually.

 

The government relies on assistance from foreign government and international organizations, while the people rely on remittances from friends and family members. The schools in Liberia are substandard, the health centers are dilapidated, civil servants are underpaid, salaries are not paid on time, high increase in the prices of commodities, human right abuse, corruption continues. With all the above, there needs to be some intervention, we can’t sit down in developed countries, eat regular meals at will, enjoy good healthcare and watch our people languish in poverty.