Liberia: One Elephant Too Many for A Small Room

The elephant in the room describes an obvious issue that is being avoided. In this piece, I write about one elephant too many for a small room as a metaphor to describe Liberia, a small country with a fair number of opportunities and challenges. Some of these opportunities and challenges find less prominence in the current political discourse. 

UNMIL has handed over security responsibility to Liberia after more than a decade of presiding over the post-country security. This development happens when the country prepares for milestone elections in 2017. A rule of law transition, guaranteed in the country’s constitution and its international obligations is expected for the first time in the country’s recent history. A successful rule of law transition will be a defining legacy for the ruling party, the myriad of opposition political parties and other stakeholders interested in Liberia’s long term development. As Liberia faces this milestone transition, the country has experienced significant economic decline caused by the impact of the Ebola crisis and the decline in commodity prices in iron ore, and rubber. Companies have shed jobs in an economy where unemployment exists at an unsustainable level.

There are many who have put forward their intentions to contest for the seventy five positions –President, Vice President and 73 members of the House of Representatives, the lower branch of the Legislature. Those seeking the people’s vote are important contributors to the experiment of democracy. Without their expressions to contest, there would hardly be an election. The right to vote and the right to be voted forms part of Liberia constitution, and its obligations under international law. Just as it is important that they contest with their time and energy, so too will be their ideas and contributions. Liberia should emerge much bigger, much more hopeful, and much more peaceful because parties and individuals wishing to contest come forward with their best ideas and their best intentions. 

The culture for constructive political dialogue among all contestants should be an encouraging feature of the election process. This is important because the binding constraints to Liberia’s development would not go away because of a change in the government the next day. The country has weak infrastructure, especially roads and power.  Difficulty in accessing finance for critical economic growth areas such as agriculture and manufacture, weak and unclear property rights, with less than 20% of land registered and titled deeded are among the binding constraints highlighted in the Agenda for Transformation, Liberia’s development plan. Other constraints include low level of human development due to disruption in school caused by the conflict; high administrative and regulatory costs, petty corruption in payment for licenses, bribes at check-points adds additional burdens. Continued risks regarding security and stability. Political dialogue among parties can also seek to address common agenda and principles about the critical binding constraints that should be addressed, regardless the eventual winners. Winners should not take it all. They can, because that is the current way governance is structured. Political dialogue should be directed with the purpose to ensure that good ideas and intentions from all contestants in the elections remain valuable moving forward.

The one elephant too many for the small room is inequality.  Liberia admits that inequality fueled the conflict. Growth masked serious problems of poverty and inequality in much of the country. According to Liberia’s development plan, the Agenda for Transformation, prior to the conflict, staggeringly, a mere 3.9% of the population controlled more than 60% of income and a large share of the benefits from the enclave sectors.

This harsh fact makes it more important for efforts, ideas and debates to focus attention to addressing inequality. The political discourse should benefit from factual analysis of the underlying causes of inequalities and direct commitment to equalize opportunities for all persons regardless of geography, ethnicity, religion, gender, ability or other social status or identities. 

Charles Lawrence lives and works in Liberia and writes in his personal capacity