By Nyankor Matthew

 

“…for Liberia to be successful, it cannot simply recreate the economic and political structures of the past, which produced widespread income disparities, economic and political marginalization, and deep social cleavages…Liberia must create much greater economic and political opportunities for all its citizens and ensure that growth and development are widely shared, with the benefits spread much more...”  (Chapter 1, 2008 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper)

 “…significant portions of society were systematically excluded and marginalized from institutions of political governance and access to key economic assets. The founding constitution was designed for the needs of the settler population, with less consideration and involvement of the indigenous people…later, marginalization was perpetuated by the urban-based policies of successive administrations. Political power was concentrated in Monrovia and primarily at the level of the Presidency. Most infrastructure and basic services were concentrated in Monrovia and a few other cities. Marginalization of youth and women and the mismanagement of national resources were widespread, which contributed to stark inequalities in the distribution of benefits equitably throughout the population…” (Chapter 1, 2008 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper).

     Liberia is not alone in the challenges it face in dealing with the continual migration of rural to urban population shift; in our case, a shift to an already overcrowded Monrovia. From a policy standpoint, we seem to be dealing with the symptoms of the problem rather than the root cause of the problem. 

     Garbage disposals could be placed on every street corner in Monrovia; sewer systems could be placed in every community; the streets could be cleaned every day and night and some employment could be provided, and it still won’t deal with the problems of joblessness and over crowdedness. Over crowded cities in all parts of this world breed filth, crime, and unemployment.  The city of Monrovia is a small area that was not built to accommodate over 27% and counting, of Liberia’s current population.  Monrovia is over crowded because the little bit of wealth, employment, and other social opportunities available in Liberia since the founding of the republic are all concentrated in the small square miles called Monrovia. 

     One does not need a PhD in economics to know that population will naturally migrate where they believe economic and job opportunities are available. This is true in industrialized and non- industrialized nations.  In the case of Liberia those economic and job opportunities have always been concentrated in Monrovia, creating an apartheid-like social and economic system that continues to benefit a small group of elites to the detriment of the larger society.  From the “founding” of what we now call Liberia, Monrovia was designed by the immigrants to represent a country within a country, and as a result has always received preferential treatment in terms of economic development.  Our immigrant cousins used Monrovia to insulate themselves from native inhabitants they viewed as "uncivilized, primitive, unequal" to them, and not deserving of the same economic benefits as the immigrants or the Americo-Liberians, as they preferred to call themselves.  Monrovia became a country within a country with the arrival of the immigrants, and has remained so to this very day.

     The lack of job creation and participation in income and wealth producing labor force in counties and cities outside of Monrovia has not only prevented the majority of Liberians from meeting basic needs and developing economically, it puts a stranglehold on equitable economic development. The welfare of all Liberians, including healthcare and educational needs relies on a strong and robust economy that goes beyond Monrovia.  The apartheid system set up in with the arrival of the settlers must be dismantled with a radical shift in policy.  This system continues to be perpetuated by even those who call themselves progressives; so in order to change the status quo and the behavior of those who perpetuate the system, a radical paradigm shift is needed.

     Administrations after administrations, and failed polices after failed policies created to spur growth to involve our fellow citizens outside of Monrovia has time and time again failed.   There’s an old adage that says "insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result each time."  Why do we continue to recreate the failed economic and political structures of the past with unfavorable results, yet we don’t seem to be bold enough to step outside of the status quo of failed economic development policies?  Some of us in the position to bring about radical changes are trapped in the maintenance of the status quo, because it is never in the best interest of those who benefit most from the status quo to want to bring about radical policy shift.

     Unless and until we can begin to think outside of the box in terms of economic growth and development to benefit all Liberians, we will continue to get the same poor results.  We need a radical shift in policy to radically change the behavior of our people regarding Monrovia-based development.  Our people have been conditioned to believe that success and other opportunities are synonymous with Monrovia, and there is some truth to this perception. Urbanization, specifically in the Greater Monrovia area has brought numerous challenges such as the grotesque distribution of wealth, sprawling and toxic cities, lack of proper city planning, and a huge disparity between urban population in Monrovia, and even more so outside of Monrovia.

     It is against this backdrop that I am proposing the relocation of four strategic ministries outside of Monrovia; the ministry of Agriculture, Education, Health, and Public Works.  I am not necessarily advocating that the four proposed ministries be relocated in the counties that I have identified.  The counties mentioned are mentioned for illustrative purposes only.  Some have argued that to curb the Monrovia only development syndrome, Liberia needs a new capital city. I am arguing that a new capital city will only lead to new concentration of resources and development in the chosen city.  What we need is a psychological reorientation on how we think about economic development and opportunities in Liberia, and this will only come about via a radical public policy that would radically shift the behavior of our people.  We don’t need a new capital, we need to equalize not just development but other economic opportunities and those benefits that come with economic growth for ALL our citizens, not only the few who happen to be privileged or know the right people in high places.

     With this in mind I would propose that the ministry of Education be relocated in Lofa County, with two satellite offices strategically placed in central Liberia, and another in one of the southeastern/western counties.  The Ministry of Health could be relocated to Bong County, with two satellite offices strategically located in Northern Liberia, and southeastern/western Liberia.  The ministry of Agriculture could be relocated to Nimba County with two satellite offices strategically placed in Northern and southeastern/western Liberia. The ministry of Public works could be relocated to one of the southeastern/western counties, either Grand Kru or Grand Gedeh county with satellite offices located in central and northern Liberia.  The satellite offices would allow those living in counties far away from the headquarters to have easy access to the ministries.  The four relocated Ministries would each have large satellite offices in Monrovia to serve the Monrovia population. 

     I am confident that the relocation of these ministries would have a tremendous economic multiplier effect because the migration of jobs and people to a location creates a need for services such as improved schools, roads, hospitals and market centers.  It would also spur growth in terms of business creation to meet the needs of the growing population.  Those who relocate will need to either purchase land for home construction, or rent homes/apartments, thus creating a boom in building and construction activities, thereby creating and expanding local employment.  More importantly, it would allow for growth and development to be widely shared and less concentrated in Monrovia.

     Some critics of the proposal have argued that Liberia does not have the financial capacity to undertake such a project. I agree with them to some extent, however, I believe we can create a source of revenue to be dedicated to this undertaking.  Per the 2010/2011 budget framework, if Liberia is successful in meeting the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) requirements before the 2010/11 budget cycle, the government expects to borrow $29.5 million dollars (external and domestic) to be used to  finance investment projects that will deliver economic benefits in future years.  There is no denying that the relocation of the four ministries will deliver far more in economic benefits for the Liberian people for next generation, and ten thousand generations to follow.  A portion of annual borrowing could be set aside for the construction of the administrative headquarters of the relocated ministries.  The government may also want to consider exploring and securing other revenue streams dedicated specifically for this effort.

     I am not at all proposing that such a large scale project to be done in three months or a year, however, it needs to be one of the priority issues for policy makers.  Unless wealth and economic opportunities can be equitably distributed in Liberia, Liberia will continue to experience a high degree of socio-political instability and resentment from the larger population; leaving our youthful, disillusioned and psychologically vulnerable population to be easily manipulated by political parasites, opportunists, and vultures.

Nyankor Matthew can be reached at  Nyankorm@gmail.com.