Interview

LIBERIA

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president and Nobel Peace Prize co­winner, talks to the FT Page 3

FINANCIAL TIMES SPECIAL REPORT | Thursday December 8 2011

www.ft.com/liberia­2011 | twitter.com/ftreports

Peace begins to pay dividends

Inside this issue Economy New concessions have been signed in extractive industries but they will not be enough to foster development, a fact admitted by Augustine Ngafuan, finance minister Page 2

John Reed and Orla Ryan on the Sirleaf government’s impressive list of achievements

Corruption Donors say the government has demonstrated a willingness to improve management of public affairs Page 2

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hinkers Beach is as good a place as any to reflect on Liberia’s impressive recovery from war. The beach, popular on weekends with Monrovia’s middle class, offers a happy refuge from the capital’s heat and noise. On a recent Sunday, a mixed group of expatriate workers and Liberians played volleyball, while others nursed drinks or splashed in the Atlantic surf. Two young Chinese couples shared beer and seafood, as the café’s sound system cranked out popular songs. Vendors touted souvenirs to beachgoers: flipflops, hardwood coffee tables shaped like elephants, a handstitched rendering of the map of Liberia. It was a world away from the popular image of the country less than a decade ago. Until 2003, it was the site of one of the world’s most gruesome wars, fought largely by drug-addled children, some of whom donned wigs or wedding dresses as their terrifying battle garb. Under the leadership of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president since 2006 and co-laureate of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the country has chalked up a list of impressive achievements. During its first term in office, the Sirleaf government brought the economy back on an even keel, spending only as much as it took in, plugging leaks in its revenue system and securing the write-off of most of its $4.7bn debt. It attracted pledges by foreign investors to put $19bn into a range of resource projects, including palm oil, rubber, timber and mining. In September, ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel producer, made its first export shipment of iron ore

Infrastructure The size of the repair bill needs to be weighed against the potential cost of inaction Page 4 Politics The have­nots are seen as the force behind the opposition CDC – which boycotted a poll run­off it expected to lose Page 5 National symbols Indigenous Liberians believe colonial emblems have outlived their usefulness Page 5 Agriculture With ample fertile land, good rainfall and a small population, Liberia has all the right ingredients for a thriving farming sector Page 6 In the dark: Monrovia still thrums to the sound of private generators but there are now a few street lights and the electric company has 5,600 customers

– a sign, the company said, that Liberia was back in business. Other sectors are recovering too. Firestone’s rubber plantation east of Monrovia, the country’s single biggest source of export earnings, has replanted extensively after a 16-year hiatus caused by the war. Green shoots of young rubber saplings now spread over the estate’s hillsides. Mrs Sirleaf won re-election to a second term last month in polls generally described by observers as free and fair, though claims of foul play by the opposition denied the government the legitimacy of an untainted second-round victory.

Mrs Sirleaf, who has sat on the other side of the financial table in past jobs at the World Bank and Citibank, now speaks of weaning the country off its dependency on foreign aid within a decade, and making it a middle-income country by 2030. But if that is to happen, the government – by its own admission – will need to accelerate reforms in its second term, and bring tangible change to the vast majority of Liberians who have so far seen few improvements in their lives. Monrovia has shantytowns with open sewers. Economic change has also

been slow to come to the countryside, where poor roads choke off opportunity. A lack of paved roads and adequate port facilities is crippling efforts to restart the timber industry, previously a huge employer in rural areas. Eight years after the war ended, Liberia still resounds with the thrum of diesel generators, which supply most of its power. Electricity costs about three times the west African average, and the power bottleneck is choking off growth and investment. The government is working with donors to get the Mount Coffee hydropower plant reha-

bilitated during its second term, but much more capacity will be required if Mrs Sirleaf’s middleincome targets are to be met. It will cost $500m a year over the next 10 years just “to be able to bring our infrastructure to regional standard”, says Amara Konneh, the planning minister. The economy is not creating anywhere near enough jobs to absorb the large number of unemployed youth, many of them war veterans, much less the roughly 50,000 young people who enter the job market every year. The government’s opponents capitalised on this in the elec-

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tion campaign, when alienated and angry young people marched through Monrovia before the second-round run-off, resulting in a clash with police that killed at least one. Mrs Sirleaf acknowledges the scale of the problem, describing youth unemployment as the “soft underbelly” left over after first-term reforms. Liberia also faces further tests as it negotiates lucrative resource concessions, including for offshore oil, that are taxing the limits of officials’ capacity. The country has experienced commodity booms in the past, Continued on Page 3

Ship registry Nearly 4,000 ships fly the Liberian flag but few of the country’s citizens sail on them Page 6 The diaspora The gap between those who fled the war and those who stayed is wide Page 7 Security UN troops have kept the peace since the end of the war. They are set to leave by 2014 Page 9

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FINANCIAL TIMES THURSDAY DECEMBER 8 2011

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Liberia

Focus on tangibles: Augustine Ngafuan, the finance minister (centre), says significant reforms were implemented in the government’s first six­year term and it now has the ‘fiscal space’ to develop infrastructure

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Race is on to create new jobs for young Economy John Reed reports on efforts to wean the country off foreign aid

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llen Johnson Sirleaf, a former finance minister who once worked at Citibank and the World Bank, campaigned for re-election this year largely on her government’s economic record. During its first six-year term, the country lined up long-term commitments by foreign companies to invest $19bn in mining, agriculture, and other resource sectors, about $1bn of which has materialised. Last year, the government negotiated the write-off of 97 per cent of its $4.7bn debt. The budget, bolstered by mining, has grown from about $80m to more than $500m this year. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that real growth in gross domestic product this

year and in 2012 will reach 7 to 10 per cent, supported by the start-up of iron ore production at the Yekepa mine, run by ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel producer. Mrs Sirleaf has vowed to end Liberia’s dependence on foreign aid within a decade and make it a middle-income country by 2030. But the hard work lies ahead. In its second term in office, the government has acknowledged the need to rebuild infrastructure, notably in power generation, where the rehabilitation of hydropower alone will cost about $500m. It has also promised to create more jobs outside the capitalintensive “enclave” sectors which, even on optimistic assumptions, will not generate enough employment to absorb the many unskilled young people coming on to the job market, or already there and looking for work. In a country only recently out of war, the economy’s health has security implications. Mrs Sirleaf acknowledges that youth unemployment represents the

“soft underbelly” of its firstterm reforms. Augustine Ngafuan, minister of finance, says: “In the first six years, we implemented significant reforms, passed a lot of laws that were good, achieved a debt waiver and significant fiscal space. The focus of the next six years will be on the tangibles.” Liberia has indeed made significant progress, with generous help from a donor community eager to see it succeed. In 2006, the government inherited huge debts and a demoralised, dysfunctional civil service. It moved quickly to tighten controls on sources of revenue, such as ports. It redrafted laws and cut taxes in an effort to make Liberia more competitive regionally and internationally and took steps to reinforce the upholding of judgments and contracts. In an attempt to signal to the financial community that the country was back in business, it implemented a programme monitored by IMF staff that gave it a record with the Fund and

opened the way for last year’s debt writedown. “With nearly $5bn of debt waived, this gives us the fiscal space to move into the second phase: building infrastructure,” Mr Ngafuan says. The IMF, in a report last year, described the state of Liberia’s infrastructure as its “biggest

In a country only recently out of war, the economy’s health has security implications impediment to growth and development”. The patchy road network is concentrated along mining corridors, and many roads are unpaved or potholed. Some become unpassable during the rainy season. Liberia relies on generators for most of its power, making for offputtingly high costs. Electricity, linked directly to the price of diesel oil, costs about 50

cents per kilowatt hour, and is the most expensive in west Africa, where most countries’ rates are below 15 cents per kWh. “The key is to use the government revenue that accrues from all the concession agreements to develop infrastructure,” says Yuri Sobolev, the IMF’s resident representative in Monrovia. A group of donors, including the World Bank, the African Development Bank, Germany’s KfW, the European Investment Bank and the government of Norway, are putting together a proposal to revive the Mount Coffee hydropower plant and join it to the West African Power Pool. The government is looking to lure investment in the ports of Monrovia and Buchanan, which it is dredging to make turnround times shorter. It is also promising to focus on roads. The main drivers of growth, according to the IMF, are agriculture – notably Firestone’s large rubber plantation – construction and the provision of services to the UN peacekeeping

force and other foreigners, especially in Monrovia. Over the medium term, big new concessions signed in recent years in iron ore, rubber, palm oil and timber will be the economic mainstays. However, the government recognises that extractive industries alone will not be enough to foster development. While the palm oil sector will be labour-intensive, the various resource concessions will not be enough to absorb the roughly 50,000 young people who enter the labour force every year, according to the IMF. Liberia is experiencing what the lending organisation calls a demographic “youth bulge”. According to the 2008 census, 70 per cent of the population was aged 30 years or younger. The government is working on a five-year programme due to launch next July with a focus on “inclusive growth”. In the nearer term, policymakers will need to manoeuvre deftly in a volatile world economy. A drop in commodity prices could depress revenues

from mining, not least by deterring investors from exploiting its low-grade iron ore. A reliance on imported rice makes it vulnerable to price fluctuations for the staple, whose price on world markets has been rising recently. There are risks ahead, even if commodity prices stay buoyant. In a country only recently at peace, with a history of corruption and profligacy, the government will need to be vigilant if its people are to benefit from its resource sector. As it prepares to borrow again to fund infrastructure, it will have to avoid saddling itself with too much debt. The government has put in place a debt management strategy. All new debt – whether taken on by the government or state enterprises – must be approved by a Debt Management Committee on which selected government ministers and the central bank chairman sit. “The last legacy Ellen Johnson Sirleaf would want to leave behind would be huge debts,” says Mr Ngafuan.

Campaign to end culture of improper conduct Corruption John Reed looks at the record of an anti­graft commission Every culture has its own catchphrase for bribes, whether la gaseosa (fizzy drink) in Colombia, baksheesh in parts of the Middle East or “kickback” in the US. In Liberia, says the woman heading the body charged with fighting corruption, the shorthand most commonly used to request a facilitating payment is this: “Give me cold water.” “It’s part of the whole culture,” says Frances Johnson-Allison, executive chairman of the Liberia AntiCorruption Commission (LACC). “People are used to giving gifts [and] they don’t see bribes as a crime”. The LACC was set up by the government in 2008 in a drive to change that. It has the power to investigate reports of any person or institution engaging in improper conduct, and refer cases to justice authorities for prosecution. Its mandate also extends to educating the public. “CORRUPTION LANDS YOU IN PRISON, AND YOUR FAMILY SUFFERS!” warns one LACC roadside billboard, which depicts a child asking: “Where is my daddy? I want my daddy,” as a hapless father languishes behind bars. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s government, in its first term, strengthened the power of its General Auditing Commission. Liberia has also raised pay for civil servants, many of whom were underskilled and earning wages as low as $15 a month, and being paid as seldom as twice a year. The minimum pay is now $200 a month, says Augustine Ngafuan, finance minister, adding that, since 2006, there has been no month in which the government did not pay civil servants. Liberia will need the besttrained, most scrupulous

Frances Johnson­Allison heads Anti­Corruption Commission

bureaucrats it can muster, as its mining, oil, timber and other resource industries gear up. Mr Ngafuan’s ministry has implemented an integrated financial management information system, allowing for automated payments that obviate the need to deal with an official who might demand a kickback. Officials are trained to use the system in an airconditioned, computerequipped training centre housed in the ministry and supported by the World Bank. Donors have also helped Liberia to organise a degree programme for civil servants which, since 2007, has trained three batches of about 30 students each. The country’s Public Procurement Concessions Com-

mission is charged with promoting transparency in the award of contracts great and small, whether for an order of laptops or the construction of a bridge. Outside government, the country’s lively press has pulled few punches in exposing public officials it claims are on the take. The government has claimed success in its efforts to fight graft, pointing to improved ranking on league tables such as Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, where Liberia was 91st on the most recent ranking, out of 183 countries worldwide, up from 138th place in 2008. However, there is some scepticism, given the depth of the bribery culture, the temptations present in any resource-rich but poor coun-

Contributors John Reed Special FT Africa Correspondent Orla Ryan Editor, FT International Economy Page Stephanie Gray Commissioning Editor Steven Bird Designer Andy Mears Picture Editor For advertising details, contact:

Mark Carwardine on: +44 (0)20 7873 4880; email: [email protected] or your usual representative All FT Reports are available on FT.com. Go to: www.ft.com/reports Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ ft.reports All editorial content in this supplement is produced by the FT.

try, and the limited power of its new watchdogs. John Morlu, formerly auditor general, resigned this year, when the government failed to renew his contract after a controversial four-year tenure. He said the government impeded him in its work. The LACC has, in its three years of existence, investigated more than a dozen cases, and forwarded about six to the Ministry of Justice. The ministry brought just one prosecution – for alleged misuse of public funds by a former boss of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority – but the trial ended in a hung jury after a lawyer fell ill. Ms Johnson-Allison says the case is scheduled for retrial. Her office was recently given extra funds that will allow it to hire four more investigators, she says, raising the total to 10. Donors note the progress Liberia’s government has made, but say there is more to do. Ohene Owusu Nyanin, the World Bank’s country manager, says: “The government has gone out of its way to put a reform system in place and demonstrated a willingness to improve the management of public affairs. “But when you look at the years of mismanagement in the public sector before the war, this is something that will take time.” To improve integrity in the public sector further, he says, Liberia should introduce asset declaration for all public officials and establish a code of conduct for all public servants, among other reforms. Ms Johnson-Allison, a former justice minister and human rights advocate, takes a longer view, noting the new freedoms in Liberia. And the LACC is not toothless, she notes. At least once, she says, it was inappropriate for Mrs Sirleaf to have vouched for the integrity of public officials under investigation by the auditing commission. “I can disagree with the president without getting dismissed,” she says.

FINANCIAL TIMES THURSDAY DECEMBER 8 2011

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Liberia

Needs of disaffected take on a greater urgency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will focus on marginalised youth in her second term Getty

Interview Ellen Johnson Sirleaf The president talks to Orla Ryan and John Reed shortly after her re­election

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hat is your agenda for the second sixyear term – and what do you see as unfinished business from the first? My agenda has in a way changed because of the events of the past month. Before, it would have been formulating our longterm development agenda, concluding the processes for constitutional reform, expanding infrastructure to a larger portion of the population, strengthening our natural resource management and ensuring we retain an open society based upon transparency and accountability. However, we must now address the problems of the young unemployed and uneducated youths. We knew many young people felt marginalised. We had first to restore growth, mobilise investment, fix infrastructure. We had to do the laws and policies, put in systems – so we addressed the hard items in the first six years. We found that the “soft” items – meeting the needs of young people who have been bypassed by education and have no skills – were the soft underbelly of our reform programme. Do you have any regrets about the way the election went, or its aftermath? I’m very pleased with the elections overall. I’m disappointed that the main opposition which should have participated in the [November 8] run-off decided not to. It would have represented two successive democratic elections – the first in about 30 years or so. Given the opposition boycott and low turnout in the second round, do you think your mandate was weakened? Absolutely not – let me just correct that. In the first round, we had 72 per cent participation, but they were voting for three sets of candidates – presidential, senator, [representatives]. And we had hundreds of people vying for those positions. So many people

were there to vote not only for the president, but for their representatives. The second issue is . . . that during the first round many of those who ran for legislature transported lots of people from across the country, taking them to their constituency. When they lost, they had neither the means nor the desire to move these people again for the second round. The third factor was fear, particularly in Monrovia. The opposition made a point of going into the neighbourhoods to frighten people. They told them they could be killed, they could be harmed. We obtained a higher number of votes than in the first round for the Unity party, my party. It doesn’t in any way affect my mandate. Constitutionally and legally, there’s no question that the election is over, and that I won. Is the violence before the second round in Monrovia a blot on your government’s record? It troubles me. It’s regrettable, because it’s going to go down as a disturbing day, when there were battles between our security forces and young people, and that’s not good for the country. But what it tells me is that our agenda now has to focus urgently on the needs of disaffected youth. Prince Johnson came out and offered you his support after the first round. Is there any sense of discomfort with that because of his role in the torture of former President Samuel Doe before his execution in 1990? There are many people in our party who were uncomfortable with that. We still remind people that in his particular county [Nimba], we had . . . the second-highest number of votes, and we felt his endorsement was not fully coming from him – that it was reflecting the wishes and demands of his people. Would you contemplate forming a grand coalition or a government of national unity?

Peace begins to pay dividends Continued from Page 1

but for many years squandered the money or cut unfavourable deals, bringing “growth without development” under the prewar presidents Tubman and Tolbert. The Sirleaf government says it is determined not to repeat those mistakes, and insists that investors in its “enclave” sectors create jobs, add value and contribute to local social development. But much needs to be done to tackle corruption. “Corruption is a result of many years of deprivation. It became a means of survival – and became a part of the value system in society as a whole,” the president says. Infrastructure requires $500m each year for 10 years – Amara Konneh

Liberia will need all the skilled and scrupulous public servants it can get, especially if offshore oil exploration bears fruit, and the country is to avoid the “resource curse” of graft and state capture that has plagued it in the past. Other risks, such as a fall in commodity prices, could slow development of the minerals sector and hit demand, especially for Liberia’s mostly low-grade iron ore. This in turn, could wreck everything from the budget to the business plans of crucial infrastructure projects. If the economic crisis worsens, donors facing their own fiscal problems in Europe and the US could

reduce lending. Nor are the reserves of good will on which Liberia drew immediately after the war inexhaustible: some of the highly skilled Liberian exiles who took wage cuts to come home and help rebuild the economy could choose to leave again. The advantages enjoyed by these foreign-educated citizens sometimes jars. An unemployable lost generation of youth fears they are ruled by an elite who educate their children abroad. Entrenchment of these divisions could shake the foundations of the country’s hard-won peace. A controversial report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2009 did little to mollify a country still recovering from a war that killed hundreds of thousands of people. The president is keen to see village courts, similar to Rwanda’s gacaca courts. This year, Liberian mercenaries ventured into Ivory Coast, a timely reminder that conflicts fought on porous borders straddled by the same ethnic groups could easily spread, especially in a region that is no stranger to violence. Liberia does have a formidable asset in the form of its president, who – for all the criticism she faces at home – is the country’s best advertisement abroad. But in six years, Mrs Sirleaf must leave politics. She has yet to anoint a successor and Monrovia crackles with speculation as to who this could be. Liberia is now a postconflict country, but as the president admits, it has not yet normalised. She still has much to do.

of their facilities so they can accommodate more of these young people, that’s what I’d like to do.

No – that I won’t do. Because that would mean sharing power. It was a competitive process – and a competitive process means you win, you’re in charge. But you [also] accommodate others . . . and that’s what we’ll do.

How did winning the Nobel Peace Prize feel? It’s a humbling honour. It places a responsibility to make me work more for the participation and leadership of women. Everything I do or say will be judged within the

context of the honour I received for peace. It just means I have to be more diligent. What will you do with the prize money? I thought that was my retirement! (laughs)

A portion of my money I would like to use to expand the boarding facilities for young girls off the street. We have some boarding houses that are run by churches and faith institutions. If I can work with them to expand some

Is Liberia a “normal” country, and is it fair to say it’s fixed? If by “fixed”, you mean have we put the pieces together to ensure peace, sustainability, growth and development, then the answer is no – that process is not complete. We’re in a region where many of our neighbouring states are in a fragile situation that will not be fully resolved until our economies have growth to provide jobs and basic needs and reduce the level of poverty, which leads to conflict. But we’ve come far enough to say we are post-conflict countries, and the chances of returning to war are slim. When you look at the Arab uprisings, do you think there’s a similar risk in Liberia? The rebellion you see [here] is not a rebellion or

an anxiety to return to war – it’s a rebellion to say: “Pay attention to us, secure us our future – through education, training, basic needs.” What is Liberia’s niche in the world. Is there a “Brand Liberia”, and what does it stand for? I hope history will show that Liberia is a postconflict success story that in three years was able to settle a $4.9bn debt and mobilise $16bn in direct foreign investment. I think that’s a record. My own success story will be that I led the process of transformation and we moved Liberia from poverty to prosperity. What are your career plans after your second term? At that age I should be able to just read and swim, and sleep and rest. Do you have a successor lined up? We are working on that. I think I have many young people who qualify. [But] this is politics, and there are no guarantees.

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FINANCIAL TIMES THURSDAY DECEMBER 8 2011

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Liberia

Country seeks help from outsiders Infrastructure Orla Ryan takes a look at the big repair bill after the years of civil war

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he potholes in Monrovia’s roads angered Frank G. Warah so much that he decided to fill them himself. Nearly six years ago, he returned from his job as a labourer one day and put some stones in the large holes that cratered the street. Now Mr Warah manages a six-man voluntary road crew that fixes the city’s potholes and solicit cash from passing motorists to fund their work. “People have started appreciating our help,” he says, on the mostly smooth SKD Boulevard. Since Mr Warah’s crew started work, many of the bustling streets at the heart of the city have been rehabilitated with help from the World Bank. But the smooth paving of central Monrovia quickly peters into bumpy, battered and, in some cases, almost impassable roads upcountry, their dust and dirt indicating the scale of the infrastructure challenges the country faces. Roads, power supply, water and ports are in a parlous state, devastated after years of fighting. “Liberia is unique among countries in terms of the quantity of infrastructure destroyed during the conflict,” says Ohene Owusu Nyanin, the World Bank’s Liberia country manager. About $500m a year – roughly the same size as the government’s annual budget – needs to be invested over the next 10 years if it is to reach the standard of the rest of west Africa, diplomats and ministers say. The size of this bill needs to be weighed against the potential cost of inaction to

Mount Coffee hydro station: some say its rehabilitation could provide up to 100MW of power by the middle of 2015

the country’s development, Mr Nyanin says. “It is question of economic growth. Without infrastructure, that makes it very difficult,” he says. Bigger concessions, such as miners, can “invest in needed infrastructure. But the forestry sector relies on the government to provide roads and rehabilitate the ports”. The government has mainly looked to donors and investors to help fill the financing gap for infrastructure. For roads alone, $1.8bn is needed to connect the county capitals with paved asphalt roads and rehabilitate feeder roads in the next five years, says Kofi Woods, minister for

public works. Work is under way to pave the road from Monrovia to the port of Buchanan, with Chico, a Chinese construction company, busy on a $33m contract to repair a 57km stretch, Mr Woods says. Liberia is leveraging its relationship with mining investors to repair roads near their operations, he adds. ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel producer, has agreed to connect the towns of Ganta and Yekepa, its mine site, he says. China Union will pave the road from Kakata to Bong Mines. Putu Mining – as part of its concession agreement – will pave the

road from Zwedru to the port of Greenville. When President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took power after the 2005 election, a single megawatt generator lit the streets of Monrovia.

‘Liberia is unique in terms of the quantity of infrastructure destroyed’ The city still thrums with the sound of diesel generators but scattered street lights can be seen and the Liberia Electricity Corpora-

tion now has 5,600 customers, up from 2,200 last year. Within a year, it should have 10,000 more, says Shahid Mohammad, LEC managing director. This will still only be half of what it served in its prewar heyday, But the utility has had to be rebuilt from scratch, he says. “By 2005, there was nothing. Every single nut and bolt was looted, scrapped and sold. Nothing existed. All the manpower was gone. Some had died, some had left.” The utility now has 23.3MW of capacity, and – with extra funding from Japan and the World Bank – should have a further 30MW in two years. Close to $200m has been pledged by donors to rehabilitate Mount Coffee hydro station, a project that some say could provide up to 100MW of power when it is completed in the middle of 2015. But Liberia’s power-hungry miners and growing economy require far more, Mr Mohammad says.

Donors have already committed about $53m to help rebuild the electricity system. If LEC – now run by Canada’s Manitoba Hydro International which has a five-year $8.2m contract to manage the utility – is to meet a government target of connecting 30 per cent of Monrovia’s customers by 2015, it estimates that another $50m is needed. Within four years, Liberia’s electricity demand – including its mines – is estimated at up to 300MW. River flows vary hugely and as little as five MW can be available from Mount Coffee during the dry season. Nevertheless, rainy Liberia’s hydro potential is huge and donors say the St Paul’s River Basin is ripe for a reservoir and dam project. Eventually, the whole grid could be connected to the West Africa Power Pool. “More hydro needs to be tapped,” says Mr Mohammad. Such is the fragile nature of the capital’s water infrastructure that the Liberia Water and Sewage Corporation only provides treated water to its customers half the time. “We manage it 40 to 50 per cent of the time,” says Nortu Jappah, the LWSC’s managing director Monrovians now get 6.5m gallons of treated water through their pipes each day, up from 3.5m gallons in July 2010, but still far lower than the 19m gallons provided before the war, when the capital’s population was 500,000, less than half of what it is now. A $40m grant from the African Development Bank should help bring the water treatment plant up to prewar standards. USAID has provided $14m to rehabilitate water treatment facilities in three county capitals. Pumps provided by the World Bank will help lift the supply by 10m gallons a day by February 2012. For those forced to buy water on the street and fuel their own generators, the need for better infrastructure has never been more pressing. Monrovia dwellers complain that it costs them $15 a day to power a house. Precious Yah, 26, a parking attendant, pays $5 for two gallons of water. Life in Monrovia is getting better, she says but “the incoming president should provide more jobs and bring current and water”.

Monrovia docks: economic gateway

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Ports Crucial part in rehabilitation One of Liberia’s only working trains toots its horn and with an ear­splitting shriek moves into reverse. Its wagons are loaded with iron ore, shipped from ArcelorMittal’s Yekepa mine in the north to the port at Buchanan. In the coming days, up to 60,000 tonnes of this ore will be put on a ship to China. “Over the past year, the whole rail line has been rehabilitated,” says Jim Page, ArcelorMittal’s port superintendent in Buchanan, standing on a newly built quayside, also completed this year. The rehabilitation of Liberia’s ports is a crucial part of the country’s reconstruction, easing the flow of ore, timber and rubber to factories around the world and the stream of revenues to government coffers. There are four main ports – Monrovia, Buchanan, Harper and Greenville – but their poor condition means businesses rely on two. Last year, APM Terminals signed a 25­year concession agreement to run the port at Monrovia, the economic gateway to the country, while ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel producer, has invested in its concession area within the port of Buchanan, the country’s second­biggest. The condition of the commercial port of Buchanan, from where timber and rubber wood chips are exported, makes clear how much still needs to be done. An Africa Salvage ship has berthed to take away some of the rubbish that litters the water and dock, including a wrecked ship and an old ambulance. Hundreds of logs, banned from sale under now­ expired UN sanctions, are piled up outside. The National Port Authority plans to revamp the ports. Roughly 60 ships

left Buchanan this year and Patrick Konneh, the NPA’s acting port manager there, says that it has huge potential. “We want to extend the quay, so we can have two to three ships berthing at the same time. This port could feed a lot of the coastal towns.” Overall, confidence in the port at Monrovia is growing, says Brian Fuggle, managing director at APM Terminals, Liberia. This renewed faith is evident from the fact that business at Monrovia – where the bulk of imports enter the country – did not slow in the run­up to the elections, he says. Some had feared traders – anxious about violence ahead of the poll – would run down their stock. When APM took over this year, the port needed to be completely rebuilt, says Mr Fuggle. So far, it has invested about $21m in the port in Monrovia and a further $38m in contracts. “I can remember actually taking the port over at midnight at the end of January. I stood outside the ports office on the quayside in the pitch black, using our car lights to shake hands on handover. “There was no power, no water, the quay, the structure was collapsing into the water,” he says. “It needed total refurbishment, that meant knocking it down, and building it again.” Volumes have climbed 30 per cent on last year and about 21 cargo ships now go through Monrovia every month. When traders buy a container in China, they now “know how much it is going to cost them to get it back to their premises in Monrovia”, he says. “People now have confidence in the port.”

Orla Ryan

Shipment of iron ore is ‘a milestone in development’ Mining But investment is unlikely to deliver enough jobs, says Orla Ryan When ArcelorMittal shipped iron ore from Liberia to Europe in September, it was the first such consignment for decades and marked an important moment in the country’s recovery from war. Once one of the world’s biggest iron ore exporters, the industry collapsed during 14 years of fighting and only restarted when President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s government signed multibillion-dollar concession agreements with miners such as ArcelorMittal and BHP Billiton. Afferro Mining is also active, while India’s Vedanta recently agreed to buy a majority stake in Western Cluster. The September shipment “marked a coming out of civil war and poverty”, says Rajesh Goel, west Africa chief executive of ArcelorMittal. “It is a significant milestone in the development of the country; it signifies Liberia is in business again.” The estimated size of the country’s iron ore reserves is such that we “may well be projecting more than half a century of operations”, says Roosevelt Gasolin Jayjay, lands, mines and energy minister. Dozens of other companies are exploring he says. The benefits of the iron ore concessions are already evident in the jump in the budget in recent years from $80m to $500m, a rise that at least partly reflects income

ArcelorMittal’s iron ore concession outside Monrovia

from mines, says Mr Jayjay. Miners see Liberia as strategically important, as it is the nearest route to the sea for enormous iron ore deposits in south eastern Guinea. But they have had to invest heavily in infrastructure, and fears persist that a weak international economy could choke demand in countries such as China and derail some of the projects. Furthermore, the investments are unlikely to deliver the jobs the country needs. ArcelorMittal employs 560 people directly, and provides work to another 5,000 indirectly, a drop in the ocean of unemployment. The global downturn could pose a threat to mining operations, not least because much of Liberia’s iron ore is of a low grade. Some argue this means it is only viable when prices are high. But companies with concessions cannot be expected just to sit on them, the minister says. Demand remains high even for a concession in Lofa county – yet to be

awarded – where the grade is 30 per cent, he says. “Last year, I wasn’t sleeping, because I was getting midnight calls from companies interested in going there to operate.” The return of large-scale investors has not been without controversy. ArcelorMittal had to renegotiate its original deal – signed with a previous administration – with Mrs Sirleaf’s government. Sticking points included control of the port and railway, as well as how royalties were set. ArcelorMittal expects to achieve throughput of 1m tonnes this year and 4m tonnes next year. If approved, it will then move ahead with a second $1.2bn phase of the project which could triple production. With 2.5bn tonnes of reserves, “there is enough iron ore to mine for a very long time”, says Mr Goel. Much of the $800m invested by ArcelorMittal has been into the railway and the port. Miners should “certainly” invest in infrastructure, says Mr Jayjay. “We have had a total decline in our economic

advantages, and so when you talk in real terms regarding investment in infrastructure, we are absolutely limited. We don’t have the investment capacity.” Other miners are active. In June last year, BHP Billiton signed a 25-year concession agreement. Exploration is at an early stage, but, with its interests in nearby Guinea, it hopes to build a cluster of mines around an integrated rail and port infrastructure, similar to its operations in Western Australia. Controversy surrounds the railway line to Buchanan, built by ArcelorMittal. BHP Billiton wants access, but ArcelorMittal says there is no surplus capacity. In 2009, China Union, majority-owned by Wuhan Iron and Steel Company, sealed a $2.6bn deal with the government. “We plan to export iron ore at the end of next year,” says Ken Shen, assistant CEO at China Union’s Liberia arm, adding that the first shipment could be just 50,000 tonnes. The grade of its ore is 37 per cent and it plans to build a processing plant, as well as a road, rail line and power plant. Questions remain about how the millions of dollars miners invest annually in a social fund – managed by politicians, miners and community members – has been spent. Implementation has been slow and some projects have been abandoned, activists say. “I wouldn’t want to say sweepingly that many of the projects have been abandoned. There may be slowness here and there because in certain cases, there must be approval,” Mr Jayjay says.

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Poll result underlines need for reconciliation Politics Orla Ryan reports on the difficulties facing a president intent on uniting the country

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eeks after the poll that secured her a second six-year term in office and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf still beams down from election posters across Monrovia, her grandmotherly smile offering little hint of the tough political road that lies ahead. Mrs Sirleaf’s election pledge of more jobs has acquired a fresh urgency after the election highlighted Liberia’s continuing deep divisions and underlined the difficulties she faces to unite the country as she forms her next administration. Mrs Sirleaf has ruled out a grand coalition but says she will form an inclusive cabinet, featuring members of rival parties. “If those among them [opposition parties] meet those criteria, of course they will be considered, and I’m quite sure some of them will be offered the opportunity,” she says. But, even as she extends a conciliatory hand to the opposition, she faces the task of satisfying the jobless youth who formed the bulk of support for Winston Tubman, her main rival, and who perceive the president’s party as that of an elite. Mrs Sirleaf’s Unity party failed to secure a majority in the first round of votes in October, forcing it into a run-off with Mr Tubman’s Congress for Democratic Change. The poll was widely recognised as free and fair by international observers, but the CDC called it fraudulent and boycotted the run-off. Mrs Sirleaf has since rejected suggestions that the subsequent low turnout at the run-off – just under 40 per cent – has weakened her mandate. In the 2005 run-off, turnout was 61 per cent. Opposition scaremongering explains the lower second round turnout in 2011, down from 70 per cent in the first round, she says. Her party again failed to

Campaign trail: Prince Yormie Johnson, former warlord, notorious for a video of him drinking beer as his soldiers tortured and killed President Samuel Doe, stood for the National Union of Democratic Progress

secure a majority in parliament but, analysts say, a history of alliances of convenience in Liberia’s parliament makes it unlikely that this will impede legislation. Still, observers fear the poor show and violence before the vote – news reports say one person was killed though opposition supporters put the death toll at eight – will cast a shadow over her second term. Titi Ajayi, a research fellow at the International Crisis Group, says: “I think it will certainly have an impact [on legitimacy]. Her party won 90 per cent of the vote, but turnout was only 38 per cent. While not discounting other factors, clearly a large part of the population does not regard her as their president.” The issue of legitimacy could yet be neutralised if she successfully narrows the gap between the haves and have-nots, says

Dan Saryee, an analyst at the Liberia Democratic Institute. “If she starts to address this, people will forget the legitimacy issue. She has to be able to deal with this if she wants to bring people on board,” says Mr Saryee. The have-nots are widely seen to have been the force behind the CDC, whose boycott of a second round that it was widely expected to lose highlights the shallow roots of Liberia’s democracy. “If they had accepted the risk of losing, they would have been seen as a strong credible partner to the international community,” says one western diplomat. As yet, it is unclear what role the CDC will play in any Sirleafled administration. “I don’t see her being able to govern if she doesn’t accommodate us,” says Mr Tubman,

nephew of William Tubman, one of the country’s longest-serving presidents. His alliance with George Weah, former AC Milan and Chelsea striker, was widely seen as an attempt to leverage the latter’s street popularity to the advantage of both. At the same time, the popularity of Prince Yormie Johnson, a former warlord, provided a grim reminder of Liberia‘s past. Mr Johnson, notorious for the video of him drinking beer as his soldiers tortured and killed the unpopular President Samuel Doe, polled a distant third in the first round and then backed the incumbent in the second round. This, he says, helped secure her victory, a claim her party and others dispute. “Whatever the government will allow to my party, we will gladly accept,” he says of talks to secure cabinet roles for his party members.

Ethnic issues remain a persistent undercurrent National symbols John Reed reports on the debate over the colonists’ flag To the untrained eye, Liberia’s national seal appears innocent enough, if a bit backward-looking for a country that styles itself as a new kind of reformist African state. It depicts a ship approaching a shore, a rising sun, a palm tree, a plough and a spade, and a dove bearing a white scroll. Above these is the motto: “The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here.” Below are the words “Republic of Liberia”. But Liberia’s great seal rankles with some of its citizens. Africa’s first republic was founded by freed American slaves who came to its shores as colonists and adopted the seal at the Constitutional Congress in 1847. “Americo-Liberians”, the settlers’ descendants, were at Liberia’s founding – and remain today – a tiny segment of the population. They ran Liberia until Samuel Doe deposed William Tolbert in a coup in 1980, and still dominate the economy and make up much of its elite. Yet the vast majority of Liberians who describe themselves as “indigenous” were never brought anywhere, but were there and waiting when the African-American colonists arrived. Not all of the settlers came for liberty, says Joseph Saye Guannu, a prominent historian who thinks the national symbol should be replaced; some came for land or economic power, he says. Prof Guannu, of the University of Liberia and Cuttington University, says: “The national symbol has outlived its usefulness. It was appropriate between 1847, when we became independent, and 1904, when the indige-

nous population became citizens,” he says. “Nobody has had the courage to change it.” Liberia’s flag, nicknamed the “Lone Star” resembles America’s. It has 11 stripes representing the number of men who signed its Declaration of Independence, which was modelled in parts on that of the US. A push to re-examine Liberia’s symbols and nomenclature began under ex-president Tolbert, but died with him, says Prof Guannu. The Doe government did abolish Matilda Newport day, a national holiday commemorating an ex-slave who fired a cannon at indigenous Liberians seeking to overwhelm an early settlement in 1822. However, Monrovia still has a Matilda Newport Street and Matilda Newport High School. “They should take it to the logical conclusion,” says Prof Guannu, who has written many of the history and civics textbooks used in Liberian schools. In 2009, Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commis-

sion recommended that a palm tree be used as the new national symbol, and that its motto be changed to “The love of liberty unites us here”. Both, for now, remain unaltered. Other African countries have revisited national symbols perceived as divisive, with varying degrees of success. In 1984, after a coup, Upper Volta adopted a new flag and a new name,

Those of Americo­ Liberian descent make up 5% of population, 1% of whom are very rich Burkina Faso. Ten years later, South Africa adopted a new flag and national anthem to represent its new republic. A few years ago Angola discussed changing its flag, which is similar in design to the Soviet-inspired party banner of the MPLA party that has ruled the country since independence. Lawmakers studied a more neu-

tral design featuring a sunburst, but ended up staying with the status quo. In Liberia, the split between “indigenous” and Americo-Liberians is no longer the defining fault line in politics. Liberians, from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf down, speak of the divide between rich and poor and those with jobs and without as the biggest cleavage in society these days. However, tensions remain, and ethnic issues are a persistent undercurrent in public life. Prof Guannu estimates that people of Americo-Liberian descent make up less than 5 per cent of the population, within which 1 per cent represent the “very rich”. Mrs Sirleaf, who is of indigenous descent but lighter-skinned than most Liberians because of a German grandfather, recalls feeling in danger at times in the country’s turbulent recent history when she was mistakenly thought to be of “settler” extraction. She had to deny she was Americo-Liberian in the run-up to both of the country’s post-war elections, including this year’s. Prince Yormie Johnson, an opposition politician who supported Mrs Sirleaf in the second round of this year’s elections, says that, if his party is in government, it will reopen a discussion of national symbols. “They didn’t bring us – they met us here,” he says of Liberia’s national motto. “If we are taking over, we would set up a committee of experts to remove emblems that are divisive.” Mr Johnson also cites offensive wording in Liberia’s declaration of independence, referring to the colonists’ arrival on the country’s “barbarous shores”. “We are not barbarians, we are human beings,” says Mr Johnson. “We want to see if we can rewrite the constitution to remove those references.”

His continued place in public life reflects the nature of politics in a tiny country, where many familiar faces dominate the legislature. And it has proved difficult to close the door on its violent past.

‘The legitimacy issue could be neutralised if Mrs Sirleaf narrows the gap between the haves and have­nots’ In this context, the poll has heightened concern about who will follow Mrs Sirleaf after her second and last term in office. Her careful handling of the economy and politics of a country still seen as crucial to the region’s stability has ensured her popularity with western

donors, even as criticism has grown at home. It is uncertain whether Mr Tubman will run again or if Mr Weah will retain his popularity with Liberia’s unemployed youth in 2017. “She is going out and that one party cannot be producing a president continuously,” says Mr Johnson, who plans to run for the job again. Already, Mrs Sirleaf is believed to be preparing a successor within her own party. “We are working on that. I think I have many young people who qualify,” she says. “But this is politics, so there are no guarantees.” Those mooted as likely candidates include Augustine Ngafuan, the finance minister. Much depends on her choice of successor. Mrs Sirleaf has previously in part stocked her cabinet with

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those with overseas experience, reflecting the fact that a “lost generation” of Liberians lacks the education or skills for management roles. This can rankle. “People think the decision-making is done by an elite group of people who don’t have their children in Liberia,” says Mr Saryee. “People think they are being excluded because they belong to a non-elite class.” For Beyon Tweh, a 36-year-old sunglasses vendor on the capital’s Randall Street, this election has highlighted the need for healing. “The most important thing is to reconcile the country. In the midst of division, she cannot act. If the people are united, in that environment, she will be able to make things better. “Reconciliation is the foremost thing she should think about,” he says.

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Liberia

Loggers frustrated by poor infrastructure Timber Orla Ryan on an industry that could be a huge employer Insects buzz loudly in the humid heat of Liberia’s deep forest and in the distance a chainsaw whirrs. Heavy rain has rendered the dirt track through Grand Bassa county nearly impassable and the potholes are almost a foot deep in water. In the coming weeks, Global Logging will rehabilitate the road and start cutting the larger azobé trees – used in construction and decking – for export. Liberia has the most abundant virgin rainforest in west Africa. The government has made huge efforts to restart the industry, once clouded by a UN ban amid allegations that Charles Taylor, the former presi-

dent awaiting a verdict on war crimes charges, was using the proceeds of timber sales to fund war. Now, the government sees the forests as a resource to be protected, as well as a potentially huge rural employer and export earner. It has put in place tough laws to ensure the industry is well run, trees are harvested sustainably and communities benefit. Barcoding means trees can be traced from the stump to the port. This, combined with European Union laws on timber imports due to come into force in 2013, should make it nearly impossible to export illegally harvested timber. But the timber companies complain high taxes, poor infrastructure and a weak global market could throttle the nascent industry. Activists fear regulations could be compromised to ease its teething problems. And some fear uncontrolled

logging by farmers could reduce stock. So far, very little timber has been exported. “By this point, the government had expected to be making more than $100m, but has received just over $19m since logging began more than three years ago,” says Jonathan Gant, a policy adviser at Global Witness, the campaign group. “It is not creating jobs and it is not creating revenue.” The group says some companies have fallen behind with their taxes, though industry sources say this reflects allowances made by the government in light of the poor infrastructure. For Global Logging, it is clear where the problems lie. The company, which will soon have 150,000 hectares available to log in the River Cess and Grand Bassa counties, is the latest incarnation of Cesare Colombo’s family business, which employed close to 3,000 peo-

ple in the 1970s. Then, timber companies could export through five ports. Now the only port for timber is Buchanan, and poor roads delay the journey. “[Before] all the coast was covered,” says Mr Colombo. On top of that, global demand is weak. “Thank God we have the Chinese – they buy 80 per cent of the product.” Barcoding system means trees can be traced from stump to port

The problem, says a western diplomat, is companies “pay huge amounts for concessions, but can’t export. The infrastructure is not able to accommodate it”. No one at the Forestry Development Authority was available for comment. Activists fear compromises are being made. Global Logging has a private-

use permit. The company says this means it complies with the same laws as other concessionaires, but simply pays some taxes to the landowners directly in the form of royalties. But the rising availability of these permits has alarmed activists, who say they were designed for use by individuals who wanted to cut a small number of trees, not largescale loggers. “It is a key concern that you have a very opaque process; it is unclear who is getting logging concessions. Suddenly, any individual may be carving out his or her chunk of the forest,” says Mr Gant. Others argue that exports are low, not because of infrastructure constraints but because some concessionaires never had any intention of logging but were waiting to sell their potentially lucrative sites at a later date. “The companies did not have the financial means to embark on

and implement those contracts,” says Silas Kpanan’ Ayoung Siakor at the Sustainable Development Institute. For Cooper Torgbena, Global Logging’s manager in Grand Bassa, the forest is his life. He cut his first tree with an axe, not a chainsaw, in 1961. “It was the first job I did, I was able to earn money and support my children,” he says. “It you are cutting trees you don’t have use for, it is like cutting me.” Mr Torgbena fears wildcat logging by farmers could decimate the forest. “The loggers pick, they don’t cut down everything. Farmers cut down everything,” he says. The rehabilitation of the road should open up remote communities. “Liberians see it [logging] as a real chance for development. Monrovia is a world inside another world. For rural Liberians, logging creates jobs and development.”

Flag Steady source of funds

Rubber tapping at Firestone: government wants new investors to add more value locally

Alamy

Palm oil greases the wheels of growth Agriculture Farming is well placed to expand, says John Reed

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atthew Tehmeh, a superintendent at Firestone’s rubber plantation, cuts a sliver of bark about a 16th of an inch wide from a tree. A stream of white latex begins to ooze out, and drips down a spigot into a plastic cup. A typical tapper for the tyre and rubber company taps 550 to 600 trees in this painstaking fashion every day. Rubber is the country’s biggest export, and Firestone has been harvesting it in Liberia since 1926. The sprawling operation, spread over nearly 119,000 acres, employs about 7,000 people. It has its own radio station, bus system, hospital, and network of schools for nearly 16,000 family members of employees who attend at no cost. Liberians use the word “plantation” to describe the operation, which captures both its vast size and its paternalistic employee relations – benign or otherwise, depending on the account. In recent years, the company has had to defend itself against claims that its tappers were using children to meet high production quotas set by management. Firestone today says it has a “zero tolerance policy” on child labour, and that tappers work eighthour days. The company says that it has done more than any other private entity to improve the quality of life for Liberians. While some children outside the plantation carry chairs on their heads to poorly-equipped schools, Firestone’s showpiece sen-

ior high school is equipped with new computers and fully furnished chemistry and physics labs. During the civil war, tens of thousands of refugees migrated to the plantation, which is near Liberia’s Roberts International Airport, the site of some intense fighting. Since the conflict, which interrupted regular planting, Firestone has replanted aggressively. The company exports the rubber, and does not fabricate any products from it in the country. It does, however, process rubber wood at an on-site mill opened after the war, which employs about 300 people. “It’s a new industry for Liberia and west Africa, and a very skilled activity,” says Joseph Phillips, production manager of the facility. Workers cut and treat the wood before it is exported to the US and the East Asia, where it is used to make furniture. The government is studying the Firestone model critically as it angles for new investment in agriculture, the country’s biggest industry. “Value added” is the buzzword as investors come in to tap palm oil, rubber, or other big farming concessions. Florence Chenoweth, the agriculture minister, says: “It is a shame that as long as we have had Firestone here, it has done nothing. It has used the population mainly as low-cost labour and all the benefits of the industry have been exported. “They have used Liberia as a production point for raw materials.” What Firestone is doing, she says, is “still too lowtech”. The government is pushing new investors to commit themselves to adding value in the country, and to promote jobs and develop skills. With ample fertile land, good rainfall, and a popula-

tion of fewer than 4m, Liberia has all the right ingredients for a thriving farming sector. Yet agriculture is operating well below its potential. Visitors to Monrovia will probably sample eggs, meat, fish and vegetables imported from Sierra Leone, Ghana, or even overseas. The country imports most rice, its staple food. Agriculture, including tree crops, fishing and forestry, will always be the sector that employs the largest number of people, Ms Chenoweth says. Unlike mining, this industry produces renewable goods that will not run out, and can serve as the “true engine of growth of the country”. Ohene Owusu Nyanin,

‘Agriculture is not just a source of growth, it is a very good source of pro­ poor growth’ the World Bank’s country manager for Liberia, says: “Agriculture is not just a source of growth, it is also a very good source of propoor growth.” The government is pinning most of its growth hopes on palm oil, the crop with the highest employment potential, including higher-skilled positions for agronomists and scientists. It is also “95 per cent gender-neutral”, says Ms Chenoweth, with almost all jobs open to females. South-east Asian companies, the world’s leading producers of the commodity, are making huge investments. In 2009, Sime Darby, the Malaysian conglomerate, signed a 63-year agreement with the government to develop palm and rubber plantations on 220,000 hectares in several counties

in the west of the country. The company has promised to invest more than $3bn over 20 years. It currently employs 2,600 people, and will employ about 35,000 once fully operational, with Liberians due to fill most of the jobs, from harvesters up to estate managers. “In order to fast-track the training of local managers, employees are to be posted on estates in Malaysia for at least a year,” says Azmi Jaafar, head of operations for Sime Darby Plantation in Liberia. Indonesia’s Golden AgriResources, the world’s second-largest producer of palm oil, last year signed a concession agreement for its subsidiary Golden Veroleum (Liberia) to develop another 220,000 hectares in the southeast, developing palm oil only. Golden Veroleum is promising to employ 35,000 people and develop “substantial value-added industries”. Both companies aim to source some crops from smallholders, something the World Bank and other donors say they are ready to support. Ms Chenoweth says: “We are not going to have the Firestone model any more”. Liberia is also trying to rebuild fishing, a sector neglected during the war, when illegal boats plied its waters. The country reestablished its coast guard last year and is also trying to rebuild its fishing fleet. As in most other sectors, one of the main constraints to development is the local skills base. The government, accordingly, is promoting capacity development. “We have scholarship programmes for people to study agriculture – we are openly biasing that,” says Ms Chenoweth. “We are trying to grab everybody and say: ‘Go study it – you will have a job’.”

Liberia’s flag flies on nearly 4,000 ships that ply the world’s waters; the small west African state’s name is emblazoned on the hull of many a mighty supertanker or container ship. Alongside the country’s Nobel Prize­ winning president, the fleet is probably its best­known calling card. But the Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry (LISCR) has an unimpressive office on Ashmun Street in central Monrovia. It sits in a five­ storey discoloured white building, featuring the ghostly outline of the now­ departed letters “LISCR” above its door. A company representative declines a request for an interview with officials there, saying: “We would not expect guests at our Monrovia office.” That is because the registry has, from its inception 63 years ago, been managed from the US. The company that took over its management in 2000 is based outside Washington DC in Vienna, VA. Two years ago, Liberia renewed the company’s statutory agreement for another 10 years, running from January 1, 2010. “We’re very proud of what we do, because we do it in a proper way for the benefit of the country, which has had its struggles,” says Scott Bergeron, the LISCR’s chief operating officer. According to Augustine Ngafuan, the finance minister, the business brings the country between $18m and $22m a year. The LISCR, which will not disclose the size of its own fee, deposits the proceeds of the registry in the Central Bank of Liberia’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. Liberia’s fleet is the world’s second­largest, after Panama’s. Since 2000, helped by growing world trade, it has more than doubled in size from 1,700 vessels of 53m gross tonnes to about 3,800, weighing more than 122m tonnes – the fastest growth in the registry’s history. The registry dislikes the term “flags of convenience”, sometimes used by labour activists or pressure groups to describe fleets such as its own or Panama’s. In shipping circles, the term “open registers” is now used more often. The business dates back to the 1920s when US shipowners began registering their vessels under Panama’s flag in response to rising labour costs and tough new laws on American­registered ships. Edward Stettinus, formerly US secretary of state under President Franklin D Roosevelt, helped to establish the Liberian registry in 1948, under the administration of then­Liberian President William VS Tubman.

Today, nearly three­ quarters of the world’s commercially trading ships are registered with open register flag states. , Along with the term “flags of convenience”, the LISCR rejects the notion that open registers offer shipowners a laxer regulatory regime than traditional seafaring nations’ fleets. Since the early days of open registers, port operators have increased their power to inspect and detain vessels, whatever flag they fly. “When it comes to the well­run registers, they are very quick to ratify, implement, and enforce international maritime legislation,” Mr Bergeron says. Outside views back this up. Liberian vessels score at the top of the industry’s “white lists”, including the closely followed Shipping Industry Flag State Performance Table, on which Liberia scored among the best of any country in 2010. “When Liberian ships are inspected, they score highly, and are rarely detained, which is why they are rarely singled out for negative treatment in ports,” says Simon Bennett, director of external relations for the International Chamber of Shipping.

‘When Liberian ships are inspected, they score highly and are rarely detained’ For Liberia, the register remained a steady source of income through the war years, when it fell to second place behind Panama as the industry’s top flag. The industry’s prominence also helped Liberia secure a leadership role in the United Nations’ International Maritime Organisation, membership of which it kept up through the war. One area in which the country does want change is its wish to see more Liberian seamen employed in international shipping. Of the roughly 250,000 seafarers certified by Liberia, only about 180 are themselves Liberian. The government uses a portion of the registry’s proceeds to support the Liberian Maritime Training Institute, meant to train more locals, but it acknowledges that there is much to do on this front. “We’re not too happy with the amount of Liberian participation,” says Mr Ngafuan. “These are Liberian­flagged ships, and it would be good for more Liberians to be employed on them.” However, he adds: “We can’t just wish for it – we have to work for it.”

John Reed Working towards the day the boat comes in

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Liberia

Those who left and those who stayed Returning exiles There is resentment towards those who fled the war and came back with a good education, reports Orla Ryan

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urtis Jackson, who fled the fighting in Liberia in 1992, always knew he would return home. The 36 year old had studied computer engineering at Old Dominion University in the US and wanted “to go back and do technology. I think technology is the best way to move forward”. When the Miami resident finally made it back to Monrovia in 2009, he found it hard to adjust to life in a much poorer country. “It is difficult when you are used to running water and electricity … and you are used to not having to think about how to charge up your laptop,” he says. But hardest of all for Mr Jackson – who now runs his own consultancy and advises the University of Liberia on technology – was the fact that many of his fellow citizens did not see him as one of them. “Everyone sees you as a foreigner in your own country. People resent the fact you weren’t here. [They think] you are probably going to take over because you have better experience.” Tens of thousands fled the civil war, moving elsewhere in west Africa or to the developed world. The end of the war in 2003 and the first democratic election for several decades in 2005 prompted many to consider a return. Liberia has always been home, says Hesta B Pearson, who started to plan her trip home after she heard President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf speak at a rally in Atlanta. “She was very impressive and I started to think I could go back.” But the gap in terms of education and experience between those who suffered through years of fighting and those who

Wired: workers put up electrical cable for a system that is being slowly rebuilt after the civil war. Returning Liberians were shocked at the country’s dilapidated state

either left by choice or felt forced to leave can be difficult to bridge. The US-educated Liberians are more attractive to employers than those whose curriculum vitae is much less impressive, in no small part because of the war. This can cause resentment. “I was here for part of the war,” says Mr Jackson. “I let people know that, that it was not an experience unique to them. It is almost as if you have

‘An awful lot of people here tell you they have their wives and families back in the US’

to prove you are Liberian by talking about stuff you did in your childhood.” The chasm is even evident at the higher levels of government, where the president persuaded Liberians living overseas to return to help rebuild their country. The lack of highly skilled people within the country meant this was the right thing to do, says Amara Konneh, the planning minister, who studied in

Pennsylvania. But he adds that the disconnect between those who benefited from US schooling and a lost generation who struggled through the worst of the war was initially clear. “They did well and got a good education,” says Mr Konneh. “But at the same time, we have a local population who have lived here and contributed to nation-building. “When you leave a country for a long time and you come

back with arrogance, there is a natural resentment. Both sides have learnt valuable lessons.” Many returnees were adults when they left Liberia and always remained in touch with home, says Kofi Woods, the minister of public works. “I don’t think it is impossible for them to appreciate the challenges of Liberia,” he says. But the presence of these UStrained businessmen and politicians creates other dilemmas –

Alamy

are they truly committed to Liberia and, if they return to the US, who will replace them? “An awful lot of people here, ministers, tell you they have their wives and families in US,” says one western diplomat. “Their future is probably back in the US. Who is next?” For now, Mr Jackson, who returns to the US three or four times a year, feels he has settled back into Monrovia and plans to stay. “The difficult part is over,” he says. “I am hoping.”

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Exploration: Chevron has three deepwater blocks and says it plans to sink its first exploratory well, possibly this year

Country hopes for spoils from oil finds Black gold As companies prospect, campaigners call for prudent management of revenues, says John Reed

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ith three investor groups prospecting for offshore oil and others eager to join them, Liberia is preparing for the possibility that it has commercially exploitable reserves of black gold. Recent oil discoveries in next-door Sierra Leone and nearby Ghana have raised hopes that the country, a latecomer to west Africa’s oil boom because of its long civil war, will be next. Geology aside, Liberia’s top hydrocarbon official also suggests that divine providence will ensure a gusher. “I don’t think God would be so mean to us that we won’t have any oil,” says Christopher Neyor, chief executive of the National Oil Company of Liberia (Nocal), charged with managing the resource on behalf of the people. In two bid rounds, Liberia has awarded 10 offshore blocks to oil companies. A third, previously cancelled round, is due to be rerun soon, Mr Neyor says, and he hopes that a fourth auction of ultra-deepwater blocks will take place early next year. Anadarko, the US oil company, and African Petroleum, with four and two offshore blocks respectively, have each drilled exploratory wells. Both confirm there is petroleum, says Mr Neyor, but not in commercial quantities. Chevron has three deepwater blocks and says it plans to sink its first exploratory well once a drill ship reaches the area, possibly this year. The US oil group is “hopeful and optimistic” about Liberia, but it is

seeking to manage expectations. “We would certainly like to see oil revenues bring the country out of the civil strife it has experienced, but we’re also realistic,” the company says. “These are early days, and we want to set expectations realistically.” In a further sign of supermajor interest in Liberia, ExxonMobil, the largest US oil company, agreed last month to buy 70 per cent of Canadian Overseas Petroleum’s offshore block – originally contracted to Peppercoast Petroleum – for $55m, plus its portion of the cost of the first well to be drilled, to a maximum of $36m. People with a stake in Liberia’s progress are watching the process with a mixture of anticipation and dread. Elsewhere in Africa, oil has brought a windfall. However, in many cases it

Elsewhere in Africa, oil has brought a windfall. However, it has also corrupted officials and crowded out other sectors has also corrupted officials, undermined the government’s integrity and crowded out other sectors. In a report published in September, Global Witness, the non-governmental watchdog, called for a comprehensive reform of the country’s oil and gas sector and concluded: “Liberia is not currently ready for oil.” The government insists it is determined not to repeat mistakes made elsewhere. “The president has asked us to ensure that we have a revenuemanagement framework that is well structured to ensure that oil revenue is used for the best interest of the country,” says Mr Neyor. Liberia has, he says, used the Public Procurement and Concessions Act,

which aims to ensure transparency in tenders, to award petroleum concessions and select contractors. He adds that Nocal has published details of the funds paid by Chevron, Anadarko and African Petroleum. It is taking advice from the US and Norway in reviewing its laws and building the sector. Liberia has used some of the money received to send several people abroad on scholarships to study engineering, economics, geophysics and law, among other subjects. Because the country needs to develop skills for basic jobs, Mr Neyor says that Nocal plans to use some of its oil revenue for vocational and technical education in all industries, including carpentry, plumbing and electricity. Chevron has, on its own account, pledged support for a $10m, five-year programme to provide vocational training, healthcare and enterprise development in Liberia. For all the stated good intentions of the country and its partners, Global Witness is blowing the whistle on an oil sector it claims “is already beset by corruption and illegality”. The group points to alleged irregularities, including “lobbying fees” paid to members of parliament to facilitate the passage of oil contracts. The report also highlights a conflict of interest between Nocal’s mandate to regulate the sector, and its role as a commercial oil company. Without reform, the organisation warns, “a downward spiral of mismanagement could set in”. Mr Neyor says that Global Witness “has good intentions”, but adds that Liberia is doing most of what the group recommends, including restructuring Nocal and reviewing the petroleum law. He also says he wants to reduce Nocal’s role. “I’m the only one in government who is working hard to diminish my power,” he says. “At the end of the day, the Liberian people will benefit.”

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More faith required in the rule of law Security Orla Ryan reports on the role of United Nations peacekeepers

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tiny Ghanaian flag on a gate is one of the few signs of their presence in the port city of Buchanan, but the 8,000 United Nations peacekeepers scattered across Liberia’s 15 counties and Monrovia, the capital, have played a crucial role in maintaining the peace since the end of the civil war in 2003. The force is almost half the 15,000 who arrived eight years ago and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has said she hopes the peacekeepers will be able to withdraw by 2014. “We hope that it’s going to be two to three years – the period that it takes to complete the training and capacity building of our own security forces,” she says. UN assessors are to submit a report to the office of Ban KiMoon, the secretary-general, in April next year, with a decision on the continued need for a force of that size expected in August, when its one-year mandate is due for renewal. “The [long-term] objective which the mission is working on closely with the government is to conduct detailed planning for the handover of security responsibilities from Unmil [UN Mission in Liberia] to national security institutions and move from a peacekeeping issue to sustainable peace and development,” explains

Yasmina Bouziane, a spokeswoman for Unmil, which costs roughly $525m a year to maintain. “There are a lot of military to deal with threats that no longer exist,” says one western diplomat. “You do not have large scale armed militias. Some say you could halve it [the UN force] without any visible difference.” But violence preceding the elections on November 8 and uncertainty caused by Ivory Coast’s election crisis this year have raised questions about the ability of the 4,200-strong Liberian police force and the 2,000strong army – being trained by the UN and the US respectively – to handle the country’s security. Opposition politicians say UN forces helped subdue pre-election violence – in which it alleges eight people were killed. (News reports say just one person was killed.) Winston Tubman, the flag-bearer for the opposition Congress for Democratic Change, says: “Had they not been there, more people would have been arrested and killed.” One international observer says: “From what we have seen of the Liberian security apparatus, it is not yet ready to take over from Unmil.” Mrs Sirleaf has launched an investigation into the election violence, but the incident has contributed to concerns about how well the poorly paid police force – which has a limited reach outside of the capital – can cope. “It is good that the UN was here and provided,” says Prince Yormie Johnson, an opposition

On guard: the president hopes UN peacekeepers will be able to leave the country by 2014. In the meantime, they will patrol the border in advance of Ivory Coast elections

Violence preceding the elections has raised doubts about the ability of the police and army

politician and former warlord. “We can’t always depend on them. We have got to put our house in order. We have got to be able to train more police to take charge and pay them well and provide incentives. We need more police.” The election crisis in Ivory Coast this year also underlined the faultlines in a region where ethnic groups straddle borders, which are porous, and conflict can easily spread. Laurent Gbagbo’s refusal to concede defeat to Alassane

Ouattara after a presidential poll in Ivory Coast late last year, sparked a four-month crisis, which only ended in April when the latter’s troops seized Mr Gbagbo in his palace. At least 4,500 Liberian mercenaries were recruited by Mr Gbagbo’s forces, according to a report by a UN panel of experts. Since the Ivorian crisis erupted, three arms caches have been found in border areas. Tens of thousands of Ivorians who remain in Liberia, many of them in refugee camps, initially

ignited concerns that they could be used as a base either for pro-Gbagbo forces to launch an attack on Ivory Coast or for those intent on causing trouble in Liberia. “We have seen no evidence the militias are running the camps,” a diplomat says. Unmil intends to increase its patrols of the 700km border, which has many illegal crossings, in advance of Ivory Coast’s December 11 parliamentary elections. More broadly, observers argue

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that a stronger judicial system and greater faith in the rule of law is needed to contain tensions. Violence in Voinjama last year – in which at least four people are reported to have been killed – highlighted these concerns, Ms Bouziane says. When people do not have full confidence in the judicial system, there is a risk they will feel a need to take the law into their own hands and this [might] create an incident where mob violence could be a problem.”

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