[Mb-civic] Liberia's break with the past - Steve Radelet & Jeremy Weinstein - Boston Globe Op-Ed

[William Swiggard]

  Liberia's break with the past

By Steve Radelet and Jeremy Weinstein  |  January 17, 2006  |  The 
Boston Globe

ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF'S inauguration as the president of Liberia marks a 
watershed in the country's tumultuous history.

Twenty-five years of misrule and civil war under Samuel Doe, Charles 
Taylor, and successive interim governments have left the country in 
ruins. Nearly 300,000 Liberians lost their lives, average income is 
one-eighth what it was in 1980, and large majorities of the population 
subsist in dire poverty.

Since United Nations and US troops ousted Taylor in 2003, a fragile 
peace has taken hold, supported by 15,000 UN peacekeepers. With free and 
peaceful elections under their belts, Liberians are feeling new optimism 
and hope. Markets here are bustling, stores are freshly painted and open 
for business, and newspapers and radios feature lively debate.

The new government is a clear break from a past characterized by rule by 
force, extensive corruption, and a culture of impunity. Sirleaf, the 
first African woman elected head of state, has been an outspoken 
champion of accountability, transparency, and good governance for 
decades, a stance that landed her in jail twice and was a hallmark of 
her opposition to past governments and campaign for the presidency.

Already change is underway. She has instituted a code of conduct and 
full financial disclosure for senior officials, and endorsed a program 
that will install internationally recruited financial controllers in 
several state enterprises and create a strong anticorruption commission. 
Her government plans to publish financial accounts on the Web, make it 
easier for whistleblowers to report infractions, and rewrite Liberia's 
outdated constitution to firmly establish participatory democracy, 
decentralize power, and install robust checks on the executive.

Recovery from deep conflict in Africa is not easy, but we know it is 
possible. Mozambique was destroyed by civil war in the 1980s, but its 
democratically elected government led the way to peace, stability, and a 
doubling of income in a dozen years. Sierra Leone suffered a blood bath 
in the 1990s, but the 1999 peace agreement and 2001 elections brought 
stability and economic growth of 7 percent a year. Rwanda's genocide was 
followed by a recovery that few could have imagined.

But Sirleaf faces a daunting task. Liberia's recovery will depend mainly 
on Liberians themselves, but it will require strong international 
support, just as in Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda.

West Africa's civil wars have spawned widespread smuggling of diamonds, 
transshipment of drugs, and easy money laundering opportunities for 
global terrorist groups. Liberia's historic moment provides the US 
administration a chance to show it is serious about supporting nascent 
democracies, creating stability in a volatile region, and providing 
economic opportunities for Africa's poorest countries.

First, the United States must continue its crucial role in the 
demobilization of combatants and commit to long-term rebuilding of 
Liberia's police and army. The new government must be able to maintain 
and enhance security to begin to recover.

Second, the administration should support rapid and comprehensive 
forgiveness of Liberia's debts, which were mainly undertaken and wasted 
by the rapacious Doe government. It makes no more sense to stick today's 
Liberians with the bill, including 20 years of accumulated interest, 
than to force today's Iraqis to pay Saddam Hussein's bills.

Third, and perhaps most urgent, Congress should approve supplemental 
funding of $50 million to $100 million to support the new government. 
Unfortunately, Congress recently cut the administration's initial 
request for Liberia, a short-sighted step that sent the wrong signal to 
a struggling democracy and old ally at a crucial turning point. These 
funds would build critical infrastructure, put kids back into schools, 
and continue vital training for security forces. It would give Liberians 
their best chance of securing peace and basic freedoms.

Steve Radelet is a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. 
Jeremy Weinstein is assistant professor of political science at Stanford 
University. They are advising President Sirleaf on Liberia's economic 
strategy.


http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/01/17/liberias_break_with_the_past/
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