[Mb-civic] Liberia's break with the past - Steve Radelet & Jeremy
Weinstein - Boston Globe Op-Ed
William Swiggard
swiggard at comcast.net
Tue Jan 17 04:18:06 PST 2006
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outdated constitution to firmly establish participatory democracy,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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