Liberians await their country's reconstruction, but on a wing and a prayer, writes Gamal Nkrumah Nobody bottles up hope better than the long- suffering Liberians. Last Friday, they breathed a sigh of relief when the United Nations, in conjunction with the United States and the World Bank, organised a Liberia fundraising conference in New York. Liberia is desperately short of funds to reconstruct its war-battered infrastructure and economy. Even though the country is rich in reserves of iron ore, diamonds and other minerals, has vast timber reserves and considerable agricultural potential, an estimated 80 per cent of the Liberian population lives in abject poverty, on less than $1 a day. The country's resources were squandered on war and Liberia was reduced to poverty and abject misery even though it was considered to be one of West Africa's wealthier nations in the 1970s and 1980s. Certainly, there is widespread sympathy for the plight of Liberians in the international community. There is no shortage of goodwill, as an earlier pledge to provide $488 million in funds towards Liberian reconstruction was surpassed as the United States, the European Union, the World Bank and Japan promised a total sum of $520 million. However, the problem is that pledges are not always honoured. "I remind you that recent humanitarian appeals for Liberia remain largely unfunded," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told participants at the conference. The Chairman of the National Transitional Government of Liberia Gyude Bryant addressed the UN conference and urged participants to keep their promise of financial support. So is his the new face of Liberia? Not quite. Bryant was sworn in as head of state in October 2003. He took over from Moes Blah, deputy to the former Liberian President Charles Taylor who now lives in exile in Nigeria. Both the UN and the US are predisposed to give Bryant a clean bill of health. In a telling sign of the times, Bryant appeared standing submissively next to US Secretary of State Colin Powell at a press conference at the end of the UN meeting, symbolically highlighting US dominance. After all, it was the appearance of US warships on Liberia's shores last year that were to determine the shape of the country's political future. For the US, taking Liberia under its wing was no short or easy task, but it has yielded considerable financial benefits. The country has virtually been an American colony for many years. In 1926, the American company Firestone Tyre and Rubber moved into the country to tap the country's rubber resources. Rubber plantations were established and the crop soon became the mainstay of the Liberian economy, thus rendering the country financially dependent on the US. For now, economic recovery in the country remains a slow and fragile process, but the prospect of doing lucrative business in Liberia is attracting potential foreign investors. A number of US-based transnational corporations are poised to move into Liberia. Foreign investment will, however, largely be determined by political stability and peace. For now, Powell has pledged $200 million on behalf of the US and the World Bank promised a $25 million grant for the fiscal year ending 30 June. Powell also announced that the US government has unveiled plans to fund Liberian reconstruction and development. Many Liberians feel that Western donors should have taken such a stand long ago. Liberians are beginning to confront the prickly issue of how they can protect their interests, as it is becoming increasingly apparent that it is the foreign contractors who are cashing in on the reconstruction. A relatively small proportion of the funds pledged will actually trickle down to the Liberian people. It is in this context that the systematic disarmament of militias by UN peacekeepers is taking place in Liberia today. In December 2003, the United Nations Missions in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeepers began to disarm various Liberian groups, including the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), the largest groups in the country. At the same time, warlords like Sekou Damate Conneh also want to cash in on peace as do Liberians formerly associated with Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). They argue that it was only when Taylor stepped down from office that peace was given a chance. Taylor relinquished power, he and his supporters say, so as to end the suffering of the war weary Liberian people. The prospects for Liberian reconstruction remain, to say the least, daunting. Humanitarian relief and development agencies are hard at work in Liberia, trying to provide a minimum of social welfare. Two major non- governmental organisations played a large part in lobbying support for Liberian reconstruction. Liberia's Results-Focussed Transitional Framework and the UN's Consolidated Appeal for Liberia are currently soliciting funds for a wide range of development projects in the country. The word is that Taylor is keen to return, but the US has hinted that it would like to see him tried for war crimes. It is difficult to speculate on what role Taylor might play in Liberia's political future. His name continues to instil terror and hatred in some parts of Liberia, but warlords like Conneh are no less feared. The image of popular hero and victim of the new international world order is not one into which former Liberian strongmen will be able to easily slip.
