Unlocking Liberia’s Sustainable Development Potential

The West African nation of Liberia stands out as a remarkable example of human resilience but also a somber warning regarding the fragility of development outcomes. As the first independent democracy on the African continent, the Liberian flag has one star but is otherwise reminiscent of the American Stars and Stripes banner. Established in 1847 as a project of the “American Colonization Society,” the country had at once a promising yet pernicious founding objective to repatriate freed American slaves to their continent of origin. The “Americo-Liberians” developed their own ruling elite class in comparison with the local population that saw them as culturally removed and this tension simmered for generations. Yet during the Cold War, Liberia’s alliance with the United States and the West was amply rewarded with investment and Monrovia became a garden capital of West Africa with excellent infrastructure.

When I visited Monrovia last month, my hosts took me to the ruins of the Ducor Hotel, which had been celebrated as the first five-star hotel in West Africa when it opened in 1967. Designed by a Romanian-Israeli architect Moshe Mayer, the opening ceremony was attended by the Israeli Prime Minister at the time, Golda Meir. The 1960s were the heyday of Liberia and even Queen Elizabeth visited the capital along with the Duke of Edinburgh. Yet the festering rivalries between the indigenous population and the Americo-Liberian settlers eventually led a dreadful series of civil wars in the 1990s that left the country devastated with almost 5% of population of just over 5 million killed and a generation of child-soldiers who were permanently disabled. Just as the economy was recovering the Ebola epidemic struck the country in 2014 that further eviscerated the economic progress that had been made over the past decade.

Liberia is now at an important inflection point where political stability has been well-established thanks to strong grassroots and national leadership, exemplified by the Nobel-prize winning work of former president Ellen Johnston Sirleaf and activists such as Leymah Gbowee. Last year, the country had another peaceful transition of power from the populist government of football star George Weah to the current President Joseph Boakai. Yet, this calm will only hold if the population sees the dividends of democracy in terms of long-term sustainable development. The country has immense potential in terms of its minerals, timber and opportunities to rekindle the flame of tourism through revitalization of infrastructure which was the pride of the region in the 1960s.

The United States has a particular responsibility for the country’s future and there are win-win prospects for development. Liberia has massive mineral reserves including iron ores deposits that are currently being operated inter-alia by the Indo-European conglomerate ArcelorMittal, with further investments from Turkish, Russian and Chinese interests as well. During my conversations with the mining ministry, I also learned of concerns that exploration licenses were being used to start initial operations without proper operational licensing in remote parts of the country. The United States has an opportunity to strike more responsible minerals deals with Liberia, particularly around critical mineral deposits which are naturally washed through alluvial sands that reach the Atlantic coast.

The need for American reengagement in Liberia’s future has become even more urgent since the U.S. Government announced the dismantling of the Millenium Challenge Corporation that has been a major source of support of the country’s fledgling Green investment sector. The United States also has some leverage in neighboring Guinea, despite the country’s move away from democratic rule. Guinea is developing one of the world’s largest iron ore deposits in the Simandou region bordering Liberia and the most cost-effective transit route for the ore would have been through Liberia to the coast. The Australian-British company Rio Tinto is the operating owner and had preferred transit through Liberia but resource nationalism and geopolitics led to a more complex transit route, entirely through Guinea’s mountainous region. There may still be an opportunity for the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia to negotiate some regional transit support through Liberia for mutual gain of both countries.

With a relatively small population, immense natural resources and strategic access to the Atlantic coast, Liberia is poised for a developmental transformation. Yet this development should also consider the environmental value of the forested ecosystems of the country, which have great potential for attracting high end conservation tourism to view charismatic endangered species such as the pygmy hippopotamus. Only around 2000 of these animals remain in the wild and most are found in Liberia. The large diaspora of Liberians living in the United States could be important investors in the service sector part of the Liberian economy to promote ecotourism alongside an extractive economy if properly managed. Liberia can learn from countries like Botswana and Namibia who have been able to maintain the coexistence of both extractive and tourist economies. Liberia is also bidding to be a member of the United Nations Security Council in the upcoming cycle which would give it further international recognition. At this pivotal moment, the world needs to pay more attention this resilient country as a beacon of Africa development potential.