With all due respect to David Farhat, I am appalled about his explanation that the 100 vehicles provided government officials by Arcelor Mittal Steel Company is not tauntamount to bribery but a cost that will be reflected in the company's expense sector of its year-end-financial statements. Is Arcelor a purchasing department (GSA) for the Liberian Government? Did the Legislature approve or allocate this massive expenditure? When you also follow the bogus reason given by Arcelor that it purchased the vehicles for the government in response to requests from some officials seeking support to boost agricultural production, then I think something is very stink under all this arrangement. So when the officials who are at the receiving-end of the gesture are unable to service the vehicles (buy gas and do repar works), what happens next? Arcelor is going to provide the gas coupon. I bet it will. The former Finance Minister's vision is blurred not to see this danger. David Farhat intentionally failed to remember the section of the Revenue and Finance Law of Liberia that endorses charitable contibution by individuals and business entities. But donors are required only to make charitable contribution to only charitable or humanitarian organizatins. Portion of the contribution is allowed for deduction from the contributor's gross income. So sorry Mr. so-called accounting expert, under the spirit and intent of the Law, Liberia is not a qualified charitable organization that for-profit businesses or organizations should or can donate money or gifts. We are not fools David, if you got a cut you need to do yourself a favor and just be quiet. But yes David, Arcelor is here not for humanitarian services that is the reason well-meaning Liberians are questioning this dismal bribery termed donation. An influential American writer (Weiten, 2008 p201) stated that when a business executive takes clients for dining it creates a sense of obligation on the recipient of the dining to reciprocate the executive's generosity. Why does this mean for the relationship now and in the future between Arcelor and Liberia? It means that government should gets these vehicles so that it may restrain its tax auditors, labor inspectors and hosts of other regulators from messing around the gigantic, socalled life-saver Arcelor-enjoying the proclivity to limit the interpretation and enforcement of regulations and laws to the dictate of Arcelor. This is sad and painful for tiny country like Liberia living under the caprice of huge world-wide conglomorate. Let me add, in the 1900s but not far from recent history, the Europeans and Americans exploited the iron ore reserves of Liberia to build European and American bridges and massive infrastructural developments. After these economic giants met their developmental goals and had built stockpiles of reserves in iorn ores, they announced the decline in the value of the ores to them. What happened to Liberia that was solely depending on iron ore revenue was unprecedented unemployment- the aftermath we all know. Now the Indians and Chinese are ready to build their economies devicing the tactics of their predecessors- state seizure in which offcials of government are bought. But it is waste of time for Arcelor to buy few officials. Instead the company is buying the entire government disguising uner the canopy of philanthropist. We lack ingenuity so everyone will explore to exploit Liberia. Remeber what might be left when they leave-chaos, misery and self devaluation, extending the vicious cycle over and over.

Reference: Weiten, Wayne (2008) Psychology: Theme and Variations, Briefer Version. Wadsworth: Belmont, CA, USA