Government of Liberia (Monrovia)
30 January 2007
document
A STATUS REPORT TO THE 110th CONGRESS ON LIBERIA
SUMMARY
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her government have made significant progress in the year since her historic inauguration on 16 January, 2006. But while real strides have been made, Liberia's peace and economic recovery remain fragile. The President underscored this fact in her remarks at Georgetown University last October when she said, "I have 18 months from my one year anniversary (January 2007) to turn things around." She went on to say, "the world may herald me as the first woman President of Africa, but I, first and foremost am the elected President of the Liberian people and it is their time table I must respond to."
President Sirleaf clearly recognizes the short window of opportunity her government has to secure and consolidate Liberia's peace. And while tangible progress under her leadership has been made, durable success is not yet certain. The challenges to the country are real but, with the support of the United States Congress, Liberia can become a success story in Africa. A secure, peaceful, democratic Liberia can be enormously beneficial for Liberians, the West Africa region, and United States security and long term interests of Africa. To achieve this, Liberia is in urgent need of security sector funding and swift action on a U.S. contribution to its debt relief.
THE URGENT NEED
By providing urgent funding for Liberia's critical security sector needs and a U.S. commitment to Liberia's debt relief, action from the 110th Congress can make the difference in whether Liberia succeeds or fails.
When Liberia needed it the most, it was the U.S. Congress that came to her aid in 2003 and again in 2005. Liberia once again needs Congressional leadership and support to advance the process of becoming a peaceful and democratic state with a thriving free market economy.
I. SECURITY
Peace in Liberia continues to be maintained by 13,000 UN soldiers, through the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) who have done remarkable work. Nevertheless, within the next 2 to 3 years, the process of withdrawing these troops is likely to begin, and ensuring a successful transition to capable Liberian forces, (both military and police), remains a real concern. Without capable Liberian forces, there is very real danger that Liberia may revert to conflict and war.
Overall, Liberia needs a total of $195MM to establish a viable security sector including standing up its own security forces and police, and providing security for the Executive.
A. Security Sector Reform
In the 2003 Accra Peace Accords, which cleared the way for the removal of Charles Taylor and the 2005 elections, the United States government agreed to rebuild Liberia's Armed Forces (AFL) to a strength of 2,000; a force that along with the national police, could eventually take the place of the United Nations peacekeepers who cost the U.S. taxpayer $168MM per year. The sooner an all-Liberian force can stand up, the sooner the UN troops can stand down. As it is currently administered by the U.S. Department of State (DOS), the Liberia Security Sector Reform program will run out of funds in March of 2007. This will leave just one half of Liberian recruits vetted, only 105 whom have graduated from basic training; unless additional funding is made available the Liberian government will have no ability to plan, much less manage, the next phase of training and deploying its security forces.
It is estimated that the total amount necessary to fund the program is $80MM. Further, the longer Liberia and U.S. government wait to resume basic training, the likelier it is that those already recruited will lose interest in the AFL or be hired away.
B. The National Police
The United Nations was the only institution willing to take up the training of the Liberian National Police force (LNP), but their contribution has been aimed at basic training and has not focused on developing LNP's management and strategic capabilities. While 3,000 beat cops have received basic training, these officers did not go through the vetting process that was required in the army recruiting funded by the U.S. Additionally, U.N. funding is insufficient for police equipment, facilities renovation, and training for mid-level and senior management. There are also no funds or plan to train a quick response police unit which would have the capacity to intervene when the street cops are overwhelmed. Without a capable and well-managed Liberian police force, the threshold for intervention by the Liberia army will be lowered, forcing it back into its traditionally dangerous role of interfering in internal, domestic affairs.
It is estimated that the cost of fully funding the police is close to $100 MM. The funding objective would be to do for the Liberian police what the U.S. government has done for the Liberian army: recruiting and vetting a small but professional cadre of civil servants, training and equipping them to manage the Liberian police force, and then providing them a mentorship program. Funding would additionally allow the training and equipping of a Quick Response Police Unit which would be capable of confronting criminal gangs and nascent insurgent movements, as well as conducting human rights vetting on police officers already trained by the U.N. Limited but vital equipment like motorcycles, vehicles, generators, and communications for the police force will also be covered by this funding.
C. Executive Protection
The threat level remains high for President Sirleaf. The State Department's Diplomatic Security Detail provided her first-class protection for the duration of their mission from January to June 2006. However, there was not an effective transition strategy in place when they left; no plan to mentor or to equip the Liberian presidential detail to protect the Liberian leader. Neither were any of the requisite armored cars and communications gear provided to do the job.
It is estimated that providing the necessary protection for President Sirleaf would cost around $15 MM.
As a final point on security, Liberia is very gratified to hear about the establishment of AFRICOM. Speaking from our own experience, Liberia suggests that in addition to a traditional war-fighting mission, AFRICOM's mission should emphasize security cooperation, deterrence, and humanitarian and development assistance. Liberia believes it would be most useful if AFRICOM had the requisite resources to engage and effect change in African militaries with funding that allows long term planning. Such long term planning would allow AFRICOM to become proactive in its capacity-building efforts, thereby increasing the ability of African militaries to participate in regional peace keeping efforts. President Sirleaf is pleased to offer the use of the former VOA site and infrastructure in Liberia to support AFRICOM's military-to-military training initiatives, like multinational ACOTA exercises and civil-military relations training. The VOA site was once such a symbol of US-Liberian cooperation. It can again be a symbol of US-Liberian, indeed US-Africa, cooperation. Moreover any US military presence would provide a further security guarantee to Liberia well beyond the departure of UN troops.
II. DEBT RELIEF
Without debt forgiveness, Liberia cannot borrow, cannot attract much needed capital and can never hope to dig itself out of the legacy of nearly 30 years of war and instability. In the second week of February, donors will meet at the World Bank to discuss the progress made by the Sirleaf Administration and Liberia's ongoing development needs. Looming over all of this is Liberia's debt burden, which amounts to a staggering $3.7BB in a country with an annual income of a little more than $80 MM. Almost all of this debt was acquired after the 1980 military coup and fully half of it is interest and penalties that the Doe and Taylor governments accrued when they failed to meet debt obligations during Liberia's civil conflict. Reaching agreement on a debt relief package for Liberia is a complex but necessary step in Liberia's economic recovery. The government of Liberia urges the Congress to encourage the Bush Administration to continue to play a leadership role in relieving Liberia's foreign debt, and to support debt relief efforts when the Administration brings them to Congress.
CONCLUSION
Liberia at war brought death and destruction to its people, and misery and crimes against humanity to its neighbors - a toll that is beyond calculation. A peaceful, secure and prospering Liberia will contribute to democracy, stability and development in Liberia, in West Africa and beyond.
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ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND
THE CHALLENGES
In a country with a population of just over 3 million, more than 300,000 people were killed, and tens of thousands more were injured. Hundreds of thousands of people fled their homes and became refugees. Institutions of governance and justice were destroyed. Warlords used Liberia as a base to smuggle diamonds, traffic in arms and drugs, launder money for global terrorist groups, and support other criminal activities that destabilized the country, the region, and beyond.
Commercial and productive activities ceased as warlords looted and vandalized the country, which led to a precipitous decline in incomes from $1,269 in 1980 to $163 in 2005, a fall of 87 percent. A sharp rise in poverty and unemployment became the norm, adding to the insecurity.
Total government revenues amounted to just $80 million in 2005, translating into total public spending per capita of about US$25, one of the lowest levels in the world. Liberia’s debts totaled US$3.7 billion, equivalent to an astonishing 3,000 percent of exports. There were few passable roads, no electricity, piped water or telephone land lines in the country for 15 years. Of the 325 health facilities operating before the war, about 95 percent were partially or wholly destroyed. There are now only 50 Liberian physicians to cover the nation’s public health needs, about one per 70,000 people. About 70 percent of school buildings were partially or wholly destroyed by the war, and the majority of Liberian children and youth remain out of school.
It is against this backdrop that President Sirleaf and her government work to return hope to Liberia. However, their efforts to grow the economy to provide much needed jobs, rebuild the country’s infrastructure and restore basic services will be for naught if security is not maintained and expanded in Liberia.
In particular:
THE PROGRESS
Since her inauguration on January 16, 2006, President Sirleaf has focused on laying the foundation for a peaceful and democratic Liberia by working for economic and political reconstruction, accountability, transparency, and poverty reduction. The government has based its strategy on four interlocking pillars i) consolidating peace and security; ii) revitalizing the economy; iii) establishing good governance and the rule of law; and, iv) rebuilding infrastructure and basic services.
President Sirleaf and her government have taken major steps in each area, including:
The atmosphere in Monrovia has changed to one of energy, optimism, and hope, finally, for a better future. The IMF estimates that the economy grew 8 percent in 2006, and forecasts similar growth this year.
Liberia is finally on the move, but this progress remains clouded by the enormous security and economic challenges facing the government. To successfully turn the corner, what Liberia needs now is debt relief and funding and resources for its urgent security needs.
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